Lance McGrew named as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief for rest of 2009 and 2010

October 30, 12:34 PMNASCAR ExaminerJerry Wilson

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Scratch those rumors. Rick Hendrick made it official today: Lance McGrew is now Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s permanent crew chief for the remainder of 2009 and will be atop his pit box in 2010.

As quoted in the press release from Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick stated: "I have total faith in Lance and what he's capable of accomplishing with Dale Jr. There was a lot of pressure with how he came into this deal, and the way he's handled it has been extremely impressive. Lance is confident in himself and in his decisions, and all the outside distractions aren't going to faze him. He's a strong-willed guy who will keep his eye on the ball and not settle."

For his part, Dale Jr. was quoted as saying, "Lance has been part of the solution, not the problem. He's tough, which is what I need, and we've really clicked in a short period of time. The communication has gotten better every practice and every race, and I know that's going to keep improving. Having this decision behind us is really important, and now we can focus on the future instead of the past."

The hope is with this move Hendrick has laid down the law, which by Earnhardt's own admission is what he needs. In order to get the best out of Dale Jr., his crew chief has to be a no-nonsense dictator. The Junior Nation's best bet is to encourage McGrew to kick their driver's tail when need be in order to get and keep him focused. Only then will he start driving up to his ability.

It's guaranteed Hendrick is putting everything the organization has into getting Rocket 88 running up with the 48, 24 and 5. Now that the course of action is set, this effort should become even more intense. No one at Hendrick Motorsports is going to be happy until the next time AMP is being sprayed around Victory Lane.

Might that be this coming Sunday? Maybe. Dale Jr. has long since proven his mettle at restrictor plate racing. If the car is up to snuff, and if the new smaller plate doesn't turn the race into a sluggish parade with all parties involved incapable of doing anything except turn laps, he has a shot. Right now, that's the best that can be hoped for.

This coming off-season is critical. McGrew needs to build and establish his team, and Earnhardt needs to both fully buy into it and put in the work. This deal can be turned around. It's going to have an intense effort with all hands on deck. But it can be done.