SCENEDAILY - 08:25AM ET MONDAY JULY 2, 2007 - BY SCENEDAILY STAFF REPORT
MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGESLOUDON, N.H. - Who needs Steve Letarte? In the first race without his suspended crew chief, all Jeff Gordon did was finish a close second to Denny Hamlin in Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Sure, Letarte is a big part of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. But Jeff Meendering filled in nicely at NHIS, and Gordon didn't miss a beat.
"You can take me out of the driver's seat and that car is still going to be competitive out there," Gordon said. "I mean, our teams and our organization are just that good. Yes, we've got a lot of depth and we've got a lot of good people, but I think we've just spent so many years building up the race teams and the organization, that they never revolve around one person.
"And it's not me, it's not the crew chief, it's not a guy hanging bodies at the shop or building the engines; it's everybody's group effort that makes it happen."
Letarte was suspended for six weeks after NASCAR found the front fenders of the No. 24 were altered last week at Infineon Raceway. Chad Knaus, crew chief for teammate Jimmie Johnson, was hit with the same penalty.
"I think it would be shame on us if we lose a person for six weeks and we fall to pieces," Gordon said. "That means that we didn't have a strong enough team to begin with, and I think even Steve Letarte would admit that.
"And I think it's a tribute to his preparation, too. He's built a great team for us and been able to contribute to it, and I think his preparation for those guys coming in allowed them to step in and do their job."
And for Meendering, that was making strategy calls. The team was on the phone with Letarte all weekend, but when it came time to race, Meendering was in charge.
"You can only do so much away from the race track," Gordon said. "You know, sometimes that can get confusing. You've got to have confidence in the person that you put up there on that box, and we have confidence in Jeff.
"Obviously, Steve and him have been in quite a bit of communication throughout the week talking about strategy, talking about setups, and everything leading into this weekend. So I feel like he was well prepped, Jeff was."
MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGESLOUDON, N.H. - Who needs Steve Letarte? In the first race without his suspended crew chief, all Jeff Gordon did was finish a close second to Denny Hamlin in Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Sure, Letarte is a big part of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. But Jeff Meendering filled in nicely at NHIS, and Gordon didn't miss a beat.
"You can take me out of the driver's seat and that car is still going to be competitive out there," Gordon said. "I mean, our teams and our organization are just that good. Yes, we've got a lot of depth and we've got a lot of good people, but I think we've just spent so many years building up the race teams and the organization, that they never revolve around one person.
"And it's not me, it's not the crew chief, it's not a guy hanging bodies at the shop or building the engines; it's everybody's group effort that makes it happen."
Letarte was suspended for six weeks after NASCAR found the front fenders of the No. 24 were altered last week at Infineon Raceway. Chad Knaus, crew chief for teammate Jimmie Johnson, was hit with the same penalty.
"I think it would be shame on us if we lose a person for six weeks and we fall to pieces," Gordon said. "That means that we didn't have a strong enough team to begin with, and I think even Steve Letarte would admit that.
"And I think it's a tribute to his preparation, too. He's built a great team for us and been able to contribute to it, and I think his preparation for those guys coming in allowed them to step in and do their job."
And for Meendering, that was making strategy calls. The team was on the phone with Letarte all weekend, but when it came time to race, Meendering was in charge.
"You can only do so much away from the race track," Gordon said. "You know, sometimes that can get confusing. You've got to have confidence in the person that you put up there on that box, and we have confidence in Jeff.
"Obviously, Steve and him have been in quite a bit of communication throughout the week talking about strategy, talking about setups, and everything leading into this weekend. So I feel like he was well prepped, Jeff was."
