Ranking the Best Driver-Crew Chief Duos in the 2015 NASCAR Season
There is no relationship in sports quite as important as the one between a NASCAR driver and his or her crew chief.
A driver's chemistry and communication with a crew chief can make or break their season and, therefore, their career. It's important to be on the same page every step of the way, from the garage to pit road to the race itself.
That's why most of the best driver-crew chief duos happen to be joined with the most successful cars in the Sprint Cup Series right now.
For this list, history was a factor, but a heavy premium was placed on recent results. After all, you're only as good as your last race.
Here's a ranking of the eight drivers and crew chiefs that we think will be the most formidable in 2015.
8. Ryan Newman and Luke Lambert
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Last year, in their first year together as driver and chief, Ryan Newman and Luke Lambert finished as runner-ups in the Chase.
The partnership was so successful that Lambert won the Federal-Mogul Motorparts’ “Problem Solver of the Year" award, as reported by Jerry Bonkowski of NBC Sports; Michael Proud, director of marketing, North America, Federal-Mogul Motorparts said:
"Luke and Ryan turned a lot of heads as they started to climb the Chase standings with a string of outstanding performances at Pocono, Dover, Kansas and Talladega. In each of those races, Luke and the RCR crew made critical adjustments that helped maximize the performance of their MOOG-equipped steering and suspension.
That level of problem solving excellence is what our customers expect from MOOG parts, and it’s a skill we celebrate each week through this innovative awards platform.
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Now, in their second year together at Richard Childress Racing, Newman and Lambert will try and get into Victory Lane and hopefully finish one spot higher than they did last year.
7. Matt Kenseth and Jason Ratcliff
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There were a lot of changes in Joe Gibbs Racing during the offseason, particularly with the addition of Carl Edwards to the team, but one constant is the partnership between Matt Kenseth and Jason Ratcliff.
This will be the third year together for the duo, who have seven wins in total, all coming in 2013 when they finished in second place in the Chase. Last year, the team was steady but couldn't duplicate the success, finishing seventh in the standings without a victory.
Still, the duo was excited to work together again in 2015, as reported by Tamira Madsen of Madison.com:
"Ratcliff has the utmost respect for Kenseth’s communication skills and talent, and is intent on helping the 2003 series champ claim a second Cup title. He sees no weakness in Kenseth’s work ethic, and he said he’s proud of the trust that’s transpired between driver and team.
"He’s just been doing the right thing, and maybe he’s always done that," Ratcliff said of Kenseth. 'He’s pretty good at what he does, and maybe he’s had that figured out for a long time and we’re just reaping the benefits."
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Kenseth and Ratcliff are off to a solid start in 2015, winning the Sprint Unlimited, and if they can recapture the 2013 magic, they'll be one of the teams to beat.
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Ives
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This is the only new pair on the list, but don't sleep on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Ives. If the events in Daytona are any indication, they are going to be a touch tandem to defeat in 2015.
At the end of a successful four-win season in 2014, Junior's crew chief Steve Letarte left to work at NBC. Hendrick Motorsports filled the job opening with Ives, who had worked with Hendrick as the lead engineer for Jimmie Johnson's championship-winning team before departing to be a crew chief in the XFinity Series.
Earnhardt had high hopes for the pairing, and so far things are going incredibly well. Earnhardt won his Budweiser Duel at Daytona and then finished in third place in the Daytona 500.
"He's thorough, and that's going to make a huge difference in how we're prepared each weekend," Earnhardt said when talking about Ives, as reported by Jeff Gluck of USA Today.
I see the first year of Junior and Ives's partnership being an incredibly fruitful one.
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5. Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe
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Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe have been working together since 2010. Since then, the pair has done a lot of winning.
In 2010, Wolfe—who is a former driver—helped guide Keselowski to an XFinity Series championship. Then, in 2011 Wolfe joined Keselowski in the Sprint Cup ranks. Since that time, they have 15 Sprint Cup victories, three Chase berths and one championship.
"When Brad and I first got together, part of the reason I was excited about working with Brad was because I had seen him win races in cars that I thought weren't as good as maybe cars I was putting on the race track at the time," Wolfe said back in 2012, as reported by Joe Menzer of NASCAR.com (via Yahoo Sports).
A blown engine doomed this team at the Daytona 500, but coming off a six-win season and with its chemistry still fully in tact, it's likely to be back in Victory Lane often this season as well.
4. Jeff Gordon and Alan Gustafson
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The Jeff Gordon and Alan Gustafson partnership, founded in 2011, has worked out incredibly well for both men. Gustafson has been given a chance to work with one of the best NASCAR drivers ever, and Gordon has been able to have a late-career resurgence.
Just look at the numbers: In the three years before Gordon and Gustafson teamed up, Gordon only won one race. In the four years since, he's won 10. The only thing they haven't done together yet is win a championship, although they did get pretty close last year.
Now that it's Gordon's final season, the pair is extra-motivated.
"When we succeed it's going to be sweet, and I so want to do that, because…he deserves to go out on top," Gustafson said, as reported by Kenny Bruce of NASCAR.com. "We want to win for us, for the 24 team, for each other. But there is that significance there that Jeff's career needs to end on a real high note."
The season has started out strongly for Gordon and Gustafson; Gordon won the pole at the Daytona 500 and led a career-high 87 laps before he got caught up in traffic (and a wreck) late. These men are on a mission in 2015.
3. Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus
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As far as longevity and success, nobody has this duo beat.
Chad Knaus is the only crew chief Jimmie Johnson has had in his Sprint Cup career. They've been paired together since Johnson's rookie season in 2002 and have 70 wins and six championships on their resume. That's just a ridiculous run.
The two are often heard fighting over the radio, and after they struggled a bit last season (by their standards, at least) and finished 11th in the Chase, there were rumors that a change might be coming. But Johnson squashed those rumors quickly, saying that he wanted to work with Knaus until Knaus was ready to move on.
"We're like family, and we fight like family," Johnson said at the end of the 2014 season, as reported by Jared Turner of Fox Sports. "There is plenty more that goes on behind closed doors and in meetings. It's more of a timeframe of when Chad says, 'I've put in my time here as crew chief, and I need to slow down a little bit.'"
The only reason why Johnson and Knaus aren't higher on this list is because of their disappointing Chase last season—this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sport, after all. But underestimate these two at your own peril.
2. Joey Logano and Todd Gordon
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Joey Logano was able to re-start his career three years ago when he came to Team Penske at the age of 21 after four disappointing years with Joe Gibbs Racing, and his crew chief Todd Gordon is a big part of that.
Gordon, a veteran who worked as a crew chief for years, immediately clicked with Logano and helped the youngster turn his fortunes around. Together, they have won eight races in the last two years—including the Daytona 500 last week—and made the Chase twice.
"For me it's a credit to what Todd's done," team owner Roger Penske said in press after the Daytona 500 win, as reported by Racer. "Joey, he and Todd have built a bond together, which is important. They trust each other. You could see it."
These two are this high on the list because of their recent success—they followed a five-win 2014 campaign and a berth in the final round of the Chase with the win at The Great American Race to start this season. The future looks bright from here.
1. Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers
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Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers won the final two races of 2014 and the championship, and then they were the runner-ups in the Daytona 500, so they're certainly the team to beat this year.
It's hard to believe that last year was the first season Harvick and Childers had worked together. Harvick came to Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2013 season and was paired with the soft-spoken veteran Childers. What seemed like a mismatch on paper was anything but.
Jay Pennell of Fox Sports described how instantaneous the success was for this pair:
"From the outset of their working relationship, Childers and Harvick hit the ground running. During the preseason test at Charlotte Motor Speedway in December 2013, the two turned heads with their off-the-truck speed and successful back-and-forth in the garage.
Once the season officially kicked off, it was evident right away this combination would be a force to be reckoned with.
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Last year, with Childers watching over him, Harvick had a career-best five wins, eight poles and led a series-high 2,137 laps. There's no reason why 2015 can't be just as successful.
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