“After feeling some reoccurring symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, my physician and I decided routine surgery would be best for this situation,” Burton said. “There is no such thing as an offseason in this sport so I wanted to get it done as soon as possible to be ready for my Caterpillar Visitors Center appearance with (car owner) Richard (Childress) early next month. Plus, we have many test sessions planned in December with the No. 31 Chevrolet team in preparation for the 2013 season with my new crew chief Luke Lambert. I will be ready to go.”

The procedure was an outpatient one, and Burton was at his home recovering soon after the surgery.

As Burton, who finished out 2012 19th in the driver points standings, will have a new crew chief on his No. 31 team when the 2013 season kicks off at Daytona International Speedway in February. Luke Lambert was moved from RCR’s No. 2 Nationwide Series team to the No. 31 team in the Sprint Cup Series for which Burton drives. Lambert led Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 2 Nationwide team to a second-place finish in that series’ points standings this year. Sadler left the Childress organization at the end of the year to compete in the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013.

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“I want to thank Drew for all of his effort with the No. 31 Caterpillar team this season,” team owner Richard Childress said. “He’s a great crew chief, and I can’t say enough about his dedication to RCR. Making the move now, before the season is over, gives Drew some additional time to pursue other opportunities.”

So far, with only three races to go in the 36-race 2012 season, the No. 31 team is winless with two top-five and six top-10 finishes. Burton is 19th in the points standings.

According to a report from FOX Sports, Blickensderfer is heading to Richard Petty Motorsports to replace Mike Ford as crew chief on the No. 9 team (driver: Marcos Ambrose), but no official announcement has come from RPM. Ford started the year with Petty’s No. 43 team (driver: Aric Almirola) before being moved to the No. 9 just a handful of races ago.

Shane Wilson will call the shots from atop the pit box for Jeff Burton for the remainder of 2012. Luke Lambert, currently crew chief on RCR’s No. 2 NASCAR Nationwide Series team (driver: Elliott Sadler) will take over as permanent crew chief on the No. 31 team in 2013.

“Luke is proving this season that he’s a strong, young crew chief who can win races and compete for a championship,” Childress said. “Announcing his move to the No. 31 team in 2013 will not take anything away from his focus on the No. 2 team winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. That’s his number one priority. We mrely wanted to show that we have both an interim plan for the rest of this season and a long-term plan for the future.”

Lambert worked as crew chief for Burton and the No. 31 team in the second half of the 2011 Sprint Cup season before making the move to Sadler and the No. 2 Nationwide team for 2012.

Elliott Sadler is the championship points leader in the Nationwide Series with only three races remaining on that circuit’s schedule. With Lambert at the healm this season, Sadler and company has claimed four wins, 15 top-fives and 23 top-10 finishes.

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