Ives happy with ‘21, but already has list of improvements
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The 2021 NASCAR season came to a close Nov. 7 at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. However, just because the checkered flag has flown does not mean the work is done said Greg Ives, crew chief of the Hendrick Motorsports number 48 of Alex Bowman, as he and the team prepare for a Thursday test of the NASCAR NextGen car at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 48 team finished the year with four wins -- at Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Martinsville Speedway -- 16 top 10s and eight top fives with an average finish of 15.1.
While Ives is happy with how the season went from a wins perspective, he is hopeful to find more consistency going into the 2022 season.
"I do feel like we had a solid year from a wins standpoint," Ives said. "From a consistency standpoint, I wasn't very happy with that. Getting the wins -- especially at Martinsville and Richmond -- ... Martinsville is such a special place to Hendrick Motorsports, and Richmond is kind of the Achilles Heel one that we haven't really been that successful at. So to be able to get those wins -- and then get Miles the Monster (the Dover trophy) -- that trophy was pretty neat as well as Pocono.
"You've got to look at the positive which are the wins, top 10s and top fives but also, to improve anything, you have to work on the areas you struggled and some of those were on our bread and butter tracks."
The race win at Dover was especially special for Hendrick Motorsports as a whole as Alex Bowman led Kyle Larson, Chase Elliot and William Byron across the line in a Hendrick 1-2-3-4 finish. It was only the fourth time in NASCAR Cup Series history a team had finished in the top four spots and the first time since Roush Fenway racing did it in 2005.
For Ives, it was a continuation of success at the Monster Mile for Hendrick that he helped kickstart as a member of Jimmie Johnson's crew several years ago.
"Dover has been a strong track for Hendrick Motorsports, especially Jimmie Johnson," he said. "Being on several Dover wins, being part of creating that setup that runs so well there and the concepts, to continue that not only with the 88 but the 48 and Alex -- it's one of his favorite tracks -- so to be able to pull that off was pretty cool.
"It was a total team win. Not only did we have a good car, but the pit crew came out on top with a pitstop and was able to get out in front of the five car (Kyle Larson) there, who was leading laps, and Alex was able to pull off the win."
With the end of the season comes the end of an era for NASCAR as it moves from the Gen-6 racecar to the NextGen (Gen-7) car. The change, unlike those in the past -- like the Gen-4 car to the Car of Tomorrow (Gen-5) car -- will bring unique challenges, said Ives.
"The end of the Gen-6 is different than what we have felt moving through different generations of cars because you kind of relatively had the same parts and pieces and general concepts of chassis and bodies," he said. "They may have changed a little bit on specs and how you're able to build them, but the Gen-7 is just 100 percent different. Everything from the metal tubing all the way up to the body on the car, the chassis everything is different."
All of it, added Ives, is a tad bittersweet.
"It's been pretty sad to see all the parts going out on crates and going to warehouse to know it's gone. With all of that, there is also excitement.
"Whenever there is change, and you have something that's coming in that's new that nobody knows a ton about, it gives you a potential advantage to go out there and explore new options and get it done."
Ives and the 48 team will be heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway Thursday to continue getting a grip on the new platform they will be running next year.
"I told my guys (Monday) that a lot of it is going to be validation of sim," he said. "That may not mean that you're always going to try to be the fastest car. You're trying to just validate how your simulation reacts and predicts whether it's travels, whether it's cambers, whether it's the overall lap time of the car.
"Ultimately, once you get that verification of systems and simulations, going out there and trying to put your car in different scenarios to be faster."
Alongside the new car, NASCAR will also be visiting several new venues, most notably the L.A. Coliseum for the preseason exhibition race, the aptly named Clash at the Coliseum. With all the changes and branching into new areas for competition, Ives knows the importance of trying to grow the sport.
"A lot of new things coming. A lot of new things that nobody has any expectations of greatness or failure but were trying to work towards making things better and attracting new fans and new areas of excitement and maybe new drivers and owners. Only time will tell," he said. "We have to be ambassadors of the sport. It's something that we want to see succeed, and we're going to do everything that we can to help that along the way."
Going on 18 years with Hendrick Motorsports -- nine as a crew chief -- Ives hopes his journey and mindset from the U.P. to the big leagues of NASCAR can help provide some inspiration for others.
"It's been a long road since graduating high school and starting this venture at a young age," he said. "It's something that hard work, takes dedication but also takes support of the community, family, friends, all that around you.
"I try to continue to stay humble in my successes but also learn from my mistakes and failures. I think for anybody, that can be a lesson in life.
"No matter what trials you're going through, you have the ability to succeed if you choose to and to learn from the mistakes and failures you come across."