Lance McGrew named as full-time crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr.
By SceneDaily Staff
Friday, October 30, 2009
Hendrick Motorsports has announced that Lance McGrew will remain as Dale Earnhardt's crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
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Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick has named Lance McGrew the full-time crew chief of the No. 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup entry of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
McGrew, 41, assumed the role May 28 on an interim basis.
"I have total faith in Lance and what he's capable of accomplishing with Dale Jr.," Hendrick said. "There was a lot of pressure with how he came into this deal, and the way he's handled it has been extremely impressive. Lance is confident in himself and in his decisions, and all the outside distractions aren't going to faze him. He's a strong-willed guy who will keep his eye on the ball and not settle."
McGrew will obviously complete this season and return in 2010, which will mark the 11th full-time Cup season for Earnhardt Jr.
"Lance has been part of the solution, not the problem," said Earnhardt Jr., an 18-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series. "He's tough, which is what I need, and we've really clicked in a short period of time. The communication has gottenbetter every practice and every race, and I know that's going to keep improving. Having this decision behind us is really important, and now we can focus on the future instead of the past."
As a crew chief, McGrew earned the 2003 Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers and has posted victories in all three of NASCAR's national touring series. In addition to Vickers, he has won races with drivers Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart.
"The communication between Dale Jr. and I continues to improve every single week," said McGrew, a native of Baton Rouge, La. "Both of us are 110-percent committed to the success of this team, and we're going to do everything necessary to get the job done for Hendrick Motorsports, our sponsors and Dale's fans."
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25 responses to "Lance McGrew named as full-time crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr. ". Post a Comment.
JrsTheMan88 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 11:55 AMI think Rick Hendrick made a good choice here. I always really liked Lance. GO DALE JR #88 AND TEAM!!!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsweetthings88 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 12:16 PMI have to agree with JRSTHEMAN88. I think things will be in both of there favor in 2010. I wish Dale Jr. and Lance #88 team the best of luck this weekend in Dega.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRowdy4life said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 12:18 PMWell. Jr will be in the top 15-25 Club forever now.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportShort-Track said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 1:14 PMWell then we'll see your boy(?)back there as well with Dave "magnetboy" Rogers so talk your trash all you want to Pouty4Life but don't expect big things HOSS!With that said,Good Luck 88 team and bring that sharp looking car to V.L.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjethro3fan said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 1:19 PMHoping for Pops, but maybe some stabilty will now move them forward...so much bad luck the last few weeks, and they're headed to a place that if Jr misses the big one, it could be time to get back in Victory Lane. I was there in '04 when he came back from the tail end of the lead lap countless times to weave his way like only one other man has been able to do and get to victory lane...Bring it home this weekend Jr!!!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsweetthings88 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 2:43 PMWRONG TO YOU KNOW WHO!!!!! THANK YOU #4 AND #5 Very good posting. We know Dale Jr. DOES have some very true fans.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportthereesons said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 5:20 PMBest of Luck Jr,Lance and the #88 team.
Report as AbuseHopefully the tide has turned and we can look for them all in V/L soon.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportpsdf250 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 5:26 PMGlad to see it. Too many people expected success overnight. Atleast its coming together. If it wasn't for the lousy luck,I think the results would have been alot better.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportctjeepinguy said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 5:52 PMLance is the best thing to come along for Jr since his one and only teacher died. Good Luck JR but GO 24!
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» Confirm Abuse Reporttimmytoad1 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 6:10 PMI really wanted to see Steve Addington as his crew chief, I find it funny how not long after Addington came on the market, Lance got named Jrs full time crew chief when Mr Hendrick said the other week he wasn't in any rush to make the final decision. If the results aren't there next year, I'm going to be one angry Jr fan...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportga20fan said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 6:15 PMI think the decision is a good one. I bet Jr is relieved to know Lance will be on the box next year.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportlegends73 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 6:28 PMI'm still hoping for Steve Addington as crew chief of the #88 car....
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 7:23 PM#9...his past teacher told Jr one time to get off the trak because of his driving...his teacher also left him with some great notes, but that was for the "old" car...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportpj88 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 8:44 PMI'm glad this is settled,now they can get down to business.I believe there are good times on the way.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportdd88 said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 8:51 PM#13 Was that the time Dale junior kept blowing by him and driving like his teacher?
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 9:51 PMnope...he was running out of talent...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmwallick said:
Oct 30, 2009 at 9:58 PMSteve Addington suddenly became available this past week. I am sure that Jr. brings enough money into HMS to pay Addington what he should have...? ...or maybe they could team up at Gibbs. There is obviously NO 'chemistry' for him at HMS. When Tony Jr. moved to HMS he brought along the DEI specs from 2007 to make the cars for Jr., and he did not change. After Lance became CC he started making cars on the updated HMS chassis. There are now 2, 1 1/2 mile track cars and last week they added one short track car. The car Jr. was given to drive in Charlotte was one of the T Jr. cars. RH knew what was going on, he is not a stupid man. If Jr. gets lucky RH will listen to some of the people on this blog and let him go. :) Marybeth
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» Confirm Abuse Reportgojeffgo said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 6:40 AMI think Jr needs to drive along with JJ or Jeff and see if he is doing something to mess up the car. Brakes, transmission, gears are constantly going out on the guy. He may be sabotaging himself unknowingly. He needs coaching to drive those superior Hendrick cars; Tony & Ryan figured it out already.
Report as AbuseThen spend a week with Lance on a hunt or something and get inside each others head to "learn the language"- kind of like a "cookie&milk" meeting on steroids.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmwallick said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 9:08 AMGOJEFFGO, or Junior is driving the R&D car, which the 25/88 is, think of Brian Vickers and Casey Mears. And if Jr.'s performance is not on par with his teammates then Hendrick needs to let him go, and JR Motorsports, also. Right now RH has Jr. hamstrung, & is making a lot of money off of him. Marybeth
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGranny said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 11:04 AMI think this is for the best...Junior has had an off year, which has happened to many drivers. I forsee in 2010 a whole new aspect of the #88 team and then the juniorhaters will have to find a new driver to pick on.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportbthompson133 said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 12:06 PMjr nation are the haters
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» Confirm Abuse ReportDickHURTZ said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 3:42 PM#21 U R CORRECT
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGranny said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 4:57 PMand what nation do you #21 & 22 belong to...must be Buschnation by your remarks.
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» Confirm Abuse Reporttrtruckin said:
Oct 31, 2009 at 5:54 PMI pity anyone who has to be Jr.s crewchief. The fan pressure is to hefty for anyone in that roll. Hopefully they keep showing some improvement and Jr. can one day master the COT. He's a good driver, no, not great, but for some reason he just can't get a handle on this new car. I do believe Jr. is doing something wrong, maybe trying just to hard and that's why he's having the stupid mechanical failures so often. Over reving and impatience bad combination.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportandee said:
Nov 2, 2009 at 12:31 PMKeep them together,Lance has brought the team from 18th to 25th. They should get to 30th by March 2010.
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