Tazewell native Kevin Kidd serves as crew chief for Joey Logano in NASCAR Nationwide Series

Kevin Kidd grew up with fast dreams.
Working alongside his father and brother, the former Tazewell, Va., resident began learning the essentials of horsepower at age eight. From regional short tracks to famed superspeedways, Kidd continually added to his skill-set and knowledge base.

Kidd, 30, was recently rewarded for his years of devotion when he was tabbed to serve as crew chief for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

“This is a huge opportunity,” said Kidd, during a rare break from Daytona International Speedway Wednesday night. “It’s the chance that I’ve really been wanting to happen for a long time. The fact that it came with such a great team and competitive car is like a storybook situation for me.”

Shortly after earning his mechanical engineering degree from Virginia Tech, Kidd began his circuitous climb in NASCAR. He spent the last four and a half years at Richard Petty Motorsports, serving as race engineer for Elliott Sadler’s No. 19 car. Kidd’s resume includes stints as car chief at Penske Jasper Racing and race engineer for the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team.

“I’ve played a lot of hands-on roles behind the scenes,” Kidd said. “It’s great to get my chance as crew chief.”

The No. 20 JGR ride is one of the most high-profile in the Nationwide series. Under the direction of crew chief Dave Rogers, the team earned five wins and six poles last season after winning the owner’s championship in 2008. Rogers now works as crew chief for Kyle Busch in the Sprint Cup series.

Sprint Cup regulars Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin will split the driving duties with rookie Matt DiBenedetto in the No. 20 car this season. Kidd said that Logano, 19, is scheduled to run around 25 races, with Hamlin in the car for four races. The highly-touted DiBenedetto will run the remainder of the races.

The Logano-Kidd pairing made an immediate impression, as Logano won the Jan. 30 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in Irwindale, Cal.

“Joey definitely made it look easy that night,” Kidd said. “We were on the same page from the time we got to the track until the race ended.”

And Kidd is anxious for more successful chapters, beginning with Saturday’s Nationwide series opener at Daytona. With cutting-edge simulation devices and versatile crew members, Kidd said the Gibbs team is first-class.

“We have all the tools for success,” Kidd said.

Kevin Kidd worked as the crew chief to his brother Michael for four years in the Late Model ranks. According to Michael, Kevin is highly deserving of his opportunity with the elite Gibbs team.

“Kevin has worked hard in some bad situations, and it’s great to see him finally land with a team and organization like this,” said Kidd, in a phone interview from the family-owned Kidd Tire company Thursday. “When Kevin first got the job at Gibbs, he was in the shop from 6 in the morning until 10 and 11 just to familiarize himself with everything.”

That sort of dedication is typical for Kevin Kidd, who got his first taste of competitive racing in the entry-level mini-stock division at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. Michael Kidd has competed in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup events in recent years.

“I’m super proud of Kevin,” Michael Kidd said. “He worked hard when we started out in racing together and he kept working hard.”

Kevin Kidd said his early love in racing set the stage for his current status.

“I became interested in cars when I was eight, and started working on cars around age 12,” Kidd said. “I’ve made several stops since then. Now, I guess this is the next logical step.
“I couldn’t have planned it anything better.”

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