New crew chiefs can enter an intimidating situation

DOVER, Del. -- The Coca-Cola 600 was a disaster, and they came to Dover International Speedway a distant 19th in points. Having seen enough, the car owner made a crew chief change in an effort to reverse the fortunes of his high-profile, big-sponsor, championship-caliber program.

Familiar face

He may not be a household name (yet), but Lance McGrew is well-known and respected around the Cup Series garage.

• More

Related Video

• Sound Off: Lance McGrew
• Sound Off: Brian Whitesell
• Video: Drivers thoughts
• Audio: Dallenbach weighs in

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2009? Try Greg Biffle in 2007. Not NASCAR's most popular driver, of course, but still a competitor expected to win races and contend for titles, and still someone from whom mediocrity is judged to be unacceptable. But two years ago, mediocre was exactly what the No. 16 team was. And into this environment walked Greg Erwin, a new crew chief hired by Jack Roush away from Robby Gordon's organization, and almost single-handedly tasked with turning Biffle's lackluster season around.

"It was a bit of an uneasy feeling," Erwin recalled this week at Dover, where he first joined the No. 16 team two years ago. "The biggest part of it was just knowing what a history there was here with Greg -- and I can go further and say Matt [Kenseth] and Carl [Edwards], and all the success those guys have had -- so you knew the tools were there. You knew the tools were in the building to get the job done. Finding the tools was kind of the hard part."

When car owners make a crew chief change, the replacements come from a variety of different areas. Some, like Erwin, come from another team. Some, like Steve Letarte, who succeeded Robbie Loomis on Jeff Gordon's pit box late in the 2005 season, come from inside the same program. And some, like Lance McGrew, who will replace the reassigned Tony Eury Jr. as Earnhardt's crew chief on an interim basis beginning next weekend at Pocono Raceway, come from elsewhere within the wider organization. But regardless of their origination point, they all have one thing in common: pressure.

Everyone involved with a struggling program is looking to the new guy to create change, to lift spirits, to make a difference -- sometimes, immediately. In that vein, McGrew's situation next week is no different than Erwin's two years ago or Letarte's in 2005. They're the designated savior. Everyone is looking to them to turn things around. If it doesn't happen, then the car owner will likely go through the same process, and find someone else to walk into the same intimidating, uncompromising situation.

"Without a doubt, when you take over for a driver or any team that is successful and has a great resume, you know what you have coming in," Letarte said. "You know you're the new guy, and you're going to be under the microscope more than the team or the driver. There's a lot of pressure there." (Continued)