from a Team Chevy Press Conference Transcript, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports:
Q) A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN JEFF GORDON DIDN’T MAKE THE CHASE, YOU MADE A CREW CHIEF CHANGE AT THE START OF THE CHASE. LOOKS LIKE DALE EARNHARDT JR IS NOT GOING TO MAKE THE CHASE. WHAT OPTION IS THAT FOR A POSSIBLE CREW CHIEF CHANGE THERE?
Hendrick: “Actually, I’m pretty happy with the chemistry there now. Maybe some of you guys don’t agree but I’m around them and I’m in the shop during the week and the Tuesday meetings and I talk to Dale and I talk to Lance (McGrew) and I talk to them both after they’ve been testing. And we had some good momentum going and then we kind of fumbled the ball a little bit here right before the Chace. If you can’t pinpoint where your problem is, then the whole organization needs to be better. We’re working hard but we’re not as sharp as we want to be with all four cars. But the guys are working hard and working together. If you miss the Chase and you just decide that you’re going to change something to be changing it, I think that’s a mistake. I’ve never tried to do that. I keep my options open, but at the same time if the driver and the crew chief are getting along and they’re working together and they’re trying, that’s all I can ask for. It’s pretty darn competitive here in the garage. Guys get on a streak and then guys fall back a little bit. We’re not happy with where we are as an organization, but we’re working on it. And nobody is blaming anybody and nobody is giving up. So we’re getting ready for the Chase. We’re trying a lot of stuff and we’re all over the map here this weekend, but we’re trying some things. We know we’ve got to get better. And I’m really happy with my whole group and the way they work together and of course we’d like to win more races and you like to dominate, but it’s hard in this sport. You look at the guys up there now and they get a streak and then they cool off. That’s probably a 10-minute answer to a short question.”
Q) SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU PLAN TO KEEP LANCE MCGREW AND DALE EARNHARDT JR. TOGETHER THROUGH THE CHASE AND GOING INTO NEXT YEAR. YOU ARE NOT PLANNING ON A CHANGE AT THIS POINT?
Hendrick: “That’s correct. We make decisions as things develop during the season. And right now we’ve got a game plan and we’re sticking to it. Next week and going into the Chase and during the Chase, our plans are for those two guys to be together.”(Team Chevy)(9-5-2010)
