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Stewart-Grubb pairing full of potential

By Rea White - Associate Editor

Friday, September 05, 2008

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David Griffin / NASCAR Scene

Driver Tony Stewart (right) and crew chief Darian Grubb will team up next season at Stewart-Haas Racing.

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RICHMOND, Va. – Tony Stewart confirmed Friday that Hendrick Motorsports team engineer Darian Grubb will be his NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, and Grubb says he's excited to have a chance to help build what he expects to be a championship effort from the ground up.

In making the announcement Friday at Richmond International Raceway, Stewart said that Grubb was someone he already feels comfortable with. He's bringing in an engineer with experience working with the Hendrick chassis and engines, which the Stewart-Haas team will use in the series next season. And he's joining ranks with someone he already believes in.
 
Stewart spent 10 years working with crew chief Greg Zipadelli at Joe Gibbs Racing, winning 32 races and two Cup titles together. He's never regularly worked with anyone else in NASCAR.

That changes next season - and Stewart seems comfortable with that. He also says that he has encouraged his future crew chief to talk to his current one to learn more about the driver himself.
 
"It's about relationships," Stewart said Friday. "You build a chemistry, and that's something that Zippy and I, we had to do a good bit."
 
Stewart says that he and Grubb had a lengthy dinner in California last week, and he actually suggested that his future crew chief speak with his current one to learn the nuances of what Stewart means when he suggests changes to the car during the race. He says that will help the team both prepare for races and be better together in them.

Grubb says that he considers Zipadelli a good friend and that he's completely comfortable picking up the phone to call him.

Grubb has experience calling a race from atop the pit box, having won races with Jimmie Johnson in 2006 as he filled in when Chad Knaus was serving a six-race suspension. He was tabbed to be Casey Mears' 2007 crew chief but opted to return to his engineering role. But now, after six years within the Hendrick fold, he's ready to take on the leadership role again.

Grubb says that during his tenure at Hendrick, he's had chances to go to other teams but wasn't tempted before this offer.
 
"I've never wanted to step outside the Hendrick Motorsports operation until this opportunity came up," he said. "I'm just extremely excited about being able to continue my Hendrick knowledge and being able to use those chassis and engines and everything else going forward and just keep building this organization's strength outside of Hendrick Motorsports. This opportunity is a great chance for me to be able to step out and be able to almost take off on my own and try to help build up the organization and surround myself with good people that are capable of going to win championships."
 
Now, these two men from championship organizations will attempt to craft their own effort and build their own title-contending group. They've obviously been actively involved in racing for years, but they've also seen teams being built. They've watched some of the best in the business and plan to use the knowledge they've gained observing owners Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs as they build their own group next season.
 
But they also want to build something unique - something that is solely their creation and an operation that can contend for titles.
 
Grubb says he just couldn't pass up "the opportunity here to go forward with Tony and Stewart-Haas Racing and the chance to build a
championship-contending team and go out and just fight from the ground up and build something with all these people and get it built around my past history with Hendrick Motorsports."

Now Stewart and Grubb are preparing to find out just how well they will work together. Stewart will adjust to the change from a crew chief who learned by working on the cars and one with an engineering background. He thinks it will be an easy adjustment.

"It's hard to know exactly how it's going to work," Stewart said. "But you just look at Darian's past and you look at what he accomplished with the 25 car [with Mears] and in the times when he had to go over and work with the 48 cars [of Johnson]. The results are what we look at. It's not necessarily how you get to the end of the road to get to your goal; it's just the fact that he can get to the goal, that we have that confidence in him.

"I think with this car it's a more engineering-type background that it seems like you have to have anyway."

Only time will tell, though, what will work.
 
"It's hard to know how it's going to work, right now, between us and how his style is going to be different to Greg's," Stewart said. "At the end of the day, we've already got the major ingredient there, and that's that we both have the same passion and desire to be successful and win races and win championships. That part is something you don't have to fix. How we get to that end goal is yet to be determined, but at least we're focused in the same direction right now."
 
Meanwhile, Grubb's presence will be missed with his old teams. He's worked closely with the team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Tony Eury Jr., and the driver says he will be missed.
 
"It will be difficult to replace Darian. It will be difficult to get what we've gotten out of him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He was a good balancing
act for me and Tony Jr. if we got off track or something. He was perfect for the role, really. He'll be definitely very difficult to replace."

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Comments

14 responses to "Stewart-Grubb pairing full of potential"
  1. 1
    PB said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 9:02 AM

    I think this is a very good move for Tony and wish them both the best...

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  2. 2
    Michelle Trice said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 9:55 AM

    I just want to know when we can start buying the new team products. Can't wait til next year!!!

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  3. 3
    Robyn MacMillan said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 12:32 PM

    Michelle, I talked to Cindy at the Tony Stewart Store in Indianapolis and she told me it will be at least a year before they can start selling the new team products. Something about still having to hire marketing reps etc. Of course I volunteered to do whatever I could! LOL And this was just two weeks ago that I talked to her...maybe three....

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  4. 4
    Austin Markham said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 2:00 PM

    I am so ecited that Stewert and hass are going to work with hendrick

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  5. 5
    Timothy Schultze said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 3:01 PM

    I listened to Tony Stewart live a few weeks back and he was hoping to get some things out in time for the holidays.

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  6. 6
    Pamela Johnson said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 4:23 PM

    I think Tony and Darian will do well together and I'm excited for Darian. Darian learned from the best with HMS and the 48 team. Tony is a Champion driver. I look forward to watching their progress and wish them well.

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  7. 7
    Gladys Bedwell said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 5:30 PM

    According to the store on tonystewart.com, merchandise will be available January, 2009. So close but yet so far. I think Tony and Darian will do great things together. Good luck to Stewart-Haas racing.

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  8. 8
    Jayne Deere said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 6:39 PM

    Things really seem to be coming together for Stewart-Haas Racing. I can't wait for the 2009 season. Tony and Darian should be a good team. Good luck to both teams at Stewart-Haas Racing.

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  9. 9
    Melissa LaRouche said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 6:48 PM

    Can't wait until next year. These guys should be great together. Time will tell. As for tony's new stuff this will be available by the time Daytona comes around. There is no way that one of the best drivers on the circuit would not have any shirts or collectibles to be bought. A year is too far fetched.

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  10. 10
    ANNE OBERGFELL said:
    Sep 5, 2008 at 8:32 PM

    great move for tony he will do great nexy year go tony go

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  11. 11
    Worm Dirt said:
    Sep 6, 2008 at 9:56 PM

    Anybody know if Gene Haas (the other HALF of Stuart-Haas Racing) will be out of JAIL in time to see the green flag drop on his new race team?

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  12. 12
    Robyn MacMillan said:
    Sep 8, 2008 at 12:57 PM

    A year may seem to far-fetched but that is what the lady told me! Of course they are going to try and get stuff out asap and of course they are going to tell the media, etc., that they "HOPE" to have things ready in time for the holidays. Guess it comes down to when its here, its here.

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  13. 13
    robert portano said:
    Sep 8, 2008 at 4:45 PM

    Maybe now TONY will stop losing spots in the pits next year. I'm so tired of him driving his heart out and then a caution comes out and boom there goes at least 1 or 2 spots. Next year will hopefully be different.

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  14. 14
    Rose Sweeney said:
    Sep 9, 2008 at 11:42 AM

    I agree with Robert Portano. The last pit stops have cost Tony positions & the last pit stop at Richmond cost him the win. Here's looking to a better year in 2009. Good luck & Go Tony Go.

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