CONCORD, N.C. -- While Greg Ives always wants to be the winning crew chief celebrating a NASCAR Cup Series win in victory lane, that desire shifts into a different gear as the regular season draws to a close.
Ives, who is in his fourth season calling the shots for Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports, is feeling that intensity as the Cup Series prepares for the penultimate race of the regular season at Michigan International Speedway this weekend.
“The big thing is that you want to cap off these races at Michigan and Daytona with momentum,” Ives said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “After Watkins Glen, we were down a little bit, but I think we are getting back to where we need to be. We need that momentum to head into the playoffs strong. That is our focus. We don’t want to plan too far ahead of us because you have to take each race and keep building on it.”
Bowman and the No. 48 team currently sit 12th in the playoff standings after three wins, six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s this season. While his spot in the playoffs was essentially solidified with his first 2021 win at Richmond Raceway in April, having that confidence heading into the playoffs is critical, according to Ives.
The team was not happy with its performance at Watkins Glen on Aug. 8 after placing 20th. Ives explained the setup of the No. 48 Ally machine wasn’t quite right for the New York road course, which had them a little nervous for the inaugural Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course event this past Sunday. Even though Bowman raced to a 17th-place result at Indy, Ives praised his crew for having a fast car that was set up properly for the course.
“We had an ok practice, but you could tell in qualifying that we lacked speed,” Ives said. “Alex and I and the engineers had to debrief, figure out where that was and go from there. Once we got to the race, I feel like we just got better the whole time … It got to the point where we had confidence, got out of the car with a 17th-place finish still with our heads up and fist bumping saying, ‘Hey, we did a good job’ and knowing we got the car where it needed to be when it came race time.”
Ives now will do what he can to carry that positivity to Michigan. Returning to the Irish Hills also will be a sentimental race for the Ally crew chief, who hails from Bark River, Michigan, and calls the 2-mile oval his hometown track.
“Obviously, it’s my home state and one of the first tracks that I went to as a fan in the stands,” Ives said. “That gave me the passion for wanting to do this every day. I am looking to continue our great runs on 550 tracks with Ally’s presence there and Chevrolet’s. Having success at Michigan is super important for us on Sunday. Just looking forward to getting there. It’s still about seven hours away from my hometown, but it’s definitely great to get back to Michigan.”
Catch Bowman, Ives and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports teams in action at Michigan International Speedway this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.