Veteran crew chief Randall Edwards signed a multi-year contract Friday with Carson Brown Motorsports to oversee the development of the Denver, N.C.-based team’s budding 15-year-old driver. The announcement came hours after the end of Edwards’s six-month stint as crew chief for Sheppard Riggs Racing driver Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., was revealed in a press release.

RELATED: Brandon Sheppard Parts Ways With Crew Chief Randall Edwards

Brown, who turns 16 in July, launched his Dirt Late Model career last year as part of Winfield, Tenn., standout Mike Marlar’s Delk Marlar Racing Development Program. He won a Super Late Model feature on Aug. 18 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio, while also gaining experience at several other tracks.

As Brown’s father, Brad, began building his own Dirt Late Model team last October, they met Edwards while visiting Longhorn Chassis and racing in January’s World of Outlaws-sanctioned Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. The connection helped bring them together once Edwards became a free agent.

“We got the phone call of Randall’s split (with Sheppard) saying, ‘Hey, you need to connect with Randall. He would be perfect for Carson,’ ” Brad Brown said. “You look at his history helping some of the younger drivers — (Tyler) Erb, Garrett Smith, B-Shepp when he was younger — and he brings a lot of value to them. He’ll be a great mentor for Carson.”

A 49-year-old native of Louisiana who has worked full-time in Dirt Late Model racing for his entire adult life, Edwards said he’s “glad to be associated” with Brown’s effort on a long-term agreement. He will have access to an apartment at the team’s North Carolina shop.

“That’s definitely the future of our sport with him being so young and willing to go all in,” Edwards said. “And from where I’m at in my career, I think it’s just more fun trying to teach the younger kids the ins and outs and the right and wrong way to do things. I want to be a part of bring him up through the ranks to be successful.”

Brown, whose family relocated from their native Virginia to New London, N.C., to pursue his racing aspirations, will focus on Late Model action this season with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals a primary objective. He also competes in asphalt Late Models, micro-sprints and off-road trucks.