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Panel of experts debates the hot topics in NASCAR

1. Now that the season has been completed, what do you think? What stands out about 2014?

Alan Cavanna: The Chase and everything surrounding the Chase. It worked out better than expected and I think it’s sent the sport in a good direction.

Kenny Bruce: It’s definitely a long list, some good and some not-so-good. Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning the Daytona 500, Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger winning for the first time and making the Chase, the excitement of the new format and the intensity that it generated. You had must-win situations for Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick, and they came through. The whole situation surrounding Tony Stewart late in the season will be memorable for all the wrong reasons, unfortunately. But it’s become a part of what the ’14 season was all about.

Zack Albert: So many storylines to choose from and not just with the new-look Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Five guys — and there for a while, a sixth — rose to fantastic heights: Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all either enjoyed resurgences or breakout years. The sixth slight nod goes to Jimmie Johnson, who was hot as a firecracker heading into the summer, but wasn’t quite up to his usual Chase standards.

Cavanna: As a storyteller, I loved the emergence of Brad K. as the "black hat" to some. The only way to really earn that is through great performances. Fans love having someone to hate, and Brad gave them plenty of wins to hate on.

Bruce: The more you think about it, the more things slide back into focus, Zack. The Johnson hot streak you mentioned, the post-race altercations at Charlotte and Texas that Alan alluded to. And we haven’t even touched Nationwide or Trucks, which had incredible moments as well. A rookie wins the NNS title? The first back-to-back champ in the Truck Series?

Albert: I distinctly remember sitting in the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center watching Ryan Blaney and German Quiroga duke it out on the final lap of the trucks’ visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The whole room stopped what they were doing to watch. Between that and the whole aura of Eldora for the second straight year, many great Truck Series memories.

Cavanna: I really believe people will be talking about this first Chase, and first championship race, for a long, long time. To have three contenders with three laps to go still racing for a title was unreal.

Bruce: Safe to say the season gave us plenty to talk about. But you’re probably correct Alan. When it was all over, the new format and the final race seemed to stand above the rest.

Albert: Very true. It all played out with a great finish and all four drivers putting in a championship-worthy performance. And whether you love the new Chase or are one of its critics, the bottom line is: Was the racing good? At Homestead and many other tracks week-in and week-out, the answer was yes.

Bruce: Now the question is how do they top that, Zack?

Albert: Always room for an encore, methinks.

2. Kevin Harvick semi-joked that the Chase format could shorten his career because of the intensity it generated. OK, maybe or maybe not. But will the format adversely impact opportunities for a team to win multiple titles? Will we see more guys in the hunt or domination by those who figure out the best approach?

Expect Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus to be better in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup next year, now that they have one year of experience under the format.

Cavanna: It’s so hard to say because we’re dealing with such a small sample size. We all made predictions before knowing how this Chase would work, and we were generally all wrong.

Bruce: Generally? How about specifically, Alan? I think I had four different winners in four different Chase brackets and "might" have picked Harvick in one of them.

Cavanna: In the end, the most dominant car won. But we also saw how it all came down to one race, and really the final pit stop. That could easily swing a championship, and prevent repeat titles.

Albert: The degree of difficulty certainly went up in 2014. But you also have to have the common denominator of performance, year over year, to form a dynasty. Does Harvick have a repeat in him? Absolutely, but some of the new format’s nuances can make it tough sledding. It will be interesting to see how teams learn from this first go-round and what the strategies will be for the next Chase episode.

Bruce: Listening to post-race comments, Zack, I think you’re right. We didn’t know what to expect and neither did the teams. I imagine they’re already determining what they could have or should have done differently for next year.

Albert: Let’s hope they can enjoy a little bit of offseason down time before they start number crunching on Chase scenarios.

Cavanna: With one Chase to study, I can easily see the No. 48 team planning its strategy for next year. I think teams will take a different approach to ensuring their spot in the final four.

Bruce: As far as whether the format favors someone dominating in terms of winning titles, I doubt it. With the elimination races in place, we saw what can happen to even those that were perceived to be the "best" teams. Still, anyone not figuring on Harvick being an early-season favorite should turn in his or her hard card.

Cavanna: Once teams "figure it out," I think we could see some teams get good at it.

Bruce: Given the format, do we see more "Mark Martin" scenarios? Great drivers who never win a title?

Cavanna: That’s very possible, Kenny. I feel like every year we’ll have a driver who has a Logano-like year, but then just miss it in Homestead.

Albert: Not to mention making room for an underdog, a la Newman, in the Championship 4.

Bruce: I guess it’s a glass half-full or half-empty scenario. Maybe more guys having great seasons that don’t win a title, or perhaps the opportunity for more drivers to win it.

Albert: Alan’s still waiting on his opportunity in a third Penske car. Talk about your Chase bracket buster …

Cavanna: My pit crew is stellar! Put me in the race, Captain!

3. OK, we know how 2014 shook out. What’s the outlook for 2015? And by the way, the Daytona 500 is less than 100 days away.

Our experts think Kyle Larson makes the postseason next year — and he may even be a title contender.

Albert: Wow. Let me dust off my dart set and start throwing.

Bruce: Daytona’s rising. That much we know. As for anything else? Lawn Darts, Zack. Go big or go home.

Cavanna: The emergence of Kyle Larson will be fun to watch. As long as his team continues to improve, I think he’s a lock for the Chase, and a deep run.

Albert: A very safe bet that he’ll visit Victory Lane on the Sprint Cup side in 2015, probably more than once.

Bruce: At least he still has his crew chief, which is more than his teammate can say.

Cavanna: I also think some drivers will look at Larson’s 2014 season and be even more motivated to get that win. Remember, if Larson had just one regular-season win, it could’ve been him taking a title in Homestead. No driver will want to be saying "what if" after having a great Chase but not being in it.

Bruce: Actually, I think the crew chief movement will play a bigger role in ’15. A lot of guys on the box seem to be on the move — McMurray and Earnhardt Jr. will have new guys in place, we’re still waiting to see what unfolds over at Joe Gibbs Racing. Kahne and Kenny Francis are no longer together. Maybe the season-opening question should be, can change top the tried-and-true?

Cavanna: Kenseth switched teams and won seven races (in ’13); Harvick switched and won a championship. What’s next for Carl Edwards?

Albert: Plenty of movement, even though this silly season seems to be sprinkled with less hilarity. I’ll be very interested to see if Team Penske can keep it up after a banner season, and how Hendrick Motorsports regroups after going 0-for-4 on title-eligible drivers at Homestead last weekend. Will also be watching to see if Chase Elliott takes those first steps into Sprint Cup, as hinted.

Cavanna: We haven’t even mentioned the 2015 rules package. The no-ride height made for a big change this season. Next year will be another adjustment, hopefully for the better.

Bruce: If that’s the case, Alan, then we should probably play close attention to next month’s anticipated test at Charlotte. I seem to recall one team being ahead of everyone at that point a year ago … and look where they ended up.

Albert: Who knew that simulated races in December would mean so much?

Cavanna: I’m filling out my Chase bracket based on next month’s test.

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Between on-track success and off-track prosperity, Sunoco Rookie of the Year in a great place

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In putting together one of the most dramatic and impressive Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year seasons in recent memory, 22-year old Kyle Larson recognizes there are plenty of options for defining moments and highlight reels.

For some, it will be his last lap tangle with Ryan Newman in the next to last race of the season, which set the championship contender field.

Needing one more position on track, Newman pulled his Chevy alongside Larson’s and sent the rookie into the wall derailing an 18th top-10 run, while the veteran Newman crossed the finish line in precisely the place he needed to advance to the Chase Championship Round.

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"I didn’t know 100 percent if he needed that spot that I was in,” Larson said between practices at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend.

"I got loose off (Turn) 2 and they said he had a run and I thought well, he might try something crazy, so I left him a lane and I don’t know if I should have done that and he was able to get to me and hit me.

"Anybody would have been upset, but I got over it pretty quick because I knew what was at stake. That was a very important spot for him to get."

What Larson himself considers his defining moment may surprise. It’s not the blazing runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway in his native California in March — only five races into the schedule. And it’s not even his runner-up showings in New Hampshire and Kansas during the Chase.

"The best feeling I had this year was probably when I finished fourth at Watkins Glen, (New York)," Larson said, taking a moment to mentally rewind and really think through the question.

"I didn’t grow up racing on road courses and I struggled really bad the whole practice and qualifying that weekend. So then to end up fourth, which was way, way better than I thought I was going to be — I was super pumped up about that."

The fact that Larson had so many good performances in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet to choose from is not lost on the young talent. Neither is the fact that few picked him to win the 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year title before the season started.

The Elk Grove, California native didn’t come from a racing pedigree, nor had he won a NASCAR development series title. Larson earned his seat showing natural talent and the can’t-miss potential that have made him one of NASCAR’s biggest young stars in only one full season in the Cup ranks.

Like his racing heroes Gordon and Tony Stewart, he came up through the open-wheel ranks of sprint cars and midgets. Team owner Chip Ganassi signed the NASCAR Drive for Diversity grad and Larson realized this was his big opportunity to make it in stock cars.

He delivered with two pole positions, three runner-up finishes among his eight top-five showings and his 17 top-10s was more than eight of the 16 Chase drivers.

"Really to start the year everyone thought I was going to fail,” Larson said. "At least three-quarters of the people sitting in the media center probably did. Then I think they realized after the first handful of races that our team was capable of running well and the bar got raised and raised more throughout the year.

"My expectations going into the start of the season were top-15 every week would be great and that quickly turned into wanting top-10s every week and lately top-fives and wins are the goal."

And he’s not the only one who expects great things of the No. 42 team. And expects them soon. The opinion shifting began early and earnestly. The bar has only risen.

"I feel we could win every week,” Larson said with a big grin. "I think (teammate) Jamie (McMurray) feels the same way, all our guys feel that way and Chip definitely feels that way, so his expectations are a lot higher.

"That’s good though. It’s nice coming to the race track every week and knowing your car is going to be fast. In years past, this team maybe hasn’t felt like that every week, but now they’re in a good spot and I’m definitely glad I got in here when I did."

Larson continued, "The best thing to happen to me is being with a really good team that’s excited to have a new driver.

"I think we’re capable enough with more experience and good tracks at the beginning of the year that I’d like to get a win early in the season and know you’re going to be in the Chase. … and then you don’t have to stress out every other race."

Before he suits back up, however, Larson’s amazing year will get even better.

He and longtime girlfriend Katelyn Sweet are expecting their first child in late December, a son they will name Owen Miyata — the middle name a nod to Larson’s Japanese roots. Miyata is Larson’s mom Janet’s maiden name and giving it to Owen ensures it will carry on in the family.

"As much as I’ve had a blast racing, I can’t wait for the offseason for all the exciting things coming, the baby, the new house — we just finally stayed in it one night this week,” Larson said, clearly enjoying the anticipation.

"There’s been a ton that’s happened and it’s all been great stuff. I’ve had great years results-wise, but the baby, the house, first year in Cup probably never been a year as exciting as this.”

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DRIVE4COPD, NASCAR join forces to increase awareness, get fans screened

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR announced today on World COPD Day that it is joining the fight to help NASCAR fans with COPD breathe easier.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a life threatening lung disease, is the fourth leading cause of death globally and affects more than 300 million individuals worldwide. Within the United States, COPD ranks as the third leading cause of death, with more than 24 million Americans affected and approximately half that number remaining undiagnosed. However, a simple, painless breathing test, called spirometry, can determine whether or not a person has COPD.

"DRIVE4COPD’s goal to create awareness about COPD is critical to NASCAR as many of our fans, like all Americans, may be affected by it," said Jim O’Connell, NASCAR chief sales officer. "Today, on World COPD Day, we want our fans to learn more about this debilitating disease and encourage them to get screened."

DRIVE4COPD has been the Official Health Initiative of NASCAR since 2010 and has been responsible for screening nearly three million NASCAR fans.

NASCAR and DRIVE4COPD are embarking on activities this month to help generate awareness and encourage fans to get screened, including:

• NASCAR Plaza in Charlotte will be lit orange throughout the remainder of the month

• SiriusXM will run PSAs encouraging fans to be screened

• NASCAR will recognize World COPD Day across its digital platforms

• DRIVE4COPD to host sweepstakes with NASCAR-themed prizing

"DRIVE4COPD is proud to partner with NASCAR in the fight against COPD," said John W. Walsh, president and co-founder of the COPD Foundation. "We’re pleased with the support of NASCAR in our mission to prevent and cure COPD, which affects many Americans and their families."

World COPD Day is an annual global event that aims to raise awareness of COPD. World COPD Day 2014 takes place around the theme "It’s not too late." This positive message was chosen to emphasize the meaningful actions people can take to improve their respiratory health, at any stage, before or after a COPD diagnosis.

DRIVE4COPD is a public health initiative that aims to help people identify symptoms of COPD and take action by utilizing public health screenings offered by the nonprofit group. For more information about the COPD Foundation and DRIVE4COPD, please visit www.drive4copd.org.

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Man behind Jeff Gordon’s T-Rex car leaves Hendrick after 18 years

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Stewart-Haas Racing announced Wednesday that it has hired veteran engineer Rex Stump as its technical director.

The move ends Stump’s 18-year tenure with Hendrick Motorsports, where he served as an engineering manager and a chassis specialist and was the founder of the team’s research and development department. It’s the second straight high-profile move for Stewart-Haas in as many days; Tuesday, the group appointed Matt Borland as vice president of technology for the company’s NASCAR operations and Formula One development.

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During Stump’s time with the team, Hendrick drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson won multiple championships at NASCAR’s highest level and Tony Stewart drove a Hendrick-produced chassis to the 2011 title. Now Stump joins the reigning Sprint Cup champions after Kevin Harvick‘s victory last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"Hendrick Motorsports provided me a lot of opportunities to succeed and I wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for Rick Hendrick, Ray Evernham and all the talented people I’ve worked with the last 18 years," Stump said in a release provided by the team. "I’m proud of my time there, but I’m looking forward to my new role at Stewart-Haas. This is a team that’s accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. There’s a championship to defend and races to win. I’m ready to go."

Harvick won five Sprint Cup races in 2014, but the team’s other drivers — driver/co-owner Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick — combined for just one. The team also underwent a crew chief swap for Busch and Patrick ahead of the season’s final three races in hopes of boosting performance.

Stump, who first started working in NASCAR in 1991, was already loosely affiliated with Stewart-Haas, through the team’s technical alliance with Hendrick. Wednesday’s move brings him even closer.

"Rex brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and innovation to Stewart-Haas Racing," said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition, Stewart-Haas Racing. "You can never sit still in this business, and Rex’s record of success will help us stay ahead of the curve."

While Stump’s name has been linked to plenty of championship-winning cars, one of his most noteworthy engineering feats was the "T-Rex" Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Gordon drove to a dominant victory in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in 1997. The chassis was so technologically and aerodynamically advanced that NASCAR asked that it not return to the race track, even though it appeared to conform to every rule.

The No. 24 car took its nickname from the Jurassic Park movie sponsorship and its dinosaur paint scheme, but it gave a nod to the chassis builder’s name as well.

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From moving to SHR to hoisting the 2014 Sprint Cup trophy above his head

Nov. 16: Harvick wins Sprint Cup championship

In his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick delivered a title and he did it in the fashion that became expected of the No. 4 team: smart pit decisions, pure speed and a whole lot of talent behind the wheel. | Read more

Nov. 9: Harvick wins at Phoenix, clinches spot in championship race

In what was possibly one the most crucial races of the 2014 season, Harvick proved that he knew how to dominate the desert track and wrote his ticket to the final four round of the Chase. | Read more

Nov. 2: Post-race brawl between Keselowski, Gordon and Harvick

Although Harvick wasn’t the one throwing punches in the massive brawl at Texas Motor Speedway, he did spark it with a slight shove to Keselowski. Relive the dramatic ending to the Eliminator Round of the Chase as emotions get the most of drivers. | Read more

Oct. 26: Harvick: Kenseth ‘won’t win this championship’

Either Harvick can see the future or he was just that confident in his driving. After contact with Matt Kenseth at Martinsville sent the No. 4 to the garage and in a must-win situation at Phoenix two weeks later, Harvick spoke up about his feelings for the No. 20 JGR driver. | Read more

Oct. 11: Harvick wins Charlotte night race with restart

After six winless months, Harvick’s Charlotte win secured him a spot in the Eliminator Round of the Chase and proved to the rest of the field that he’s a force to be reckoned with. | Read more

Sept. 9: Harvick, Stewart swap pit crews

Although Harvick had speed on the track, it was his pit crew that needed some work. Just before the first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, SHR announced that the No. 4 and No. 14 crews were going to switch. | Read more

April 12: Harvick wins thrilling Southern 500 at Darlington

Harvick passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap of the second attempt at a green-white-checkered flag finish of the Southern 500 to become the first two-time winner of the season. | Read more

March 2: Kevin Harvick dominates in Phoenix win

Harvick has a positive track record at Phoenix International Raceway, but this win was extra special to the No. 4 SHR driver, as it was his first with his new race team. | Read more

Feb. 3: Championship the lone goal for Kevin Harvick at SHR

Harvick makes it clear that the reason he left RCR for SHR was to win a championship — the 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion goes into detail how his transition from team-to-team confirmed his decision to move. | Read more

Dec. 11, 2013: Harvick, Newman pace configuration 1 test

Fresh into the offseason, Harvick shows what kind of power the No. 4 has at a configuration test at Charlotte Motor Speedway and gives other drivers a hint at what’s to come in 2014. | Read more

July 12, 2013: Harvick to run SHR No. 4; no ride for Newman

After 13 years with Richard Childress Racing, it was announced that Kevin Harvick would join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 and his sponsor, Budweiser, would make the move with him. | Read more

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Former No. 5 lead engineer back after one year on Jamie McMurray’s pit box

MORE: Kahne, Hendrick agree to extension
RELATED: NASCAR Illustrated’s Road to the Top with Keith Rodden

Keith Rodden is back in the fold at Hendrick Motorsports, the team announced Wednesday.

Rodden will be atop the pit box for Kasey Kahne and the No. 5 team beginning in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kenny Francis, who had been teamed with Kahne as crew chief for all but eight races since the start of the 2006 season, will still be with Hendrick in the newly created position of vehicle technical director.

Francis will oversee organization-wide car design and development, the team announced in a release, managing the chassis, body, research and development, on-track testing, vehicle engineering and simulation programs.

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"This is a great opportunity for both guys, and it will strengthen our overall organization," team owner Rick Hendrick said in a release. "With the new rules for next year, it’s more important than ever to have a strong vehicle development program. Unifying those efforts for the first time under Kenny’s guidance will be critical to our success. It plays to his experience as a leader, innovative engineer and race-winning crew chief. He’s just tailor-made for it.



"Keith is one of the most talented young crew chiefs in the garage. He already knows our culture and works extremely well with our people. The relationships and familiarity he has with Kenny, Kasey and the No. 5 team will make it easy to hit the ground running. We talk a lot about ‘fit factor,’ and this definitely falls into that category. He’s the right fit."

Rodden and Kahne have a long-standing relationship. Rodden served as the lead engineer for Kahne at Hendrick before a one-year stint as a crew chief for Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in 2014. Before that, Rodden had worked with Kahne at Evernham Motorsports, Richard Petty Motorsports and Red Bull Racing.

In one season with McMurray, Rodden guided the veteran driver to his most top-fives (seven) since 2010, the most top-10s since 2004 (13) and the most laps he had ever led in a season (368). Four top-five finishes in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races helped McMurray finish 18th in the final standings.

On Tuesday, the No. 1 team announced that Matt McCall would take over as the crew chief for McMurray.

Kahne is coming off his worst season in his three-year tenure with Hendrick Motorsports. His win on Labor Day weekend at Atlanta put him in the Chase, but a string of subpar finishes saw him get eliminated following the Talladega race in the Contender Round. Kahne’s top-fives (three) were his lowest since 2007, his top-10s (11) were his lowest since 2010 and he led his least amount of laps (218) since 2008.

"I’m so grateful to Kenny and happy for him and his family," Kahne said. "He’s one of my biggest supporters and best friends, and I’m excited about his new role. … Bringing Keith back is big for us. We spent 10 years together, so we have a very strong overall relationship and understanding of how to communicate. There’s a great friendship and a lot of mutual respect, but at the same time I know he’s really going to push me. I trust Mr. Hendrick to put the right people in the right places to make us successful, and I know these decisions will do that."

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The 2014 Cup champ discusses how he found balance in his life and racing

RELATED: Harvick takes New York | Tours ESPN

He’s a husband, a father and a race winner. At one time, he was a team owner as well.

Now Kevin Harvick is a champion. Specifically, he is the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.

He’s had little time to celebrate since capturing the title Sunday evening at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a victory in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400. Media obligations have seen him appear everywhere from Bakersfield (California) to Bristol (Tennessee) thanks to the long arm of television.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver joins a list of 29 others that have captured NASCAR’s top prize. At 38, he is neither the youngest champion nor the oldest. For now, he is what matters most — its most recent.

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Champions are those that have won races (although Ryan Newman certainly put that statement to the test this year), those who are seen as leaders among their teams as well as the sport in general.

Harvick says he’s given the task and the opportunity some thought. He’s seen how others have handled the expectations and requirements. And he knows how he will approach his newfound status.

"I think there’s a definite responsibility that comes with the championship," he said Wednesday, "and doing the things that you need to do to help grown the sport.

"Obviously there will be a lot of people looking for your opinion, and you all know that I have opinions on how things should go and what is best. So I think for me, it’s very simple; you be honest, you do ‑‑ just like we would do on a personal level. We’ll try to do everything that we need to do to help grow the sport, grow our sponsors, and as always, always push everybody around us to try to do things that are unique and different from what they’ve done in the past to try to make things better."

Harvick’s success has spanned all three of NASCAR’s national series. Since being ushered into duty in 2001 following the death of Dale Earnhardt, Harvick has accumulated 28 wins and now a championship in Sprint Cup, 44 wins and two titles (2001, ’06) in what will become the NASCAR XFINITY Series next season and 17 victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. As an owner, he won the Truck Series title in ’07 and ’09 with driver Ron Hornaday Jr.

He’s had brushes with fellow competitors that have been reported, and he’s done more than his share of good deeds that have been ignored.

A career that he says began "backwards" has now come full circle.

"It’s like you started with everything that happened to Dale, and you go through all those scenarios and you have crazy amounts of fans and attention and all the things that came with that situation," he said.

Finding the right balance, on the track as well as away from it, wasn’t easy. But the journey taught him plenty.

The 2014 season "has been huge," he said, "just in the fact that I’ve been so excited to go to work and be a part of building something and not having the race teams (ownership) … really getting our life where it had a great balance – whether it be personally, financially or professionally. Everything that you do affects everything else that you do."

It’s something that he’ll no doubt keep in mind as he looks ahead to 2015, when his introductions will include the phrase "defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion."

"I think as you look at the last couple of years in our sport and you look at the owners and the drivers and the communication between NASCAR and those groups, I think you have to see the results of everything that has come out of the meetings and things that have happened over the past few years," he said. "I think the sport is in a better spot than it was. We will all have that constant communication, and I definitely, as champion, want to do my part and do it as well as possible."

Better to be a leader than a follower, he said, and when the opportunity presents itself, "you want to try to seize those moments and do the best you can to take control and do it better than it has been done in the past.

"We’ll do the best that we can," he said, "in trying to achieve that."

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Posted on by Fraser Nye

No. 88 crew chief transitions to NBC role with Homestead-Miami breakdown

Retiring Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte gave fans a taste of what next season’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will sound like on NBC Sports when he put on his analyst hat on "The Morning Drive" Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. But first he talked about leaving the pit box for the last time.

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"The toughest part was probably getting the race started," Letarte said. "I had to give my last instructions to Dale. That was a little tough, and then the boss said his piece on the radio, which I really appreciated. And that made it tough because that’s a guy I look up to. Something you really weren’t expecting."

The boss, Rick Hendrick, gave a shout-out on the team radio to Letarte, who won 15 races for his organization.

"Buddy, thank you for all the years," Hendrick said. "You’re an inspiration to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, and we wish you nothing but the best."

Hendrick’s words meant a lot to Letarte, who has learned to prepare for almost every situation as a crew chief. But this one was out of his control.

"The rest of the weekend, you can mentally kind of compartmentalize," Letarte said. "Understand it’s coming. Get prepared for it. But when someone like the boss gives you that sort of pat on the back, that’s hard to take. It was an emotional last weekend."

Following a 14th-place finish with the No. 88 crew uncharacteristically a little off, Letarte told Earnhardt he would see him soon and then headed to the airport with his family. Leaving the garage hadn’t set in for him yet.

"I think it won’t be until this week where the alarm doesn’t continue to go off at 6 a.m. or 5:30 to go to the shop," Letarte said. "That’s when it will probably set in. When the emails go from the mid-100s down to the single digits with questions, I’m sure that is when it will start to sink in that we’re not preparing for the 2015 Daytona 500."

On Tuesday at the 48/88 shop, Letarte cleaned out his desk and left a winner sticker on new crew chief Greg Ives’ computer. Along with the photo, he wrote: "Cleaned out my office today. Left this sticker for the new guy. I expect a lot of these next year Greg &@DaleJr #winners."

As he begins his new career, one of his first acts was taking his kids for ice cream, writing: "So even freezing temps don’t keep my minion and piglet from wanting ice cream. #DadNight #WhyNot."

In addition to recounting his final time atop the No. 88 pit box for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Letarte analyzed the pit strategies of crew chiefs Darian Grubb with Denny Hamlin, Rodney Childers with Kevin Harvick, Todd Gordon with Joey Logano and Luke Lambert with Ryan Newman.

"What we had was four guys that have worked 35 weeks to try to win a championship, battling it out on the race track, battling it out on pit road," Letarte said. "How more fitting could it be than at the end we had one on no tires (Hamlin), one on two tires (Newman), one on four tires (Harvick) and one have some trouble on pit road (Logano). That’s the sport. It’s a total team sport."

Letarte congratulated "a very good friend of mine" Childers, who pulled out back-to-back clutch performances at Phoenix International Raceway to get into the Championship 4 and Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

"Talk about a Game 7 managing decision," Letarte said. "Those guys made it, and the pit crew executed it. And then Kevin Harvick went out and did it on the race track, and I think they crowned a very deserving champion and that’s what the sport needs."

After 10 years as a crew chief for two of the most popular men in the history of the sport — Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Letarte said, "The drivers are what people come out to see, and when you have the opportunity to put it back in your driver’s hands, I think you do that when you put tires on and you’re aware that tires fall off."

Then, Letarte made the case for each of the four championship crew chiefs, noting he would have made the same calls if he were in their chairs.

"The funny thing is I think everyone made the right decision for where they were running," Letarte said. "If I was the 11, I probably couldn’t pit from the lead with a championship on the line. If I was the 31, who had been good all day but not great, a little behind the 4, a little behind the 11, take two tires. Give yourself the chance to be the first guy on tires. The 4 car has the fast car. He puts on four tires. Unfortunately, Joey had his problem. So really I think I would have made the same call all four of those crew chiefs made in their situation."

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Harvick: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my whole life than I have been this year’

RELATED: Harvick wins 2014 Sprint Cup championship

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kevin Harvick walked into his post-race press conference munching a slice of pepperoni pizza. He ended it with 2-year-old son Keelan on his lap and walked out of the room with a bottle of his sponsor’s beer in his hand.

All pretty normal stuff.

But the 2014 season, to which Harvick applied his exclamation mark Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was anything but. It was special and quite remarkable for the team, its owners and its driver.

Moreover it was about the combined family that Stewart-Haas Racing had become in the last year, bringing in new faces like Harvick and Kurt Busch and talented behind-the-scenes people like eager-to-achieve crew chief Rodney Childers.

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It’s a family that has experienced rough times. Co-owner Tony Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, had personally weathered the darkest season of his career, sitting out three races after his sprint car struck and killed a fellow driver in Upstate New York and failing to win a race for the first time in his career. This week, the spector of domestic abuse allegations hovered around Kurt Busch.

None of that could, however, deter or diminish the accomplishment of the Stewart-Haas family as it related to Harvick’s phenomenal season or virtually flawless performance to hold off Ryan Newman for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400.

"I’m just glad tonight turned out," Stewart said. "You know, the rest of it’s history. We’ve talked about it over and over. I’m more excited about what this organization and what this group of people has done together. You know, there are a lot of things I would love to change about the last 18 months of my life, but tonight is not one of them.

Harvick agreed on every count.

"For me, personally, there’s nothing better than to see your friends smile," he said. "I know (Tony’s) been through a lot this year but very rarely have we talked about those situations. He’s my friend and I want to see him happy."

Stewart noted that sometimes change can be a good thing and change is what put Harvick in the No. 4 Chevrolet.

Although finishing third in points three out of the last four previous seasons, Harvick had become stale after 13 years at Richard Childress Racing where he won 23 Sprint Cup races and six poles. This year alone he won five Cup races – including the final two – and eight poles.

"I just wasn’t excited about going to work," Harvick said, reflecting on his move. "I’d known Kurt and Danica and to be part of building something — it really changed my life. Really, (having) my son started that. In evaluation it was (wife) Delana and I looking at things and saying, ‘What’s going to make us happy?’ Because, in the end, if you’re not happy, nothing is going to work like it should.

"I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my whole life than I have been this year — from a personal and professional standpoint. You see all the things that you have around you and you’re lucky. Honestly, I have no idea how much money I make. I love showing up to work. I love coming to the race track and I love what I do."

Harvick was convinced that Stewart and co-owner Gene Haas were serious about building a winner from the ground up — which the Harvick team literally did, with new equipment, cars and personnel.

"As I look at the decision to come here, I keep coming back to the people and the resources that you have available to you," Harvick said. "Tony was pretty adamant that we could race for wins and championships. I think, for me, that was really what it was all about."

Harvick said it wasn’t just his Stewart-Haas family, but the extended family that helped him settle in during championship week at Homestead. More than once he mentioned the support he received from Jimmie Johnson. The six-time premier champion drives for Hendrick Motorsports, which supplies engines and chassis to Stewart-Haas.

When it came to actually winning the race, everything just sort of fell into place for Harvick, who led 54 laps including the final eight once he utilized fresh tires to get by Denny Hamlin.

"I have no idea how I got the lead — no clue," said Harvick of the closing laps, after Childers’ decision to take four tires left the No. 4 Chevrolet sitting 12th on a restart with less than 10 laps to race. It was as deep in the field as Harvick had been all race.

It came as little surprise to Harvick that Childers had made the call for fresh rubber, even as Hamlin stayed on the track and Ryan Newman–a close friend and driver he replaced at SHR–gained an on-track advantage by taking right sides only.

"I can drive the car, but these guys have made some bold decisions, whether it be on the pit box tonight, changing the pit crew (prior to the Chase) or whatever it might be," Harvick said. "I believe in life that sometimes you have to make bold decisions. Sometimes they work out."

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Career year for Earnhardt sees him place sixth; Do you agree? Vote now!

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