Earnhardt Ganassi Racing signs new crew chief Chris Heroy for Montoya – NASCAR news
Former Hendrick Motorsport crew chief, Chris Heroy joined Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to facilitate Juan Pablo Montoya.
Heroy will be working as a crew chief for the former Formula 1 driver in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Previously, he worked for the NASCAR veteran Mark Martin at HM team since 2004.
He also contributed as the lead engineer for car no. 5 team. Heroy pushed Martin’s team to end as a runner up in the series couple of years ago.
Team owner Chip Ganassi said, “We are very excited to bring Chris into the organization and to have him work with Juan Pablo. We think he will be a great addition to the Target team and believe his combined engineering and crew chief background should help
him work well with both our engineers and competition folks to move our program forward.”
The team owner added that Heroy has a great work experience in the field and holds a strong reputation for his determination. He has been a successful crew chief through his career. The team is delighted to include him in the crew.
Heroy said, “I am really looking forward to working with the guys in the shop at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to help the 42 [car] improve their performance. Juan Pablo is a great driver and they have a lot of great people here, so I am thrilled to get this
opportunity.”
The EGR endured a tough sup season that included the unexpected replacement of the crew chief for Montoya. Brian Pattie was the crew chief for Montoya’s team at the start of the 2011 season.
After facing some rough time, Pattie was replaced with Jim Pohlman, who served the crew for the running season and departed with the year-end.
Now Heroy has taken the role immediately after the announcement of the deal. Previously in his career he has also worked with five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Nationwide Series.
Montoya has also signed a new multi-year deal with EGR and will be racing with Heroy onwards 2012. It will be his fifth different crew chief since he joined the team as a full time Sprint Cup driver.
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