CONCORD, N.C. -- Greg Ives isn’t dwelling on what could have been at the DAYTONA 500. Alex Bowman's crew chief is keeping his eyes forward after an accident took the No. 48 team out of the race early, noting the circumstances were out of their control.
“All you can do is your best at that time and day,” Ives said on SiriusXM Channel 90. “Alex was pretty happy with the car on Sunday from the 14 laps we did get to run. It’s going to be interesting to see where we end up.”
The crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is proud of the stellar start Bowman had during Speedweeks at Daytona. The 27-year-old driver earned his second pole award for "The Great American Race" and started on the first row for the fourth consecutive year; a DAYTONA 500 record. However, an accident early in the race sidelined Bowman when he was running third, ultimately ending his day and regulating him to a 35th-place finish.
While it wasn’t the result the No. 48 team wanted, Ives was pleased with how the car ran. Aside from posting the fastest qualifying lap for the DAYTONA 500, the No. 48 Ally machine performed well during the Clash on the DAYTONA Road Course, which is where the Cup Series race will be this week.
“We know we have a good car,” Ives said. “We were able to work on some fine-tuned details to get it a little bit better for Alex. Other than it being at night, the Clash was definitely a good understanding of what we needed to do in how to improve for this coming week.”
NASCAR will use its metrics system that was put in place last August to determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s race on the road course. This leaves Bowman and Ives with the task of working their way through the field since their starting position will be far back from the front row. Even though it’s a tall order, Ives has confidence that Bowman is up to the challenge based on how he raced last week.
“I feel like we’re running well. Having issues versus running bad and having issues are two different things,” Ives said. “All in all, I think we have a good car and you just got to be smart, just like Michael McDowell this weekend. He was up front and in position and doing all the right things all race. Hopefully, we can do the same thing and put ourselves in position.”
The second race of the season will be Sunday, Feb. 21 at the DAYTONA Road Course. The event will kick off at 3 p.m. ET and be broadcast of FOX.