The Hendrick compound is familiar territory for Ives, who served as race engineer on the No. 48 team with driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus during Johnson’s record-setting five-year championship run.

"(It’s) a place I have the ability to go back to and people understand my mentality and my work ethic," Ives said during a teleconference following Wednesday’s announcement. "They already know what to expect out of (me)."

Earnhardt Jr., twice a winner this season with Letarte and currently second in the points standings, said he and Ives have had "a great working relationship for several years." 

"Not only is he the most talented candidate for the job," Earnhardt Jr. said, "but it will be the most seamless transition. I don’t see how it could go any smoother being that he has that … history.

"The best part about it … is he knows the culture of the shop … he knows what that shop is about and how the work goes on, the mentality there. He has a great rapport with not only Chad but (also) a lot of the employees that are working there. He’s worked with all those guys in the past."

Team owner Rick Hendrick noted that Ives has "proven that he can win races, and he has all the tools to do big things."

At JR Motorsports, Ives guided Regan Smith to a pair of wins and a third-place points finish a year ago. Elliott has three victories through 18 races this season and currently leads the Nationwide points standings.

That time spent at JRM, and what the organization has been able to accomplish, helped prepare him for the move to becoming a Sprint Cup crew chief, Ives said.

"It has prepared me from levels that I couldn’t have learned as a race engineer on the Cup side," he said. "From managing people, managing budgets, everything that goes into a smaller team that you have to have your hands in. …

"It’s helped me kind of be a stronger individual and gave me a learning curve a little steeper trying to understand the crew chief side of things."

Earnhardt Jr. said he doesn’t expect Ives to mimic Letarte’s positive reinforcement style of support, but noted "everybody enjoys that every once in a while.

"He understands working with different people you deal with them different ways. … Nobody is going to be like Steve; nobody’s going to be like Chad. No crew chiefs are going to be identical," he said.

"I think a driver likes to hear positive reinforcement. I’m sure Greg and I will learn how to … give and take that. I’m sure he wants to hear it as well. …

"When I look back over the years working with Steve, his cheerleading has sort of gotten less and less and less as the confidence built. The more confident I got in what we were doing, the less cheerleading he had to do, to where it’s almost nowhere near as repetitive as it used to be. … 

"I’ve gotten my mojo back. My confidence is up there and I’ve got such good belief in my team. I believe in Greg and … the decisions we’re making."

In the meantime, Ives will focus on trying to guide Elliott and the No. 9 team to the Nationwide title. His plans for next year are already in place. 

"It’s a great feeling to know that hard work does pay off in the end," he said. "It’s something that doesn’t happen overnight.

"The loyalty and trust that Mr. Hendrick has put into his organization and his people – when he talks about It’s all about the people, it definitely shows and it makes me feel good just to be part of it."

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But that’s getting ahead of ourselves and not doing due justice to what Gordon has already accomplished.

How impressive is four-time champ Gordon’s body of work?

• We can start at Indianapolis, where his fifth triumph puts him in an elite class at one of racing’s most storied and difficult tracks, joining only Formula One great Michael Schumacher (five United States Grand Prix wins) and surpassing Indy 500 legends Al Unser, Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt, who have four Indy victories. Teammate Johnson also has four Cup wins at the track.

• Gordon’s 90 wins over three decades have come against many of the sport’s great former drivers and so many of its current great drivers — some of whom, like 21-year-old super talent Kyle Larson, consider Gordon a childhood hero.

They are the most ever in NASCAR’s Modern Era (1972-present), and the span of success came racing against the late, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in his prime as well as Hall of Famers Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace. Gordon has had to compete against Mark Martin, Terry Labonte and recent Hall of Fame selection Bill Elliott, and he continues to add to his trophy case while competing against six-time champion Johnson, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski.

• Gordon’s feat of three consecutive seasons (1996-98) with 10 wins is something not even accomplished by Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Wallace or Earnhardt. Petty was the last. He had five consecutive between 1967-71, all coming in seasons with 48 or more races.

• Petty had 18 straight seasons (1960-77) with at least one victory. Gordon had 14 consecutive between 1994-2007. Only Stewart’s current run of 15 is better among active drivers.

• Gordon already holds the record for most consecutive seasons winning a pole position (21), eclipsing Pearson’s 20 and Petty’s 18.

• Not only does Gordon win frequently, he wins when it counts. In addition to his four championships, Gordon has wins in every one of NASCAR’s major races — including three Daytona 500 wins (most among active drivers), six Southern 500 wins, five Brickyard 500 wins, and three Coca-Cola 600 victories. And he has won at every track on the schedule except Kentucky, where there have been only four Sprint Cup races.

I vividly remember watching Gordon’s face during preseason media tour interview opportunities in January and February when he was routinely asked about retirement. Always gracious, he would smile politely and demur. He joked about going out on top with the 2014 Sprint Cup Series championship trophy.

Nearly every week this season, even as he collects wins and leads the standings, Gordon is questioned about his retirement plans.

And every time the question is raised there is a certain, unmistakable twinkle in his eye that originates from an often underestimated competitive spirit deep in his heart.

It’s not a question of when Gordon will stop racing, but how long he can continue winning.

He probably felt pretty good about that answer Sunday driving his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet into Victory Lane and this week as he figures out a good place to display his 90th trophy.

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