Denny Hamlin’s crew chief Mike Ford has been let go after a disappointing season with only one win and five top-five finishes for the Joe Gibbs FedEx Toyota driver.
Hamlin averaged a 16th-place finish in 2011 and finished ninth in the Chase after finishing second in 2010. Ford had been Hamlin’s crew chief since 2006.
Rumors have the Tony Stewart ex-crew chief Darian Grubb possibly replacing Ford at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“We’ve had a lot of success together,” Hamlin said. “He’s been kind of the guy who’s been the rock on our race team and kept our guys together. Obviously, we need to improve our performance, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to do that,” Hamlin told NASCAR.com.
Of Darian Grubb, Hamlin said, “He’s obviously a championship crew chief and a guy who’s on the market.”
