Elledge Hired as No. 84 Crew Chief
Red Bull Racing Team formally announces Jimmy Elledge as crew chief of the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota piloted by AJ Allmendinger, effective this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.Elledge’s most recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief duties were with former open-wheel star Juan Pablo Montoya, so he’s quite familiar with translating open-wheel lingo. He’ll know that when AJ screams “oversteer” he actually means “loose” or when AJ says “stint” he really means “run.”
“Jimmy is a successful and very well-known crew chief in the NASCAR garage,” said Jay Frye, the team’s vice president and general manager. “He’ll be able to provide the experience and leadership for AJ and the No. 84 team to be competitive on a weekly basis.”
Elledge’s resume includes stints with drivers Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson, Kenny Wallace, Bobby Hamilton and Dale Jarrett. Elledge, in his first race as crew chief with Montoya, was named WYPALL Wipers “Crew Chief of the Race” in April at Talladega Superspeedway. He has one Cup win, leading Hamilton to victory lane at Talladega in 2001.
posted by Wise Little Portraits at 5:58 AM
39 Comments:
I just heard this on Sirius Morning Drive. I'm grinning from ear to ear. I love Jimmy Elledge. He is a GREAT crew chief and hopefully he will mesh well with Red Bull Racing. What is going to happen to Rick?
Sad to see anyone lose thier job, but I love this hire for the #84 team! Welcome aboard, JE...Good luck with RBRT!
Wasnt expecting this at all, but WELCOME TO THE TEAM JIMMY!! =]
Unexpected, but welcome! Both Rick and Jimmy are good, but something with Rick wasn't clicking. Jimmy is a great crew chief! Can't wait to see what happens this weekend and beyond!
KCMO
I see RBRT agreed with me on my previous post about Ricky running the 84 into the ground...
Go get em Jimmy, I love this hire... AJ should see the fruits of this real soon...
I will miss Ricky, and I hope someone can update us on whether or not he is still with Red Bull and what he is doing. He seemed like a great guy and he and AJ had a good relationship.
That being said, I can't even put into words how excited I am about this. Jimmy will be able to capitalize on the good runs that AJ has been having and will be a huge asset to the team.
AJ will be in the top 35 in no time now. Barring mechanical gremlins, I give him four or five more races and he can start growing those stubby little fingernails out again.
I'm surprised it took this long to replace the 84 crew chief. They replaced Doug Richert with the 83 team last year when things weren't working. Why did it take so long to do this with the 84?
Good luck this weekend AJ, Jimmy and the 84 team!
I hope this works out. Jimmy is a great crew chief, so now he'll be able to show what he can do with a top caliber team. And who benefits from this? RBRT and AJ!
Five races and they will be in the top 35!
Look at what the Red Bull guys did on the 4th of July. I got this in my NASCAR Foundation newsletter and had to share:
Danny Kincaid, Aaron Schields, Brian Haaland, Jake Brzozowski and Shaun Peet, members of the #83 Team Red Bull pit crew, toured Speediatrics on Friday, July 4th. The team, who participated in the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on behalf of the Speediatrics units, stopped by to pass out Speediatrics teddy bears to children.
It seems AJ & Rick worked really hard together but just couldn't get things to click into place. I agree that it was time to make a change and "Jimmy Elledge" is a name I've heard mentioned off and on since I've been a fan...these 5 short years. Welcome aboard Mr. Elledge, there are a lot of fans rooting for you to succeed with AJ and the RBRT. Go get 'em boys.
Jimmy Elledge is very well-known indeed. Finally he lands a well-funded team. Sad to see Rick Viers go. I'm as surprised as I was when they released Doug Richert, but a lot of good has come out of it since then.
Now I'm really looking forward to the race on Saturday night. This is going to be a helluva week.
About time, AJ needs a leader.He's a great kid with lots of talent. Now they just need a good race engineer to work with Jimmy and AJ Good Luck Guys
Short bio of AJ on Nascar 24/7 on nascar.com/multimedia.
Bout time! No more busted oil lines, loose lug nuts or blown engines. JE will have this team working together like a well oiled machine!
Aparently RV will remain with the team under a different role.
I've been a huge Jimmy Elledge fan for a ridiculous number of years, so you can only imagine how happy I am about this. Not to say that I think Ricky is a horrible crew chief, because he isn't, just that Jimmy can bring only good things to any team- especially now that he has the resources he needs to work with. I'm really proud of the strides both the 83 and 84 teams have made over the last year. Good job, drivers and crews!
anyone think peoples comments posted on here had anything to do with RV being replaced or is it something along the lines this has been in the works for awhile???
I could say with 120% certainty that this decision was not based on input from people who leave comments on this blog as anonymous.
In fact I think that is pretty close to the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
apparently its a big deal if you post anony on here. Whippee doo.
so NCSUREDBULL would you say the road for ricky has been coming to an end for a while or it is a spur of the moment thing?? bullet
FYI It appears that Nascar.com now has the #83 die cast in stock now...finally...
Just read on jayski that Red Bull could possibly be merging with Ganassi or Bill Davis. Hopefully this will not be a set back because both of these teams are no where near the team Red Bull is. Hopefully if they do merge Ganassi or Davis is just looking for a exit from the sport. But I would not mind this team line-up for Red Bull next year:
#83 - BV
#84 - AJ
#85 - SS
#86 - Montoya
I hate to do it this way, but
I read on Jayski that DEI is close to parking the #01 of Regan Smith due to financial constraints. He is currently 33rd in owner point and could be had withina week or two if DEI parks that ride... I would like to see AJ earn his top 35, not just hand it to him because RBRT has loads of money... However, with that said, I want my boy automatically in the 500 next February... Just thought I'd pass on the news...
The rumors for a RB merger do not cite a source. Silly season has gone off the deep end.
The rumors for a RB merger do not cite a source. Silly season has gone off the deep end.
Jason, It has nothing to do with money, it has to do with showing up every week and racing. If the #01 shuts down, RBRT had nothing to do with it. Not like they would buy the points (like the #15 last year)
*sorry for the double post above*
I agree, silly season going off the deep end!!!
83,
I know- I am not blaming RBR for the #01 or anything... I am pretty happy that this possibly makes AJ's shot at the top 35 a little bit easier. But it is a shame what the economy is doing to pretty decent raceteams this season...
Amen on the "Silly Season going off the deep end." There have been some unbelieveable rumors going around. I can't wait till all that crap dies down.
KCMO
You are so Right on Silly Season going off the deep end ... On the other hand... Welcome to Red Bull Jimmy
Remember everyone, practice and qualifying for Sat night's race is sched for this evening... I am glad I looked or I would've missed it...
Go get em AJ!!!
Welcome to Team Red Bull Jimmy. Go Get'em guys
It's about time the #84 team gets some concrete help!! AJ is a terrific driver but can't create miracles. Good Luck Jimmy! We AJ fans are counting on your leadership to turn this great team into a GREATER team!! Go get'em AJ.
Good Luck in quals BV and AJ! Go get'em
WE BELIEVE
Weather may wreak havoc - there's a 100% chance of thunderstorms for Joliet, IL this afternoon and tonight, lasting until 10 pm or so. National Weather Service radar shows a lovely line of red, yellow, and green headed straight for the area. They might not get qualifying in.
KCMO
If anyone has XM, AJ will be the guest on Dale Jr's show tonight.
Does anyone know when Brian and AJ go out tonight?
If they get out, BV is 6th and I believe AJ was 40th.
Thanks for the heads up about AJ on Dale Jr.'s show. I read your comment right as it was starting so I ran out to my car and brought my XM in. It was a pretty funny interview.
You're Welcome. It was a great show! I could listen to AJ speak for days. He always makes me laugh!
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