Unique pairing of William Byron, Darian Grubb eager to team up in 2018

RELATED: Hendrick sets 2018 crew chief lineup | Full schedule for Texas Spend even five minutes speaking with young NASCAR star William Byron or his newly-named 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Darian Grubb and it's difficult to tell who thinks he got the better deal. Grubb, 42, was formally introduced Wednesday to lead Byron's Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet team next season, pairing the champion crew chief with a 19-year old rookie whom many expect to be hoisting his own Monster Energy Series trophy very soon. "Just knowing I've got William Byron coming in next year with the talent he has -- even though he's going to be a rookie in the Cup series -- watching him run for the championship in XFINITY and watching him in the past with the Truck Series ... It's pretty exciting to see that future of the sport coming into the organization and being able to be a big part of that and helping build that 24 team," Grubb said. "It's going to be a lot of fun." MORE: Gordon says Byron will represent No. 24 well Grubb knows what the combination of fun and success can mean. He worked as lead engineer for Jimmie Johnson's Cup team from 2003-2006 and guided Johnson to the 2006 Daytona 500 win while filling in for then-suspended crew chief Chad Knaus. The victory laid the groundwork for the now seven-time champ's first Monster Energy Series title in 2006. And Grubb remained at Hendrick until 2008 -- claiming another race victory with driver Casey Mears in 2007. From there the well-liked, highly respected Grubb joined Stewart-Haas Racing and led Tony Stewart to the 2011 Monster Energy Series title by virtue of five wins in the final 10 races of the season. He moved to Joe Gibbs Racing from 2012-15, leading the team to nine wins working with drivers Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards. Grubb has assumed the playoff-time crew chief duties for Hendrick's No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Kasey Kahne and while Kahne was eliminated from title hopes after the first round, he has steadily improved in the points standings under Grubb's leadership. Serving as crew chief for a Hendrick team running for the title next year is a sort of full-circle move for Grubbs. And his new driver is genuinely and understandably excited about what the future may hold. RELATED: Darian Grubb's NASCAR crew chief stats "It means a lot for me," Byron said late Wednesday afternoon. "I think having a veteran guy on the pit box is good for me. He certainly has a lot of expertise winning races at the Cup level, and I really can't wait to get started with him." Byron is currently contending for the XFINITY Series title. He's second in the championship standings entering Saturday night's race at Texas Motor Speedway -- only two points behind JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier. | XFINITY Playoffs standings He will make his first career Cup start in the 2018 Daytona 500 -- a markedly different set of circumstances for Grubb, who previously has worked with more experienced drivers. But both crew chief and driver are not only eager for this new opportunity, but also have very high hopes for immediate returns. "Really looking forward to the difference with a rookie coming in," Grubb said. "The whole sport is changing with the way technology is developing and William's been brought up in that technology generation, using the simulator and all the things and tools behind the scenes. He has that background knowledge that a lot of the older veterans did not. That's exciting to me because that's the trend of what we're doing at the race track now more and more, the simulation and the engineering. So much of what we do depends on that technology. "He'll have a few of the 'learning experiences' as we get on the race track, but just watching him perform so far, I don't think he's lacking for much. "He's definitely a very quick learner and a student of the game. He loves it, he lives it, his fitness program and all the things he needs to do for the longer races has been incredible. I'm really looking forward to going out and watching him perform." And that goes both ways. "He's definitely a great mind with a lot to bring to the table," Byron said. "I can't wait to get over there and work with those guys. I talked to him a little bit and it seems like he's excited to get back to doing it and we'll have a lot of great resources there." RELATED: See Byron's No. 24 ride for 2018