JR Motorsports drops appeal, McGrew interim crew chief
LAS VEGAS – JR Motorsports has dropped its appeal of the suspension of Nationwide Series crew chief Chad Walter.
The crew chief has begun serving the six-race suspension NASCAR handed down for an infraction discovered at Daytona International Speedway. Lance McGrewis working as the interim crew chief for the team this weekend.
Walter was one of seven crew chiefs suspended following the race weekend at Daytona. Walter was suspended for an illegal deck lid found on the car following practice Feb. 14. Walter was also fined $25,000 while driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 50 driver points.
McGrew is on loan to the team from Hendrick Motorsports, the company with which JR Motorsports aligned this season. A veteran Cup crew chief, he’ll work with Mark Martin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
Martin, who has worked with a variety of crew chiefs over the course of the year, said that adjusting to someone new for today’s Sam’s Town 300 should not be an issue.
“For the past 14 months, it’s been 'Put the blindfold on me and spin me around and jerk it off,'” he said. “… So it’s just one more new guy. It actually is working well. I worked with Alan Gustafson last year with the No. 5 car until we got down to Homestead and then it was Chad [Walter] … And now with Lance, another great guy with tremendous depth coming out of the Hendrick organization and all those guys that work on that car, worked on it last year when I did three races.
“So, I’m comfortable.”
