CONCORD, N.C. -- Last week, the Next Gen cars were unveiled and NASCAR detailed the updates and changes the machines will have for the start of the 2022 season.
No. 48 crew chief Greg Ives is looking forward to the challenges that the Next Gen car will bring and said he expects to be hands on as the team starts working on the car and getting used to the revamped Chevrolet Camaros.
“I think in any environment where you have a team and an assembly of people, keeping them going in the right direction is ultimately what my job is,” Ives said. “I have a group of people underneath me that rely on my direction on a daily basis in either direction or discipline or just philosophies. Those types of things. You need that leader on the team to go to. It’s definitely going to be different from the aspect from the aspect from, ‘Hey, let’s take this part or piece and change it and increase or decrease the compliance or those types of things.’”
No. 48 driver Alex Bowman already has tested out the Next Gen car, giving the team an idea of what’s to come. However, Ives said the pressure won’t be on him as much as the crews and the drivers to adjust to the new car models.
“I feel like it’s going to minimize some of the things that are obvious to change and the position that we’re in,” Ives said. “We’re able to give direction to what we feel like is going have performance on the racetrack and get them focused on that area. It’s definitely going to be different, but I don’t see much of a change as far as the crew chief role.”
Ives added the end of the season will be tough to juggle with the playoffs and testing the Next Gen car toward the end of the year, which he admitted could take away some of the focus from advancing far into the postseason.
“At Hendrick Motorsports, we have a lot of great resources and great people to keep you focused on the right areas,” he said. “Part of my job as crew chief is to try to be at a little higher level and not totally into the microscope and all the details but understanding the ideas behind development and performance, and also give some guiding instruction and information to make us better.
“It’s definitely something I want to be involved with. I have learned over the years how to balance that quite well. … I’m just relying on my teammates. I’m putting a lot of trust and faith in their capabilities and their talents, but also giving my input when needed.”
Another change the race teams will need to adjust to is receiving items from single suppliers, which is vastly different from the engineers using CAD systems to create parts. Ives said the No. 48 crew would have to get back to grassroots racing to take what supplies are given to them and make them work in the Chevrolets.
“I think that’s what is going to be a great challenge,” Ives said. “You’re going to be given this car and these parts and you’re going to be like, how can I make it better within the rules and understanding assembly and performance, and how we can continuously test these items versus just bolting them together? That’s going to be a great challenge. It’s going to be different, for sure. But you’ve just got to change your mind up a little bit and go back to maybe some of the things you used to do in the past.”
The Next Gen cars will hit the track for the start of the 2022 season at the DAYTONA 500.