Now that the most, if not all of the driver moves are complete, it is time for the crew members to move on up, or move on out of their previous roles or previous teams. All these movements in an effort to be working with a Championship team in 2008. Some moves are made because a driver moves and since you are family, you go with them to their new team. Some moves come as a result of individuals getting promoted within the organization. And in some cases, a crew member leaves a team to be more competitive. Regardless of the reason, the moves are a result of the teams trying to make themselves better. Lets evaluate the moves that have already been made.
Tony Eury Jr. left DEI earlier this year, in advance of his driver and cousin, Dale Earnhardt Jr's move to Hendrick Motorsports starting in 2008. This will be a driver/crew chief parring that will be difficult, if not impossible, to break up. Not only does Dale Jr. trust his cousin more than anyone else, but Tony Eury is one of the best crew chiefs in the business, learning from his father. Eury Jr. has been preparing a great car for Dale Earnhardt Jr. with the motorsports powerhouse. This move is by Eury obviously is a result of the close family ties, but moving to Hendrick Motorsports is a great move for any crew chief, regardless of who they are, or who they will be chief for.
Robbie Reiser was promoted at Roush Fenway Race to General Manager of the team. This move was clearly forthcoming, it was just a matter of when Jack Roush would be able to convince Reiser to make this career move. Chip Bolin, team engineer since 1999, will be taking the place of Reiser, which will be a difficult move for the whole 17 team since Kenseth has only had Reiser as a crew chief since entering NASCAR. Reiser is well respected in the garage, especially because of his methodology. He ran his team his way and was clearly successful. Now Reiser has moved up and is looking to help four teams be as successful as the 17 team in the past.
The newest move is Ryan Pemberton, leaving the DEI stable for Michael Waltrip Racing, despite reports that he would be moving to Penske. Clearly, more and more teams are seeing the potential that Toyota teams have, now that a powerhouse team in Joe Gibbs Racing has made the switch. This is a difficult position for any crew chief to make because this is far from a sure thing, however, if Pemberton can be successful with a Toyota team in the Sprint Cup series, clearly, there he will be able to prove that he is one of the best. Don't get me wrong, Toyota is just as good as any other manufacturer, but they are still young in the highly competitive series, and have much to learn.
Clearly there are things that crew chiefs have to do to be successful. There needs to be trust between them and their driver. They have to be willing to step up to the plate, and take new challenges, whether it be a new position, or a new team and manufacturer. Time will tell how well these moves will turn out, but clearly, if the team is successful, the crew chief will be responsible.
