In-depth look at men calling the shots for title contenders
RELATED: Crew chiefs aim to keep it the same | Learn more about Newman's pit crew
MORE: Follow your picks in the Chase Battle Grid Presented by Toyota
Where did these four guys come from? What have they done in the past?
A glance at the crew chiefs who will try to guide their respective teams to their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
RODNEY CHILDERS
Age: 38 | Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Career crew chief wins: 7
Chase appearances: 1
Championships: 0
First premier series win as crew chief: 2009 Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway, with driver David Reutimann (Michael Waltrip Racing No. 00 Toyota)
Previous NASCAR racing experience
• 2003: Mechanic, Penske-Jasper Racing No. 77 Dodge in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with driver Dave Blaney
• 2004: Car chief, Penske-Jasper Racing No. 77 Dodge with driver Brendan Gaughan
• 2005: Replaced Doug Randolph after 14 races as crew chief of the MB2 Motorsports No. 10 Chevrolet with driver Scott Riggs
• 2006: Crew chief for Riggs, MB2 Motorsports; finished 20th in points
• 2007: Crew chief for Riggs, Patrick Carpentier and Elliott Sadler (MB2 Motorsports No. 10 Dodge)
• 2008: Crew chief for Elliott Sadler (35 of 36 races) and Gillett Evernham Motorsports No. 19 Dodge; 24th-place points finish
• 2009: Began three-year tenure as crew chief for driver David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip Racing No. 00 Toyota; 16th-place points finish, which was best of relationship.
• 2012: Crew chief for No. 55 MWR Toyota with drivers Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip
• 2013: Crew chief for No. 55 MWR Toyota with drivers Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip
TODD GORDON
Age: 45 | Hometown: Camden, New York
Team: Team Penske No. 22 Ford
Driver: Joey Logano
Career crew chief wins: 6
Chase appearances: 2
Championships: 0
First premier series win as crew chief: 2013 Pure Michigan 400, Michigan International Speedway with driver Joey Logano (Team Penske No. 22 Ford)
Previous NASCAR racing experience
• 2000-02: Fabricator, mechanic and race engineer with Joe Gibbs Racing
• 2002: Joined ppc Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series
• 2005: Named crew chief of ppc Racing No. 10 Ford with drivers Michel Jourdain and Brent Sherman
• 2006: Crew chief for Jourdain, Todd Kluever, Kenny Wallace at ppc
• 2007: Crew chief and general manager for CJM Racing and No. 10 Chevrolet with driver Jason Keller, Kyle Krisiloff, Marc Mitchell
• 2008: Eleventh in points with Keller through 28 races before departing to join Baker Curb Racing; three races with Scott Lagasse as driver
• 2009: Crew chief for Keller at Baker Curb Racing in No. 27 Ford; eighth-place points finish
• 2010: Race engineer Diamond-Waltrip Racing
• 2011: Scored six wins (five with Brad Keselowski, one with Kurt Busch) as crew chief of Team Penske’s No. 22 NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford
• 2012: Named crew chief of the Team Penske No. 22 Ford with driver AJ Allmendinger (subsequently replaced by Sam Hornish Jr. after 17 races) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
• 2013: Guided Joey Logano to one win, eighth-place points finish in Chase for the Sprint Cup
DARIAN GRUBB
Age: 39 | Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Career crew chief wins: 21
Chase appearances: 5
Championships: 1
First premier series win as crew chief: 2006 Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway with driver Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet)
Previous NASCAR racing experience
• 2006: Won twice in interim crew chief role for Hendrick Motorsports with driver Jimmie Johnson, including Daytona 500
• 2007: Won Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Hendrick Motorsports and driver Casey Mears; 15th-place points finish
• 2009: Moved to Stewart-Haas Racing to become crew chief for Tony Stewart and No. 14 SHR team. Won four points races, as well as Sprint-All Star race; sixth-place points finish
• 2010: Two wins with Stewart at SHR; seventh-place points finish
• 2011: Won five times, all in the Chase, with Stewart at SHR en route to series title after learning he would not be retained for 2012
• 2011: Named crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 team and driver Denny Hamlin on Dec. 9
• 2012: Guided Hamlin to five wins and sixth-place points finish
• 2013: One win with Hamlin, who missed four races due to injury; 23rd-place points finish
Note: Grubb was fined $125,000, suspended by NASCAR for six races and placed on six months probation earlier this season for a rules violation at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
LUKE LAMBERT
Age: 32 | Hometown: Mount Airy, North Carolina
Team: Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet
Driver: Ryan Newman
Career crew chief wins: 0
Chase appearances: 1
Championships: 0
First premier series win as crew chief: None
Previous NASCAR racing experience
• 2005-08: Junior engineer at Richard Childress Racing
• 2008-11: Lead engineer, Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet
• 2011: Replaced Todd Berrier as crew chief of Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet with driver Jeff Burton for final 17 races of season; 20th-place points finish
• 2012: Crew chief of Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet in NASCAR Nationwide Series and driver Elliott Sadler; led Sadler to four wins and second-place points finish.
• 2013: Returned to Sprint Cup Series as crew chief of Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet with driver Jeff Burton; 20th-place points finish
Note: Lambert and Newman are one of two first-year driver/crew chief pairings contending for the championship, along with Childers/Harvick.
MORE:
READ: Latest
|
PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks
|
WATCH: Latest
|
FOLLOW LIVE: Get
|
|---|