LONG POND, Pa. – There is a new most popular crew chief in NASCAR.
Mardy Lindley urged NASCAR Hall of Famer and JR Motorsports team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. to fill in for him as crew chief for Connor Zilisch in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. After giving it some thought, Earnhardt accepted.
Lindley was suspended for one race after the No. 88 Chevrolet was deemed to have more than one missing lug nut following last month’s race at Nashville Superspeedway. JR Motorsports got that penalty deferred until after the series’ return to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez last week where Zilisch entered the weekend among the favorites to win.
“There are probably over 100 people at JR Motorsports that would have been more qualified,” Earnhardt said on Friday at Pocono. “Mardy asked me to do it so I was like, ‘He must want me to do it.’”
Prior to joining JRM in 2023 as a crew chief for Sam Mayer, Lindley had a long connection with the Earnhardt family. Butch Lindley was a fierce competitor of Dale Earnhardt, bringing the two sons closer together. Lindley was hired by Earnhardt to work on Jeff Green’s No. 3 car in the Xfinity Series during the late 1990s.
So when Lindley needed a one-week replacement as crew chief, he knew he could count on his boss.
“Mardy and [I] have been connected for years,” Earnhardt added. “I think that’s why the first person sprung to mind in his head. We’ve got a great team, a great organization that can handle these types of challenges. Should be no problem.”
Compared to Cup Series races, strategy doesn’t often go haywire in the Xfinity Series, making it more simplistic atop the pit box. During a pit stop, however, the crew chief is in charge of corralling the right-front tire as it rolls to the pit wall, as well as setting the left-front tire on top of the wall.
Earnhardt participated in Trackhouse Racing’s pit-stop practice on Thursday to get acclimated. According to the rookie crew chief, all went according to plan.
“That is a real job that could go bad,” Earnhardt said of participating in pit stops. “You don’t want to be that guy. I went to Trackhouse and had a couple of practices and feel like I have a good understanding.”
Leading into the race weekend, Earnhardt sat in on meetings at JRM with the guidance of Lindley. He credits Mike Bumgarner, JRM’s director of competition and Patrick Martin, interior specialist of the No. 88 car, for being a helping hand. “Those two will be the top of the pyramid in this deal,” Earnhardt said.
It was crucial for Earnhardt to attend the lengthy pre-race inspection on Friday. The No. 88 car failed in its first attempt and Earnhardt had to wait multiple hours to go through again.
“I didn’t want to just show up on race day and climb on top of the box before the race started,” Earnhardt stated. “We sat in meetings this week and got my notebook and got a understanding of all the things coming our way. Mardy has done a good job of preparing me and the information I need. I feel like that being here, being present, is good for Patrick and the team and all the individuals that are going to be working on this car and see that I’m invested.”
The competitor inside Earnhardt will come out on race day. But he’s adding a check in the column next to crew chief, a role that has eluded him despite playing several roles throughout his career. Knowing it’s unlikely to happen again, he’s making sure to appreciate the weekend.
“It’s way more fun than being the owner,” Earnhardt said of being crew chief. “When you’re the owner, you don’t do anything and there’s nothing you provide of assistance during the weekend. There is nothing that you do that makes or breaks the weekend or assists the team in performance – and it sucks. I used to be a driver and had a role and when you win, you would get out and say, ‘I was part of that.’ When you’re the owner, you’re standing there going, ‘Good job everybody.’ This is way more fun.”