With so much attention paid to the 12 drivers who make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, there’s pressure aplenty on race drivers and race teams to be among the elite group after the 26-race “regular season” ends at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 10.
That pressure has led to several crew-chief changes in recent weeks. Greg Erwin has been replaced by Matt Puccia at Greg Biffle’s No. 16 team, with Erwin moving to A.J. Allmendinger’s team at Richard Petty Motorsports.
Juan Pablo Montoya has a new crew chief, with Jim Pohlman replacing veteran Brian Pattie. And Luke Lambert has been named interim crew chief for Jeff Burton, replacing veteran Todd Berrier.
It’s not only crew chiefs who are affected. NASCAR veteran Bobby Hutchens recently lost his job as competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing. Cal Wells, the executive vice president and COO at Michael Waltrip Racing, has been let go from that team.
Also, Jimmie Johnson’s pit-crew members are functioning under a scenario similar to a football team, with first- and second-string squads. This week, crew chief Chad Knaus said there would be a change at the front-tire changer position this week.
Biffle, who is 15th in the standings and 47 points out of the top 10, told reporters from Ford Racing that the stress and pressure to make the Chase are big factors in NASCAR and among the reasons for so many recent personnel changes.
“It was obvious that the direction we were going, we weren’t going to make the Chase,” Biffle said of his team’s situation. “But maybe Matt can make enough difference, or his voice will be heard, that we’ve got to do something. ...
“Matt will get done anything in his power to make us the most competitive. Our engines have great power. Our cars are good and fast, so we’ll just wait and see how it all turns out.”
Biffle also said he felt his first race with his new crew chief went well, even though he didn’t get the finishing position he wanted.
“I think Loudon was excellent,” he said. “We really played our hand the way we should have, but unfortunately, the way it was dealt put us in a box with our fuel economy.”
Puccia, who has no previous crew-chief experience, said the key thing he needs to do is make sure his team gets good finishes each time out.
“Right now we are inconsistent,” he said. “We need to get top-fives right now. If we aren’t there winning, then we have to be top-five.
“One good thing about looking at our schedule from here on out to Richmond, there is no race that we can’t win. That is obviously the big picture, to win, but if we can’t win we need to be top-five every week.”
Speed signs
Former Formula One driver Scott Speed, who lost his Sprint Cup ride in the No. 82 Toyota at Red Bull Racing at the end of last year, has signed to drive three races in the No. 37 Max Q Motorsports Ford. He’s set to run the next three races — at Indianapolis, Pocono and Watkins Glen.
Champions do well
NASCAR’s statisticians have come up with some interesting numbers this week. Of the 17 Sprint Cup races run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 14 have been won by past, reigning or future series champions. Eight times, the Brickyard winner went on to win that season’s championship.
Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin can reach personal milestones this week. Kenseth can get his 200th career top-10 finish, and Hamlin needs to lead one lap to reach the mark of 5,000 laps led.
