Fri, 17 Nov 2006, 02:57 PM Gilbertson Names Delago as Crew Chief for 2007

Courtesy of Berserko Bob

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bob Gilbertson, owner/driver of the Autolite XP Spark Plugs/Prestone Antifreeze nitro Funny Car announced that Tommy Delago, who has been with Terminator Motorsports since 2005, has been named as his crew chief for the 2007 season.

Delago, along with Nick Boninfante Jr., had been sharing the crew chief duties for the past two years but Boninfante has decided to take time off from racing to tend to his family business, Boninfante Performance Clutch Parts and spend more time with his wife Sara and their young son Blake.

"I can relate to Nicky needing to tend to his family business as I'm in the same situation," Gilbertson said. "With him racing every weekend and being on the road so much he didn't have enough time to devote to the business to help it grow and he can also spend more time with his wife and son. I'm confident that Tommy can do the job as he and Nicky have been working together for two years and Tommy can take up where they both left off."

This was a tough decision for me to make," Boninfante said. "I've been with Bob since 2003 and he's more than just a boss, he's a friend and I'm going to miss going to the races. We ran a full schedule and a half this year and it took away from the time I needed to devote to the clutch business. I have to be there full-time and my wife and son need me on the weekends."

Delago is excited about his new position.

"I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to continue on where Nicky and I left off and taking this team to the next level," Delago added. "Nicky started the re-building of Bob's team in 2003 and I was chosen to be part of that equation, now my job is to make this team better and I relish the prospect of the challenge and I can't wait for the 2007 season to begin. We've got a lot of work to do over the winter and I'm sure that we'll be up to the task."

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