• Associated Press
• December 4, 2012 - 2:33 PM

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Furniture Row Racing will field its own pit crew next season.

The single-car team had previously been using pit crews from other organizations, most recently a crew from Stewart-Haas Racing.

But Furniture Row general manager Joe Garone said Tuesday forming its own crew is critical to growing the team.

The crew will train out of Performance Instruction & Training under veteran pit crew coach Mike Houston. He was a front-tire carrier for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsport and is a former college football player.

Furniture Row goes into next season with Kurt Busch as driver and Todd Berrier as crew chief.