Kevin Meendering will serve as the interim crew chief of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Kyle Larson for the next four races, the team announced Monday.
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Cliff Daniels, the full-time leader of the team, is set to begin serving a four-race suspension for a penalty dealt after the right-front wheel of Larson's car detached during the June 12 event at Sonoma Raceway. The infraction falls against Section 10.5.2.6 of the NASCAR Rule Book: "Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle."
Meendering will head the crew for the upcoming races at Nashville Superspeedway, Road America, Atlanta Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Meendering has 21 starts as a Cup crew chief for Hendrick along with three wins, 39 top fives and 77 top 10s in 98 Xfinity Series starts. Currently leading Hendrick's three-race return to the Xfinity Series, Meendering also led Elliott Sadler to the regular-season Xfinity championship in 2017 to accompany top-five points finishes in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Meendering and Larson will both pull double duty at Road America, where both will compete in the Xfinity Series together on July 2.
Larson, the defending Cup champion, won the inaugural Cup race at Nashville in 2021.