 Richert in 2005 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Douglas T. Richert (1960-06-14)June 14, 1960 (age 65) San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | NASCAR Xfinity Series |
| Team | 66.MBM Motorsports |
Douglas T. Richert (born June 14, 1960) is an Americanstock car racingcrew chief who works forMBM Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 66 car in theNASCAR Xfinity Series.
Richert was the youngest crew chief to win aNASCAR Cup Series championship when he won it in1980 withDale Earnhardt atOsterlund Racing at age 20. It was also his first season as a crew chief.[1] He continued as crew chief for Earnhardt's No. 2 car when the team was sold toJim Stacy. He later crew chiefed forJunior Johnson & Associates,Baker-Schiff Racing,Donlavey Racing,Hess Racing,Diamond Ridge Motorsports,Larry Hedrick Motorsports,LJ Racing,Robert Yates Racing,PPI Motorsports,Roush Racing,Red Bull Racing,Dale Earnhardt, Inc.,Gunselman Motorsports,Robby Gordon Motorsports,Keyed-Up Motorsports,TRG Motorsports andBK Racing in the Cup Series and thenTullman-Walker Racing in the Xfinity Series.
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Richert is best known for winning the Cup championship withDale Earnhardt in 1980. He started out working forRod Osterlund as a 16-year-old in 1976. Richert had gone to High School in San Jose with Osterlund's daughter who dated one of his friends, who was interested in racing. Doug got interested in building dirt cars because his friends were, and one thing lead to another. In late 1976 he got the chance to move east withRoland Wlodyka who was forming a Cup team, initially living in a trailer on the property atCharlotte Motor Speedway. Osterlund bought the team in late 1977, and campaigned it withDave Marcis in 1978, followed byDale Earnhardt who went on to win the NASCAR Winston CupRookie of the Year in 1979. In May 1980, Crew ChiefJake Elder left the team, and Richert who was still 19, replaced him. Richert may have inherited the job in the beginning, but he earned it fair and square when he went on to win the Championship with Earnhardt. Midway through 1981 Osterlund sold his team toJ.D. Stacy, and Earnhardt moved toRichard Childress Racing taking Richert with him. At the end of 1981 Doug left to take a position withJunior Johnson. From 1984 to 1986 Richert was the Crew Chief forNeil Bonnett in the No. 12 Budweiser car.[2]
Richert is also the former full-time crew chief for the No. 15Ford Mustang driven by rookieTimmy Hill and run byRick Ware Racing in the Nationwide Series. In Cup, he has also been a crew chief forBrian Vickers,Robby Gordon and three seasons withGreg Biffle helping him earn 10 wins.[3][4] In the NASCARCamping World Truck Series, Richert served as crew chief for three-time championRon Hornaday Jr. and 2003 Rookie of the YearCarl Edwards.[5]
Richert joinedBK Racing in 2013, and midway through the season replacedPat Tryson as crew chief for the team's No. 83 car; at the end of the season he was promoted to the team's director of research and development.[6]
He was inducted in theWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2015.[7]
Richert left BK Racing before the 2018 season, and became the crew chief for the No. 78Mason Mitchell Motorsports team in theARCA Series. However, MMM shut down mid-year, leaving him without a job until he quickly reunited withMax Tullman (one of the drivers he crew chiefed in ARCA that year) after he started his own new Xfinity team,Tullman-Walker Racing.[8] Richert and Tullman went toCarl Long'sMBM Motorsports team in 2019, and there he crew chiefed Tullman in the races he ran with them along with some other drivers as well. Richert continued with MBM as an Xfinity Series crew chief in 2020[9] on the team's No. 61 car, crew chiefingTimmy Hill andAustin Hill (in a collaboration withHattori Racing Enterprises) in select races. In 2021, he crew chiefed MBM's No. 42, No. 61 and No. 66 cars on a rotating basis, working with Timmy and Austin Hill again as well asDavid Starr,Matt Jaskol,Stephen Leicht,Chad Finchum andC. J. McLaughlin.
After the 2021 season, Richert resigned from MBM Motorsports and had a deal in place to crew chief for another team in 2022 that ultimately fell through. There were two other opportunities for him to become a team manager/administrator-type role as well but he ultimately did not work with a team that year to care for his wife who was battling cancer.[1]
Richert returned to MBM in 2025 to crew chiefTyler Tomassi in the No. 66 car in the spring Xfinity Series race atBristol.[10]
Richert married his wife Robin in 1985. She was diagnosed withmucinous carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, in 2018.[1]
Richert works at The Chandler School inGreenville, South Carolina in their ACE Program, which teaches middle schoolers the ins and outs of motorsports through hands-on experience.[11]