Kenseth's interim chief not changing a thing

Who is the guy that Jack Roush named earlier this week to replace suspended crew chief Robbie Reiser as the overseer of Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford?

Chip Bolin, a graduate of Clemson University with a mechanical engineering degree, has been the team engineer on Kenseth's cars since 1999, when Kenseth made his first five starts for Roush prior to moving from the Busch Series into full-time Cup competition in 2000.

Q: Where on your radar screen was the goal of being a Nextel Cup crew chief as the 2007 season began?

Bolin: Nowhere. I enjoy working on the cars, and the designing, modifying and tweaking side of the car deal. I'm not real good at the people planning and stuff like that.

Q: What would you say is the most important thing about your educational background that helps you in the role you have with the team?

Bolin: Well, I guess with an engineering degree you're able to put numbers to what Matt tries to describe whenever he's in the car. When you're setting up the car or making changes you can quantify what he's trying to tell you so you can make better judgments.

Q: What is your goal when you get through the race in Atlanta, which is the point that Robbie Reiser will be free to come back to the racetrack with the team?

Bolin: The goal for the Dewalt team is going to be to have four wins by the time Robbie gets back.

Q: What would you say is one thing that people don't particularly know about Robbie that you especially respect?

Bolin: Robbie's got a personality that enables him to appeal to everyone, in that he makes everyone feel important. That's probably the key to how our team functions, is that everybody is equal, as far as he's concerned.

Q: It's only been four days, but you have had the opportunity to work one race, your Gatorade Duel -- so has there been anything that's surprised you in serving as the team's crew chief?

Bolin: No, not really. I mean, this group's been together since 1999 -- Matt, Robbie and myself. So we pretty much know what has to happen and how it has to happen, so as long as we all do our jobs it'll be fine.