Talent Search

General Manager Marty Gaunt knows talent, whether it is in the race car or out.

Call it a sixth sense.

Out of the race car, Gaunt found two of the industry’s best when he announced the addition of two of the team’s core leaders, Competition Director Elton Sawyer and Technical Director John Probst. Elton, who ranks third overall in career NASCAR Busch Series starts with 392 starts over 20 seasons, is respected throughout NASCAR garages.  John, whose technology background includes Formula 1 and Champ Car, offers extensive experience with a wide range of racing technologies.  Together—dare we say Elton John—the two will steer the team’s racing development as it ramps up for the team’s 2007 inaugural tour. “Elton and John both bring great credibility and experience with them,” Marty says. “Team Red Bull still has a long way to go to field two competitive race cars on the track by next February, and these two are the absolute best candidates to help get the job done.” Elton, a 45-year-old Chesapeake, Va. native, joins Team Red Bull from Evernham Motorsports, where he served as director of operations for the #10 NEXTEL Cup and #9 Busch Series teams and managed the company’s driver development program.  At Evernham, he also gained a knack for finding talent.  Again, call it a sixth sense. “To join Team Red Bull and be on the foundation level of a start-up NASCAR NEXTEL Cup team was an opportunity I could not turn down,” says Elton, who raced for Marty at MK Racing in 2001 during his best and last full Busch Series season.  “I’ve worked with Marty before and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.” John, a Williamsport, Penn. native, recently served as a vehicle dynamics supervisor at Ford Racing Technology in Dearborn, Mich., where he managed chassis, computer, safety, sheet metal and electronics programs over nine years. “It was clear from the start that Marty and Red Bull are putting together a top-notch operation and I am proud to be a part of this unique team,” says the 35-year-old engineer.  “With all the work ahead of us, what a perfect fit to have an owner like Red Bull.  The team is certainly going to need lots of energy!” Elton and John join Marty and another team appointee, Guenther Steiner, who came over to Team Red Bull from the Red Bull Racing F1 operation in a technical advisor role, as the team’s racing leadership operating out of the race shop in Mooresville, NC.