UPDATE:

Roush Fenway Racing announced Thursday that championship crew chief, Robbie Reiser, has been appointed General Manager of Roush Fenway Racing’s Nextel Cup team operations.

“This is a great opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to the next phase of my racing career,” Reiser said. “If it’s anywhere near as fun, competitive, and successful as the previous phase, then we’re going to be in good shape. It wasn’t an easy decision to stop being the crew chief of the #17 team, but now I get to work with all of our Cup teams and help improve our performance as a whole. I’m looking forward to the new challenge.” Reiser replaces Max Jones and steps into the GM role with well over 20 years of racing experience under his belt. Roush Fenway Racing is expected to name other crew changes to the #17 Ford team in the upcoming weeks.

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One of the longest tenured crew chief-driver relationships in Nextel Cup will end after Sunday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Robbie Reiser, who has been #17-Matt Kenseth’s crew chief since they entered NASCAR’s premier series in 2000 and long before that in the Busch Series, will become the general manager at Roush Fenway Racing. He will replace Max Jones, who will move into the GM role at Robert Yates Racing [will just be Yates Racing in 2008].

RYR and Roush recently formed an alliance that basically will allow them to work as a seven-car operation without violating NASCAR’s four-car cap. Reiser will follow in the footsteps of his father, who was the general manager of Roush’s Busch Series and Truck Series teams. The elder Reiser lost a battle with cancer prior to the Homestead race two years ago, which prompted his son to consider a move that would allow him more time with his family.

“You look at things that you do in the long term,” he said late last season. “Family becomes more important. … My dad spent a lot of time with my kids. When he isn’t around anymore somebody has to fill that void.” Reiser hoped to get the Roush GM job last season that ultimately went to Jones. “I’ve done this for [13] years for Matt,” he said at the time. “Not that I’m sick and tired of it or don’t enjoy it or any of that, but somewhere along the line you’ve got to move to the next challenge. And the next challenge probably would be to oversee an operation in the garage. That’s something I want to do down the road.”

ESPN.com