A prepared Darian Grubb returns after six-race suspension
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CHICAGO — Crew chief Darian Grubb, exiled for six weeks for an infraction at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, returns to the pit box this weekend just as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup gets underway.
“It’s good to have him back, obviously,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, said Thursday during media day in downtown Chicago. “He’s been working more hours since he’s been away from the track than he has when he comes on the road.”
Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill were suspended for ductwork inside the car that wasn’t sealed as required by NASCAR. Grubb was fined $125,000, Hamlin was docked 75 driver points and the crew chief and car chief were also placed on probation for six months.
In Grubb’s absence, engineer Mike Wheeler was named interim crew chief.
The points loss failed to keep Hamlin out of this year’s Chase, a 10-race battle that kicks off with Sunday’s MyAFibstory.com 400 (ESPN, 2 p.m. ET).
“He says he’s learned how races play out by watching live data, he’s able to have papers all around him of strategies and stuff he can use for races that are coming up,” Hamlin said of Grubb, who won the 2011 Sprint Cup title with driver Tony Stewart.
“I think he’s been able to analyze everything he could and spend more time doing that. Hopefully it all pays off with the right call at the end of the race that nobody else thought of.”
Under Wheeler’s guidance, Hamlin has posted three top-10s, including a third-place finish at Atlanta. He finished 21st or worse in the other three races. With one win to his credit, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Hamlin enters this year’s Chase ninth in points.
“My communication with ‘Wheels’ over the last six weeks has been really good,” said Hamlin. “I think he did an amazing job. We really didn’t miss a beat if you look at our performance.
“He’s still going to be that voice … it’s not like he’s going anywhere. He’ll still be a part of our race team. We’ve just got that extra championship crew chief now that we’re adding in the mix.”
A winner of 24 Sprint Cup races, Hamlin nearly won it all in 2010, entering the final race with a 15-point advantage on rival Jimmie Johnson. But early issues ultimately led to a 14th-place finish, and he limped out of Homestead-Miami Speedway 39 points down to the series champion.
“We’ve won regular-season races before and been the favorites and not won (the title) over these last few years,” Hamlin, 33, said. “We have a little bit different approach this year and, not that we didn’t want to perform better, but we’re trying to time this thing correctly and hopefully we have.”
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