Francis excited to bring crew-chief mentality to technical director role

CONCORD, N.C. – Finding Victory Lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is no easy feat.

It takes a talented driver, a potent strategy and a consistent pit crew. And a whole lot more.

“There's a lot that goes into it that most people don't see,” said Kenny Francis, who on Wednesday was named Hendrick Motorsports’ vehicle technical director. “There's a lot going on behind the scenes.”

That’s where Francis will come in.

The longtime crew chief will now oversee organization-wide car design and development with day-to-day management of Hendrick Motorsports’ chassis, body, research and development, on-track testing, vehicle engineering and simulation programs.

But perhaps the most important part of his role will be serving as the primary liaison between Hendrick Motorsports’ crew chiefs and its vehicle group.

“I think for the crew chiefs it's good to have someone that has that crew-chief mentality to help drive the technical side of the company,” Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt said. “Kenny understands what it's like to sit in that crew-chief role, understands the pressure that they're under and can hopefully help deliver better race cars for them to perform with."

An engineer by trade, Francis said he always envisioned himself as a lead engineer or a technical director. And after winning 17 races as a crew chief, he’ll now have the opportunity to help all four Hendrick Motorsports race teams find Victory Lane from week to week.

“One of the things we've found since I've been here, anyway, which has been three years, is it's really tough to get the communication and the flow and everybody kind of pulling together with the guys that stay back at the shop and do all the projects and try to help the race teams out versus the race teams being out on the road and in the fire in the thick of things,” Francis explained.

“We kind of needed a guy in the technical director position for a while that can relate to all the chaos that happens when you're out on the road trying to race these cars. I think that's probably where I'll be most valuable, hopefully, or most impactful is being able to bring that perspective and that experience to the guys that we have back at the shop that are doing all the engineering work and all the behind-the-scenes work to construct the cars, build the cars and figure out how to make the cars go faster."

Keith Rodden, who will take over as the crew chief for the No. 5 team in Francis’ stead, said he’s “extremely excited” about what Francis will be able to provide in his new role.

“I don't know anyone smarter or anyone who is more well-rounded that would be a better fit for that job,” Rodden said. “I think for all the crew chiefs at Hendrick Motorsports, that's really exciting and a really, really good fit."

And with NASCAR introducing a new race package for 2015, which features nearly 60 enhancements including adjustments to the power train, aerodynamics and chassis of the cars, Hendrick Motorsports Owner Rick Hendrick said now is the perfect time for Francis to transition to take over as vehicle technical director.

The fact that all four crew chiefs “know he’s one of the best” will only help the transition.

“Our learning curve should be a lot faster with the new car and all the new rules,” Hendrick said. “It's the first time we've had kind of a crew chief, race engineer person at the center feeding all four teams. To get that done you've got to have someone that the four crew chiefs respect.

“And there's nobody in the sport they respect any more than Kenny Francis."