One week after all four of their crew chiefs were suspended for unapproved parts, Hendrick Motorsports was forced to dig deep to find replacements for the next four weeks. One of them is a true blast from the past—former Daland Motorsports crew chief Harry Hogge.
“I don’t think Harry’s lost a step”, Hendrick said in advance of this weekend’s race at Atlanta. “We all saw what he did with Cole Trickle and, before that, the late Buddy Bretherton. I feel confident that we’re putting one of our Cup teams in the hands of Hogge, and I can go back to negotiating with Hendrick Cars to expand their sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports.”
The 92-year-old Hogge (who’s team assignment has yet to be revealed) returns to the sports for the first time since his legendary 1990 season with Trickle, followed by his upset win in the 1991 Daytona 500 for Rowdy Burns Racing.
“We all look up to Harry”, said HMS crew member Austin Leesa. “He’s an expert on the ‘slingshot pass’ and knew how to build a car that was low on downforce and high on fuel capacity. Granted, most of those things have been legislated out of the sport, but still, he has some pretty nice stories.”
Hogge, who was unavailable for comment, has spent the past thirty years pursing such varied careers as LAPD detective, Argentine tango expert, and Will Ferrell’s dad. However, its his return to the role of Nascar crew chief that has the sport buzzing.
“We were lucky that we could find an experienced, successful crew chief like Harry available to come work with us”, Leesa said. “We could only pull so many staffers from JR Motorsports—a team we are merely affiliated with, and in no way, shape or form control.”
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