CONCORD, N.C. - All too familiar with the peaks and valleys that come with life in auto racing, Greg Ives prides himself on his ability to approach everything with a level head.
That quality is likely one reason Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, have entrusted Ives to sit atop the pit box for their first try as owners in the NASCAR Cup Series. That venture, also co-headed by country music superstar Chris Stapleton, will come in this year's DAYTONA 500 with driver, Justin Allgaier, behind the wheel of the No. 40 car for JR Motorsports.
But that even-keel temperament is also why Ives doesn't lean into emotion when asked about another chance to serve as a crew chief in the Great American Race. Over the course of his career at Hendrick Motorsports, and especially since becoming the company's crew chief for other racing, Ives has tackled a wide variety of tasks. He views this as just another along the same lines as working with Hendrick Motorsports' Xfinity Series program or his stint leading the Garage 56 project in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"If you know my personality, I don’t get too high in the highs and don’t get too low in the lows. I always think of opportunities as, 'That’s my job.' And my job is to do it to 100 percent completion with the best of my ability," Ives said last week. "I don’t get caught up in the title of the race or the accolades or the pressure behind it, I just understand what’s in front of us. We’re not guaranteed in the race, and our goal is to go and have a fast enough car to qualify in on Wednesday (Feb. 12 during DAYTONA 500 qualifying) and if not, race our way in on Thursday (in the Daytona Duels)."
Ives' observation is astute in the fact that the there is no guarantee of making the race at all. And to his point, there's far too much to worry about in the present to be consumed with nostalgia.
As of Wednesday, 44 cars will attempt to fill out the 40-driver field. Five-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves could make it 41 should he fail to qualify and thus be forced to use the newly instituted Open Exemption Provisional, given to, "world-class drivers who enter a NASCAR Cup Series race". With 36 spots on the starting grid guaranteed to teams carrying full-time charters, and with Castroneves also holding a spot, that leaves seven entries battling for four positions in the field. The No. 40 car will be among them.
With that uncertainty comes pressure. And even as business-like as Ives is, he too can feel the squeeze as Speedweek approaches.
"This being Dale and Kelley's first entry in the Cup Series, there's definitely a lot of pressure and there's going to be eyes on the whole team and what speed we have," Ives admitted. "I feel like there's a tendency to think, 'We'll just have speed and get in,' and that's not the reality. The reality is it takes a lot of work to be good, no matter what level you race at or what race team. So, the quality of the car we have to bring isn't one that is inferior to anybody who could potentially run in the top 10 or qualify on the front row. That's our mindset that has to go into it and that's the dedication that Dale and Kelley and everyone at JR Motorsports is willing to put into it."
There is plenty of good news for Ives and the team, however. First and foremost, Ives' own history in qualifying for the DAYTONA 500. In eight seasons on top of a Cup Series pit box, Ives' car sat on the front row six times with only one exception, a third place showing by Earnhardt Jr. in 2016. Along with driver Alex Bowman, the duo won two poles and qualified second three times from 2018-2022.
Two of the open spots into the DAYTONA 500 will be awarded to the two fastest times from during Wednesday's single-lap qualifying among cars not already locked into the field. The other two positions will be decided during the Daytona Duels.
As it long has for JR Motorsports' Xfinity Series teams, the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop will provide the horsepower for the No. 40 entry, meaning that the car, at least in theory, should show up with plenty of speed. While Ives wasn't about to give out too many of his qualifying secrets, he pointed to how narrow the razor's edge between speed and struggle really is.
"Everything comes down to thousandths of an inch now and trying to maximize everything you possibly can and not go over," Ives said. "Whether it's the engines, the body, the setup, the driver - it's all in the details and you see a lot more teams putting emphasis on qualifying with this style of car. The Gen-6 car, there was a huge deviation between a qualifying car and a car that could race really well, so you'd have a higher percentage of people - when we were still with the traditional, Sunday qualifying - going for qualifying and then they'd switch the car over for the Duels. Now, it's a little bit different with the Gen-7 car where you can qualify really well and still have a car capable of racing pretty well.
"Also, you have guys that focus on making sure the car drives really well. Now days, you have to have both. You have to have it handling well and have speed. So, it's pretty dangerous when you see those guys that are qualifying up front because most likely, they'll stay toward the front of the pack with this car."
And certainly, there would seem to be the right people involved with Ives' team to put forth an effort that could potentially be a factor at the front as well. After all, Earnhardt Jr. is a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner himself.
Ives said that one of the best parts of his involvement in the entry has been reconnecting with Earnhardt Jr., with whom he once served as crew chief for at Hendrick Motorsports. Ives was also a crew chief at the Xfinity Series level for JR Motorsports, working with Regan Smith in 2013 and Chase Elliott in 2014.
To hear Ives tell it, Earnhardt Jr. has been hands on since the start of this latest venture. And Ives believes that collaboration between owner, crew chief and Allgaier among others, will only make it more formidable come Speedweek.
"I'm not trying to do this the Greg Ives way, I'm trying to do it collectively with JR Motorsports and try to do it the best way and allow us to accomplish this goal of making the 500 together," Ives said. "It's been a lot of fun to reconnect back with Dale a little bit.
"Over the past couple of weeks he's been over at the shop and checking out the car and looking at the details and asking the right questions, going through the process and being part of the pressure to try and go out there and make the DAYTONA 500. That's been a lot of fun. I've had a couple of team meetings with the road crew guys and the guys working on the car. They've all been involved and they're allowing me to do my job and also providing direction in terms of where they want to see the car go."