Rick Hendrick happy with Lance McGrew; decision on 2010 coming this month
Team owner Rick Hendrick (right) says a decision will be coming soon on whether Lance McGrew remains the crew chief for driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) next season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. // Jeff Robinson, NASCAR Scene
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Hendrick Motorsports officials will sit down and determine whether Lance McGrew will remain as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief probably in the next couple of weeks, team owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday.
Earnhardt Jr. said Friday that he is happy with McGrew and hopes they could continue to work well together and return next year with the same group of guys – but it was not his decision. McGrew has been the crew chief since late May when he replaced Earnhardt Jr.'s cousin, Tony Eury Jr., whom Hendrick said could leave the organization to work for Hendrick affiliate JR Motorsports.
McGrew, who guided driver Brian Vickers to the 2003 title in what was then the Busch Series, had been running the Hendrick research and development department prior to becoming Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief.
“We had kind of planned to get together about Charlotte and sit down with he and Lance,” Hendrick said while walking out on pit road prior to the Price Chopper 400. “But they’re doing real well. They’ve really clicked together and the car is running [well]. He’s just had some really bad luck. But I think they’re gaining on it in a hurry and I’m really happy. I think by Charlotte we’ll be ready to do something.”
Since McGrew took over, Earnhardt Jr. has gone from 19th to 22nd in the standings.
“[McGrew] has learned so much by [doing] that R&D deal and all of the other crew chiefs are so impressed with what he’s done,” Hendrick said. “He understands that place. By running the R&D department, he works on all the cars, he’s worked with all the drivers, so all the drivers know him and respect him.”
Earnhardt Jr. made the Chase For The Sprint Cup in his first year at Hendrick but had a slow finish to last season and then struggled at the start of this year.
“I’ve seen it with Jimmie [Johnson], Jeff [Gordon], everybody that has ever driven for me – if you hit a streak there where you’re not as good as you want to be or you make a change and you’re trying to get adjusted, it’s just hard,” Hendrick said. “These cars … [are] hard to figure out. Then when you’ve got a lot of change going on, but I think a lot of things – him working out, the chemistry between he and Lance – we can see it getting better and better.
“The qualifying [second] here, the best car we had at Loudon [before a wreck]. I always want him to do better, but I’m really happy where we are.”
As far as Earnhardt Jr.’s former crew chief, Earnhardt Jr. had said he wanted Eury Jr. to move from his position at the Hendrick R&D department over to JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Hendrick and Earnhardt Jr.
“We’re talking about that,” Hendrick said. “We’ve got a lot of things working in and around that. I think it’s something that both of them want to see happen and I’m all for it, so we’re working in that direction right now.”
