Darian Grubb not returning to Carl Edwards’ pit box in 2016
Darian Grubb won’t be Carl Edwards’ crew chief in 2016.
Motorsport.com reported Grubb wouldn’t be back. And according to Edwards, a replacement hasn’t been determined, though the site said Dave Rogers, Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, is expected to be Edwards’ new crew chief.
“Coach Gibbs is the man when it comes to putting the right people in the right places,” Edwards told Motorsport. “Whatever plan he comes up with — and when it’s time to lay it out, he will. Until then, it’s in Coach’s hands.”
Edwards won two races in 2015, his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing. He won by stretching fuel mileage at Charlotte in the spring and won at Darlington. The Darlington race served as a test and preview of hte low-downforce rules in effect for 2016.
Edwards moved to JGR after spending the entirety of his Cup career at Roush Fenway Racing. Grubb was the crew chief for Tony Stewart in 2011 when Stewart beat Edwards for the Cup title via tiebreaker.
If Rogers moves over to Edwards’ crew, Motorsport reported Mike Wheeler would take over for Rogers. Wheeler was Hamlin’s interim crew chief in 2014 after Grubb was suspended. He’s currently the crew chief for JGR in the Xfinity Series. Adam Stevens, Kyle Busch’s crew chief, moved up from the Xfinity Series when JGR shuffled crew chiefs before the 2015 season with Edwards’ arrival.
Rogers was previously with Busch and has been Hamlin’s crew chief for just one season. The tandem of Matt Kenseth and crew chief Jason Ratcliff was the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver/crew chief combination that stayed the same from 2014 to 2015.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
