NASCAR: An In-Depth Look At The New Crew Chiefs In The Chase
By Mike Hutton
USA Today Sports
Greg Ives – Crew Chief for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports
Greg Ives has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University. The Michigan native won a big wheel race when he was just five years old and racing has stuck with him ever since. His first job overall was as a mechanic at his family’s company, Ives Truck Repair before joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2004 as a mechanic for Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 team. In 2006, he assumed an engineering role for Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team, a job which he held for seven seasons. During his time with Johnson, the team managed to amass 42 wins and 113 top-5 finishes.
Ives moved to JR Motorsports in 2012 as crew chief for Regan Smith, a role which he held for two seasons. The young team impressed many with their consistency in 2013, earning two wins, eight top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes en route to a 3rd-place finish in what was then the Nationwide Series championship. His consistency continued in 2014 as he skillfully led rookie Chase Elliott’s championship-winning effort as the young driver won both the series title and rookie of the year honors in the same season.
Ives then returned to HMS in 2015 as crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet, replacing veteran Steve Letarte, who is now with NBC Sports. His first win as crew chief came early, as the team won the first of two Budweiser Duel races in preparation for the Daytona 500.
Ives and the No. 88 team earned their Chase berth with a win in May in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Let’s wish all of these crew chiefs, their drivers, their teams and the other 10 Chase participants the best of luck as the battle gets underway next weekend at Chicago!