Despite winning the last five-straight Sprint Cup championships, Rick Hendrick decided that it was time for a revolutionary change at Hendrick Motorsports.
Dale Earnhardt moves into the #24/#48 shop with crew chief, Steve Letarte while Jeff Gordon moves to #5/#88 shop with crew chief Alan Gustafson and Mark Martin will have Lance McGrew as his crew chief in 2011.
Hendrick described it as “probably one of the most radical moves I've made in racing, to do this many moves at one time.”
"After '09 being 1-2-3 in points, we made adjustments and we got complacent. Other teams got stronger and stronger," Hendrick added. Was the key Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?
Dale Jr. raced competitively, after joining the team, but, hasn’t won a race since June 2008 and finished 21st in the standings.
However, Hendrick explained “We did not make this major move because of Dale Jr. or his situation."
He said that Hendrick Motor Sports was, virtually, one team, which needed all around improvement.
“After the championship, we decided this move would make all four teams better. Everyone is pumped, excited.
Although there was a three-hour meeting, after the Texas crew team shift, where all concerned were asked to write a one-page summary of their situation. It came down to Mr. Hendrick making a decision at 2pm on Monday. In other words it was an executive decision, “It's not one of those things you can vote on. You have to pull the trigger," he said.
“When I looked at personalities of each team, crew chief and engineer, looked at drivers. I paired up people I thought would be better (together). Knowing the equipment is all the same, it's got to be about chemistry among the teams.”
The Earnhardt/McGrew situation wasn’t working and Hendrick admits that he “never had as much pressure to get another driver competitive as he's felt with Junior,” and will do what he can to fix it.
By giving him his Earnhardt his third crew chief, in three years, Hendrick hoped to kick start NASCAR’s most popular driver. “When your confidence is shaken, you get to the point where you need something to give you that feeling you can do it," he said.
As for Mark Martin, who will retire after the 2011 season Hendrick says that the popular driver will be no lame duck. “Mark's not getting the short end of the stick. He's gonna get all the stick he wants. And that comes from me.”
Lastly, in related development Hendrick said that he and Ray Evernham, Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief, and minority owner of RPM might find some non-full-time work back at HMS.
Dale Earnhardt moves into the #24/#48 shop with crew chief, Steve Letarte while Jeff Gordon moves to #5/#88 shop with crew chief Alan Gustafson and Mark Martin will have Lance McGrew as his crew chief in 2011.
Hendrick described it as “probably one of the most radical moves I've made in racing, to do this many moves at one time.”
"After '09 being 1-2-3 in points, we made adjustments and we got complacent. Other teams got stronger and stronger," Hendrick added. Was the key Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?
Dale Jr. raced competitively, after joining the team, but, hasn’t won a race since June 2008 and finished 21st in the standings.
However, Hendrick explained “We did not make this major move because of Dale Jr. or his situation."
He said that Hendrick Motor Sports was, virtually, one team, which needed all around improvement.
“After the championship, we decided this move would make all four teams better. Everyone is pumped, excited.
Although there was a three-hour meeting, after the Texas crew team shift, where all concerned were asked to write a one-page summary of their situation. It came down to Mr. Hendrick making a decision at 2pm on Monday. In other words it was an executive decision, “It's not one of those things you can vote on. You have to pull the trigger," he said.
“When I looked at personalities of each team, crew chief and engineer, looked at drivers. I paired up people I thought would be better (together). Knowing the equipment is all the same, it's got to be about chemistry among the teams.”
The Earnhardt/McGrew situation wasn’t working and Hendrick admits that he “never had as much pressure to get another driver competitive as he's felt with Junior,” and will do what he can to fix it.
By giving him his Earnhardt his third crew chief, in three years, Hendrick hoped to kick start NASCAR’s most popular driver. “When your confidence is shaken, you get to the point where you need something to give you that feeling you can do it," he said.
As for Mark Martin, who will retire after the 2011 season Hendrick says that the popular driver will be no lame duck. “Mark's not getting the short end of the stick. He's gonna get all the stick he wants. And that comes from me.”
Lastly, in related development Hendrick said that he and Ray Evernham, Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief, and minority owner of RPM might find some non-full-time work back at HMS.