Two days after the Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Rick Hendrick shuffled his crew chief lineup, moving Steve Letarte from the No. 24 and driver Jeff Gordon to the No. 88 and driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lance McGrew, Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief this season, moves from the No. 88 to the No. 5 and driver Mark Martin, who will be entering his final year at HMS in 2011. Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Martin this season, moves from the No. 5 to the No. 24 with Gordon.
The only crew chief-driver combination left in tact was that of five-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said:
This will improve us as an organization, across the board. We had a championship season (in 2010), but we weren’t where we wanted and needed to be with all four teams. We’ve made the right adjustments, and I’m excited to go racing with this lineup.
Earnhardt Jr is coming off a 21st-place finish in the points, and his second consecutive season missing the Chase. While Letarte and Gordon have won only one race in the last three seasons, Letarte has helped guide the team to the Chase in each of those three seasons.
As a part of the re-alignment, the No. 88 shop will be housed with the championship team of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. The No. 24 and Gordon will move to the same facility as Martin and the No. 5.
Hendrick plans to discuss the shakeup on Wednesday discussed the move in more detail on Wednesday. In an Associated Press article, Hendrick said:
This was not a Dale Earnhardt – not a move that we made, this major of a move, because of Dale or his situation. I am excited about making all four teams better. We need to be better across the board. We are not going to leave any stone unturned. … A tremendous amount of thought went into it, and it was not a (decision) from the hip. It’s not one of those things that you can vote on; it’s one of those things you have to pull the trigger and go do it.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael J. Smith, Michael J. Smith. Michael J. Smith said: #DaleJr Gets New Crew Chief As Part Of Hendrick Shuffle: http://bit.ly/hdl56t #NASCAR [...]
I think these changes will positively impact everyone, maybe with exception to Jimmie Johnson. Martin probably has the most to lose, considering his finishes were looking better the last 5 to 10 races.
Bumpdrafter.blogspot.com
Thanks for commenting, Joey.
I agree that Martin seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. But, with 2011 being a lame-duck year for him, it’s not too surprising that he drew Lance McGrew. I’m sure he isn’t surprised at all. I have no confirmation of this, but my gut tells me that Rick Hendrick sent McGrew to Martin as sort of an indirect middle finger to him, who could have been more accommodating to Kasey Kahne. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were.
[...] HMS announced that Earnhardt Jr will be paired with crew chief Steve Letarte next season. In a three-crew-chief swap, Earnhardt Jr gets Letarte from Jeff Gordon; Gordon gets Alan Gustafson from Mark Martin; and [...]
[...] you can’t argue with the fact that he is trying to improve Earnhardt’s performance. The crew chief shuffle that occurred in the off-season is a clear indication that Hendrick wants to see Earnhardt Jr [...]
[...] an extension makes sense for Earnhardt Jr considering his contract ends after next season. The pairing of Earnhardt Jr with Steve Letarte has improved Earnhardt’s on-track performance, and seems to have shown that Hendrick does [...]
[...] the crew chief change (or driver, to hear HMS describe it) occurred, one of the main goals of the No. 88 team was to [...]