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Hendrick Motorsports Enters 2015 With Changes

 (R-L)Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson look on as Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks with the media during day 4 of the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Tour.  [Credit: Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images]

 

Charlotte, NC—With numerous changes on the horizon the Hendrick Motorsports organization is optimistic heading into 2015 according to representatives who met with the media on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom.

Driver Chase Elliott speaks with reporters during day 4 of the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Tour.  [Credit: Bob Leverone/NASCAR via Getty Images]

Driver Chase Elliott speaks with reporters during day 4 of the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Tour. [Credit: Bob Leverone/NASCAR via Getty Images]

            The biggest change the organization faces is the recent announcement that 2015 will be flagship driver Jeff Gordon’s final full time effort and the team also announced Chase Elliott will drive the #24 car full time in 2016 while running five Sprint Cup races in 2015 with a #25 Chevrolet sponsored by NAPA. While Jimmie Johnson returns to the #48 ride with longtime crew chief Chad Knaus, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets a new crew chief in Greg Ives on the #88 car and Kasey Kahne enters 2015 with Keith Rodden atop the pit box for the #5 entry.

“Usually we enter a year without much change but this year is quite a bit different,” team owner Rick Hendrick stated, “We’ve had some changes and I think our organization always seems to rally when there are rules changes and for anything we have to go through our guys seem to step it up.”

“I’m real excited about the crew chief changes and those guys have been part of our company before,” Hendrick continued, “I think we have gelled better than I’ve seen in a long, long time. The proof is in the pudding as we won thirteen races last year but we didn’t get the big prize so that just makes us hungry to go get it again.”

“It was a combination of things really,” Jeff Gordon said describing his decision to make 2015 his last season behind the wheel of the #24 car,”My kids are getting older and I see me missing out on things that they are involved with. My back at one time definitely played a role but I feel like I’ve got that sort of under control. A couple of years ago when I wasn’t as competitive as I wanted to be, I wanted to end it right there because it wasn’t fun. I got into racing because I loved it and I was competitive and I was enjoying it and back then I found myself being frustrated a lot. When people say they can’t believe I did it now after the great year I had last year, last year kind of solidified that because it told and showed me I still got it. When you are a part of a great team and have a great crew chief and they work hard and you work hard at it you can be late in your career and still get it done and be competitive. If anything it has only motivated me to do that much better this year and truly go out on top.”

“It was important to me to still be competitive,” Gordon continued, “I remember that year when Richard Petty retired and as awesome as it was to see it happening and to see the fans just flock to him and the media, you know, because of all that attention he rode around towards the back and I know that’s not the way he wanted to do it and because he still had a long incredible career, you give him the respect to do it however he wishes and I think I could maybe get some of that same respect but that’s just the way I wanted to go about it.”

“Things have changed too from back then. I’ve made a lot of money in this sport so I’m not doing it for the money anymore and not everybody can say that,” Gordon stated,” For a lot of guys the money wasn’t there when they first started and it came there as it went on. It was kind of hard to walk away from that because you put so many years and so much time into it. For me, I guess it’s also just looking at what opportunities are out there beyond driving. I see some opportunities and see a young kid (Elliott) that can fill that seat and I still get to be involved with racing because of Rick Hendrick. I wanted to talk to a bunch of guys like John Elway or Troy Aikman about post career stuff but that just never really materialized but I did speak a little bit to Cal Ripken about it. I think you just have to do it on your own terms and in your own way.”

Aside from Gordon’s final full time season, much attention this year will be on the performance of Earnhardt and new crew chief Greg Ives on the #88 ride and Earnhardt described the process of finding someone to replace former crew chief Steve LeTarte who moved into the television booth for 2015.

“I was talking to Steve LeTarte and we were talking about making changes to the race team and moving an individual around during the off season the year before and me and Steve sort of got this attitude that anytime you get the opportunity you want to improve that position, you don’t want to make a lateral move and you don’t want to step down,” Earnhardt said, “You want to improve that position with a stronger guy. I told Steve before he left last year that one of the things that you are responsible for is putting me in a better situation than I am in right now. I said I don’t want to do a lateral move or wait for a guy to develop and we didn’t even know Greg was an opportunity at that time. I told Steve he needed to comb the sport and give me some names to make us better and then Greg became available as a possibility to work with us and Steve said ‘that’s the top guy’.”

“I think this is a step forward,” Earnhardt continued, “I feel like this is the guy that engineered Jimmie Johnson to five championships and just won the Nationwide Series championship last year and almost won it the year before with Regan Smith. Basically for over 50% of the years he has been in the sport he has won a championship, so there’s a lot of pressure there.”

“I knew Greg was a details guy and Regan Smith had told me that over and over and over,” Earnhardt stated, “Regan was so impressed when he worked with him and he told me I was just going to love it. I’m already seeing that and we haven’t even gone to the race track yet. Once we get the race track and we’re at practice and going through that process the reassurance that I’m going to feel knowing that he is in control of things is really going to give me a lot of confidence.”

“He’s an engineer and having that engineering background is going to be really crucial so I think I have one of the top five if not the best engineer in the garage,” Earnhardt surmised,” And I get to keep Kevin Meendering who was my lead engineer for the last four years and knows me really well and what I like and don’t like in the car. I’ve got this combo of engineers that I think really sets me apart from every other team in the garage.”

“The way we finished up the 2014 season is not anything I’m happy with or the #48 team is happy with,” Jimmie Johnson reflected after being eliminated from the Chase after the second round, ”We have worked hard all off season to make some great changes to be where we need to be this year.”

“There’s a lot of good stuff going on and we have a really good camaraderie with the crew so we’re excited to get things rolling,” Johnson continued, “We did a lot of testing at the end of last year not only on the engine side but also on the aero balance side so we feel like we are in good hands this year.

“I’m looking forward to the season and it is coming quick and we have Keith Rodden (crew chief) back on the #5 team,” Kasey Kahne stated as he described his outlook for 2015, “I worked with him for years and the first time was when he was my engineer back in 2004 so we’ve worked together before and have a good relationship. It’s exciting to know that getting back together with Keith and working full time with him again, I think he brings a lot to our team and it’s going to be great to get started.”

For Chase Elliott, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, the day’s announcements ended the speculation of who would take the reins of the famous #24 Chevrolet being vacated by Jeff Gordon. Elliott, who will drive five races in 2015 in the #25 Chevrolet before moving to the #24 full time in 2016, said he was not concerned with any pressure associated in replacing such a legendary driver as Gordon.

“I don’t look at it as me trying to fill somebody’s shoes or trying to replace Jeff Gordon because I don’t think you are ever going to replace Jeff Gordon in any way, Elliott stated, “I think that’s the best way to look at it for me and the best thing I can do go and try to be myself and just try to do the best job that I can behind the wheel. That’s really all you can ask for.”

 

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