Steve Hallam, an engineer and manager for the past 27 years in Formula One has settled into his office at Michael Waltrip Racing - and a new life in America after leaving his post as head of operations for team McLaren based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom.

It was announced in September, 2008 that Hallam would be making the move to MWR, leaving behind a rich history in Formula One. He has now assumed his new role as Director of Competition after moving around the globe to North Carolina to set up shop in Waltrip's 140,000 square foot factory.

Toyota's commitment to racing in NASCAR peaked Hallam's interest. As he wanted to learn more about opportunities with NASCAR teams, Pete Spence, technical director for Toyota Racing Development, put him in contact with Calvin Wells III at MWR.

Hallam, 56, joined McLaren in December 1990 and was a race engineer for seven years before becoming McLaren's head of race engineering, a role he remained in until being named head of race operations in 2007.

After announcing his move to MWR, Hallam rounded out his last season with McLaren by guiding Lewis Hamilton to the 2008 World Driving Championship (the sixth time Hallam had been part of a Formula One championship team). In addition to working with Hamilton, the tech ace has also worked with drivers such as Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Michael Andretti, Gerhard Berger, Kimi Raikkonen and Mika Hakkinen.

Hallam has led MWR into the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season as it fields the No.55 and No.00 Toyotas with drivers Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann. With the JTG-Daugherty Racing and MWR technical alliance in place under the same roof, Hallam also will assist the No. 47 team and driver Marcos Ambrose.

Team owners Waltrip and Robert Kauffman are pleased to have Hallam leading the engineering staff as they have embarked upon the third full season of competition.

"Steve is a remarkable asset for any organization and I'm proud that he joined ours," Waltrip said. "He will be in a key position that will both allow him to learn about the NASCAR world while implementing the knowledge he has gained over the past 27 years in Formula One.

"This is another step that shows our employees, sponsors and all of NASCAR that MWR is serious about our desire to elevate our organization to an elite status in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage."