Rick Ware Racing announced Thursday morning NASCAR crew chief Doug Richert has joined the team and will calling the shots for Timmy Hill's run at the 2011 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year title.

Richert served as crew chief at Roush Racing for drivers Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle in the past and most recently worked with Casey Mears and Scott Riggs at Keyed-Up Motorsports, a Sprint Cup team that started seven races in 2010.

A thirty-year veteran of the sport, Richert was 20 years old when he guided the late Dale Earnhardt to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in 1980.

Hill turns 18 on February 25th and begins his season at Phoenix, meanwhile Todd Bodine is set to drive the No. 15 RWR entry at Daytona.

 MORE NASCAR NEWS