Crew Chief Q&A

[scogin918]

My wife works for Hendrick Automotive Group and next week she's going up to Charlotte for a meeting and she's going to participate in a Q&A session with the Hendrick crew chiefs.

She asked me to come up with some good questions and I wondered if there was anything that someone else might want to know. So, if anybody has something they have always wanted to know, or any other burning question, then fire away. Personally, I wouldn't mind asking how much testing they have done with fuel injection and what type. Also, I wonder what cost-saving measures they have implemented (other than RIF's or layoffs) since the economy went sour. I'm sure even a team as big as Hendrick has had to watch the bottom line a little closer.

I'll post up the answers when she calls me after the session is over.

[ZuperZport]

Some questions to ask:

Alan (#5) - What kind of wrinkle creme does Mark use?
Steve (#24) - Don't you know 4 is always better than 2?
Chad (#48) - Did you & Jimmie sell your souls to the devil?
Lance (#88) - You know your driver's last name is Earnhardt right?

Just kidding around on those.

How about asking these:

1) What are the top three areas, that if adjusted every race week, can make a car more or less competitive?

2) How do you keep your team consistently motivated during such a long season?

3) What innovations do you see on the horizon for NASCAR in the coming years?

4) Do you think the "have at it boys" remarks from NASCAR this season have made an impact on the racing?

5) What are your thoughts on "double-file" restarts and "green-white-checker" finishes?

6) What changes have you made as a crew chief from your first year on the box to now?

[rob07002]

How many championships will it take for NASCAR to just declare Jimmie Johnson the default champion for the rest of the decade?

Why does Jr. suck?

Ok, just being an a$$, I know.

Fuel injection is a good one.

What are the plans for a Camaro, Mustang, Challenger car? Thoughts on the test vehicles built?

What would be the single greatest change to impact the quality of racing? IE restrictor plates? Tires, Wings, ETC?

Will NASCAR consider switching to pump gas, 94 octane?

[2Bad4Ya]

Ask Steve Addington if its better to babysit a busch or work with one who acts like n adult :machine:

[Pro Stock]

What is it like to work for Rick Hendricks, and how was he able to assemble so many dominate teams.

Dale

[RaceMan]

How about
1) Who makes the final call on what change to do , Driver or Crew Chief ?
2) how and where do you look for advantages on other teams now that Nascar limits about everything.
3) do you call it cheating or bending the rules and where's the limit for you ?

[sniper]

When fuel injection becomes the standard in NASCAR, how long before you guys find a way to decode the computers to find way to cheat. Like traction control, extra RPM's and features like that.

[shortrack]

Are all the manufacturs going to have to run the exact same fuel injection set up????

(IMO if they are keep the carbs and dont bother)

[scogin918]

Well, my wife came back with the notes she had taken. She didm't get to ask the fuel injection question which is kinda crappy, but she did get some good insight into the crew chief/driver relationship. She was able to speak with Lance McGrew and Steve Letarte. Letarte was a little more frank than McGrew in saying that he makes the calls and half the time he doesn't tell Gordon what he does to the car. He stated that he used Gordon as a tool for feedback in determining what additional changes need to be made to make the car faster. He sadi that gordon only visits the shop 2-3 times a year, but they do keep in contact on a daily basis.

She was able to ask 2 technical questions. One being, what body panels do they get from the manufacurer; the hood, roof and trunk lid. Everything eles they make. Which leads right into the 2nd question. If there was one restriction they could lifted, what would it be. McGrew said bar none it wuld be the template. They absolutely hate it.

Someone asked about motivation over the course of the season, and the response was hiring the right people that share the same vision of buying into their system.

One other bit of info she got concerned pit crews. She said they were all big, young and good looking. She said after age 40 they replace them with someone younger. That may sound harsh, but it's probably a natural attrition as well as the older guys start settling down with families and no longer wnat to go on the road every week.

[scogin918]

I also forgot to tell you that Rick Hendrick also has quite a collection of classic cars and has a crew of guys to maintain them, ala Leno. His next step is going to be to open his own shop called Hendrick Perfomance. They'll do restorations, engine builds and paint and body. They also do NASCAR restorations as they have some of the crew members from Darrel Waltrip's, Kenny Schrader's and Geoff Bodine's teams still working for them. The shop is in the same complex as the Motorsports group and they already have some cars in the shop underway including a Chevelle undergoing a LS9 transplant.