(photo by Leon Hammack)
Hendrick Motorsports today announced that Lance McGrew will be the interim crew chief for the #88 AMP/National Guard Chevy beginning with the June 7th race at Pocono Raceway. Team manager Brian Whitesell will lead the team this weekend at Dover.
“Our performance hasn’t been where it should be,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It is impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point”. (HMS PR)
Both Brian Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick Motorsports lead chassis engineer, have been assigned to support McGrew on a full time basis. Whitesell won two of seven races in 1999 as Jeff Gordon’s interim crew chief, will join McGrew and team manager Tom Stewart on the #88 pit box this week.
Lance McGrew was Brian Vickers’ crew chief when they won the 2003 Nationwide Series title. He also was Vickers’ crew chief when Vickers logged his only Cup victory for HMS in the #5 Kelloggs Chevy at Talladega. McGrew also was Brad Keselowski’s crew chief when he won Talladega a few weeks ago in the #09 James Finch Chevy. As a crew chief, McGrew has logged victories in all three upper tier NASCAR series. He has won races with drivers Vickers, Ricky Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart.
As a side note, Tony Eury, Jr. will move into a key role in the Hendrick Motorsports research and development group.
What is your take on this development?
Will this be the needed fix for the #88’s lackluster season, or is there more to the puzzle than meets the eye?