Mike Greci will once again serve as crew chief for Michael Waltrip Racing developmental driver Ryan Truex and the No. 00 MWR team.

Greci and Truex have quickly proven to be a formidable pairing; Truex finished his rookie campaign in the 2009 K & N Pro Series East with three wins, two pole positions and eight top-10 finishes. Those results were enough to make the young driver the Rookie of the Year and the season champion in the series.

Winning titles seems to come naturally for Greci. As co-owner and crew chief for his family-owned team, the Granby, Connecticut native won back-to-back K & N Pro Series East titles in 1997 and 1998 with Mike Stefanik piloting the car. Greci then took over the role as crew chief for an up-and-coming driver in the K & N Pro Series East, Martin Truex Jr. After picking up five victories in that series, Truex was hired to drive for Chance 2 Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Greci served as shock specialist for Martin Jr., and the two celebrated championship seasons in 2004 and 2005.

Greci eventually went on to become head of the driver development program at Dale Earnhardt Inc. It was there that he first got the chance to work with Ryan when the youngster competed in the last race of the 2008 K & N Pro Series East season. When 2009 rolled around, Ryan was ready to compete in the series full time. He landed the ride with MWR and Greci was selected as his crew chief.

"I'm still amazed at how quickly Ryan figured out these cars," Greci said. "He didn't have much experience at this level and these cars are more powerful and heavier than anything he had driven before. He's really good at listening when someone gives him advice and that's helped him adapt really quickly.

"You could tell that he was getting better each race. At one point in the season, we had seven top-three finishes in a row. That's amazing.

"Ryan, myself and everyone on the team are looking forward to defending our title. Our group was the first to win a title for Michael Waltrip Racing and we'd like to make it back-to-back championships."