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Sprint Cup
CUP: Grubb Hamlin’s New Crew Chief
Darian Grubb will move to Joe Gibbs Racing to become Denny Hamlin’s crew chief...
Darian Grubb was let go from his post as Tony Stewart's crew chief at the end of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. (Photo: Getty Images)
As expected, Darian Grubb’s unemployment didn’t last very long.
Grubb, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup championship crew chief, was confirmed as the new crew chief for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, the team announced this morning. Mike Ford, who was Hamlin’s crew chief for his entire Cup career up until now, was fired Tuesday.
Midway through the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Grubb was told he would not return for a fourth season with Stewart-Haas Racing, where he had been Tony Stewart’s crew chief. Yet he stayed focused and helped lead Stewart to a remarkable championship run that saw the team win five Chase races, including three of the final four in one of NASCAR’s most exciting seasons ever.
Last week in Las Vegas, Grubb was feted as the Sprint Cup champion crew chief and admitted that it was awkward accepting the trophy after being fired. But he lauded his SHR crew for keeping after it and getting the job done despite difficult circumstances.
“The team is incredible,” said Grubb, who led Stewart to spots in the Chase in all three seasons at SHR. “Even after we knew what was going to happen in my situation, all the guys rallied around with the same goal. We all felt like we could win this championship, regardless of what happened. And we wanted to go out there and fight all the way until the end. That’s what it took and I’m glad nobody gave up. Every single point mattered.
“But that’s what it’s all about,” said Grubb, a winner of 14 races as a Cup crew chief. “That’s what we’re all here for. We wanted to beat everybody at the top of their game, and luckily, we were able to accomplish that.”
Over at JGR, Grubb is walking into what can best be described as a high-risk, high-reward situation.
In six full seasons at JGR, Hamlin has 17 career race victories. But after coming up just short to Jimmie Johnson in the 2010 title hunt, Hamlin slumped badly in the just-completed season. He admitted he lost confidence in himself and the team and was seeing a sports psychologist to bolster his self-esteem.
And, he and Ford were at odds over technical issues.
“A lot of the things that I feel like we need to work on are car builds — the way we build our cars,” Hamlin said at Martinsville in October. “So, that’s going to take a long time. And I’m not going to expect things to happen this week, next week. ... Still definitely not where we need to be. It’s going to take time. Things we need to change are long term things, they’re not stuff that we can fix right now.”
For his part, Ford admitted he was stubborn about making changes.
“I went into the (2011) year with a ‘no compromise’ attitude and that ruffled feathers throughout the shop,” Ford told SceneDaily.com earlier this week. “I knew that the end result from the year prior was from compromise and I was just hard core on making sure those things didn’t happen. It was kind of a single-man battle and eventually you just wear down and you’re not productive.”
JGR’s other two teams have some issues, as well.
Kyle Busch melted down famously in Texas, with the final repercussions of that still to be seen, while Joey Logano had a hugely disappointing season and may lose crew chief Greg Zipadelli, who could move to Stewart-Haas Racing as competition director.
So it should be an interesting 2012 season for Grubb, Hamlin and the whole organization.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
Grubb, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup championship crew chief, was confirmed as the new crew chief for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, the team announced this morning. Mike Ford, who was Hamlin’s crew chief for his entire Cup career up until now, was fired Tuesday.
Midway through the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Grubb was told he would not return for a fourth season with Stewart-Haas Racing, where he had been Tony Stewart’s crew chief. Yet he stayed focused and helped lead Stewart to a remarkable championship run that saw the team win five Chase races, including three of the final four in one of NASCAR’s most exciting seasons ever.
Last week in Las Vegas, Grubb was feted as the Sprint Cup champion crew chief and admitted that it was awkward accepting the trophy after being fired. But he lauded his SHR crew for keeping after it and getting the job done despite difficult circumstances.
“The team is incredible,” said Grubb, who led Stewart to spots in the Chase in all three seasons at SHR. “Even after we knew what was going to happen in my situation, all the guys rallied around with the same goal. We all felt like we could win this championship, regardless of what happened. And we wanted to go out there and fight all the way until the end. That’s what it took and I’m glad nobody gave up. Every single point mattered.
“But that’s what it’s all about,” said Grubb, a winner of 14 races as a Cup crew chief. “That’s what we’re all here for. We wanted to beat everybody at the top of their game, and luckily, we were able to accomplish that.”
Over at JGR, Grubb is walking into what can best be described as a high-risk, high-reward situation.
In six full seasons at JGR, Hamlin has 17 career race victories. But after coming up just short to Jimmie Johnson in the 2010 title hunt, Hamlin slumped badly in the just-completed season. He admitted he lost confidence in himself and the team and was seeing a sports psychologist to bolster his self-esteem.
And, he and Ford were at odds over technical issues.
“A lot of the things that I feel like we need to work on are car builds — the way we build our cars,” Hamlin said at Martinsville in October. “So, that’s going to take a long time. And I’m not going to expect things to happen this week, next week. ... Still definitely not where we need to be. It’s going to take time. Things we need to change are long term things, they’re not stuff that we can fix right now.”
For his part, Ford admitted he was stubborn about making changes.
“I went into the (2011) year with a ‘no compromise’ attitude and that ruffled feathers throughout the shop,” Ford told SceneDaily.com earlier this week. “I knew that the end result from the year prior was from compromise and I was just hard core on making sure those things didn’t happen. It was kind of a single-man battle and eventually you just wear down and you’re not productive.”
JGR’s other two teams have some issues, as well.
Kyle Busch melted down famously in Texas, with the final repercussions of that still to be seen, while Joey Logano had a hugely disappointing season and may lose crew chief Greg Zipadelli, who could move to Stewart-Haas Racing as competition director.
So it should be an interesting 2012 season for Grubb, Hamlin and the whole organization.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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