A highly rated NASCAR crew chief, Schlicker and van Gisbergen have enjoyed success together in their first season with wins at Portland, Sonoma, and Chicago.

According to NASCAR journalist Toby Christie, the team confirmed the split but would not offer any comment “out of respect” for Schlicker.

Kevin Walter has been drafted in as van Gisbergen’s new crew chief. Walter was Josh Williams’ crew chief on the sister #11 entry and Eddie Pardue will take up that vacancy.

Van Gisbergen has been on a steep learning curve this year but has regularly been among the Xfinity Series front-runners.

Van Gisbergen has five top five finishes from 20 races to date. In his most recent race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway he finished fourth.

This year marked Schlicker’s fifth season as a NASCAR crew chief but has been a familiar face in the scene for 15 years.

In May, after van Gisbergen finished 15th at Darlington, Schlicker heaped praise on the Kiwi.

“At the beginning of the year we had to learn what he didn’t know – and with these cars and with these race tracks, it was a lot,” said Schlicker.

“The dude is super smart. Figure it out super quick. He honestly makes thing just a little bit easy for us.

“I love the challenge. I know that dude has a huge fanbase, a lot of respect worldwide. Just to be a part of that was pretty exciting.”

Van Gisbergen is set to return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Michigan Speedway on August 18.

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