As crew chief for Earnhardt Jr. and now for Martin, Gibson gets the job done

One of the positive aspects of the split last year between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his former team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., was that it allowed a very competent crew chief to show what he could do as a team leader.

NASCAR Even though Tony Gibson is no longer Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief, Gibson says, "[We still] have a really good relationship that I hope will continue." Tony Gibson had been a car chief at DEI for years, but when Earnhardt Jr.'s cousin and longtime crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., was suspended early last year, Gibson stepped in and led the team. Then when Eury left for Hendrick Motorsports to prepare for Earnhardt's move to that team, Gibson took over as crew chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet at DEI. He still has that job and is working with veteran Mark Martin and rookie Aric Almirola.

Martin, who has worked with some of the sport's best crew chiefs, including Jimmy Fennig and Steve Hmiel, said he is impressed with they way Gibson does his job.

"To be real honest with you, every week that I work with Tony I like him more," Martin said.

Martin said the communication wasn't the best at first, but a disappointing race at Atlanta proved to be the turning point because the two learned from that experience.

"I have enormous respect for Tony Gibson," Martin said. "I really like him. I talked to him on the phone almost every day. He is fantastic. And he's really good with his team. He has a great following, and the way he leads that team is spot on."

Gibson modestly points out that he simply has taken over a proven crew.

"It has been really good because it's the same team as when Dale Jr. was here," he said. "It has made my deal a lot more comfortable because I've got guys around me that I have been around for six years.

"That part's been real easy, but I miss Dale Jr.We talk every weekend and kid around, he and Tony Jr.We still do [radiocontrolled] cars at his house and have a really good relationship that I hope will continue.

"I miss him, but I'm having a really good time with Mark. I've got a really young driver [Almirola] that's really aggressive and on fire, and a veteran [Martin] that's solid every time you put him in the car. He can help you and help your team.We're just enjoying it and using his knowledge to help us grow."

He said in many ways he still functions much like a car chief.

"I enjoy working on the cars, so I don't feel any different than anybody on the team," he said. "I have a car chief, Mike Moore, but I'm still hands on. I like to work on the car. I like to be there all the time working on the car and knowing what I have in the car. I trust everybody around me, but I like to have my hands on it. It's important for me."

Still, it's now up to him to make the strategy calls on race day.

"It's challenging, but it's fun," he said.

"I think you always second guess yourself, but you make a call based on what you see at the time. I just don't want to disappoint my team."

SPRINT CUP STANDINGS

2,084; leader 2. Jeff Burton

2,063; behind: -21 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

1,939; behind: -145 4. Carl Edwards

1,856; behind: -228 5. Denny Hamlin

1,800; behind: -284 6. Jimmie Johnson

1,799; behind: -285 7. Greg Biffle

1,781; behind: -303 8. Jeff Gordon

1,767; behind: -317 9. Kasey Kahne

1,719; behind: -365 10. Kevin Harvick

1,690; behind: -394 11. Clint Bowyer

1,679; behind: -405 12. Tony Stewart

1,614; behind: -470