Jeff Meendering

Last updated
Jeff Meendering
Personal information
Full nameJeff Steven Meendering
Nationality American
Born (1977-05-21) May 21, 1977 (age 47)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
OccupationCrew chief
Years active1996–present
Sport
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Sport Motor racing
League NASCAR Xfinity Series
TeamNo. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing

Jeff Steven Meendering (born May 21, 1977) is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Joe Gibbs Racing as the crew chief of their No. 81 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driven by Chandler Smith. He previously worked as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing, a Cup Series crew chief for Petty Enterprises and a car chief in the Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports, SHR and JGR.

Contents

Racing career

1996–2007: Hendrick Motorsports

Meendering began working for Hendrick Motorsports in 1996. In 2000, he became a member of the pit crew for the No. 24 car driven by Jeff Gordon in the Cup Series. In 2005, he became the car chief for the No. 24 car. [1]

In 2007, after Gordon's No. 24 car and Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 car failed inspection at Sonoma, resulting in Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte, and Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, being suspended for six races, Meendering was the No. 24 car's interim crew chief. While serving as interim crew chief, Meendering was assisted by Ken Howes, Hendrick's Vice President of Competition at the time, and Ron Malec, Johnson's car chief and interim crew chief, was assisted by Lance McGrew, who worked for the team in Research and Development at the time. [1]

2008–2016: Petty Enterprises crew chief, SHR and JGR car chief

In 2008, he left Hendrick to become the crew chief for the famous Petty Enterprises No. 43 car driven by Bobby Labonte, replacing Doug Randolph, who left to go to Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as the crew chief of Paul Menard's No. 15 car. This was Meendering's first permanent crew chief job. He was recruited to the position by Robbie Loomis, the crew chief of Gordon's No. 24 car prior to Letarte, who worked for Petty Enterprises at the time as their Vice President of Race Operations, after the two previously worked at Hendrick together. [2]

In 2009, Petty Enterprises merged into Gillett Evernham Motorsports and the two teams became Richard Petty Motorsports. Labonte and Meendering both did not continue with the team after the merger. Labonte went to Hall of Fame Racing to drive their No. 96 car and Meendering went to Stewart-Haas Racing (previously Haas CNC Racing) to serve as the car chief on their No. 14 car driven by Tony Stewart. Meendering eventually left SHR for Joe Gibbs Racing to become the car chief for Matt Kenseth's No. 20 car. [3]

2017–present: Xfinity Series crew chief

In 2017, Meendering returned to Stewart-Haas Racing to become the crew chief of their new Xfinity Series No. 00 car driven by Cole Custer. [3] He returned to the role in 2018. In 2019, Meendering left SHR to return to JGR as the crew chief of their No. 19 Xfinity Series car driven by Brandon Jones. He continued in that position for the next three years. In 2023, Jones left JGR for JR Motorsports to replace Noah Gragson in their No. 9 car. [4] Meendering stayed with JGR and moved over to the team's No. 18 car driven by rookie Sammy Smith. Smith would also leave JGR for JRM in 2024. Meendering remained with JGR, moving to the team's new fourth full-time car, the No. 81, driven by Chandler Smith. [5]

Personal life

Meendering's younger brother, Kevin, is also a NASCAR crew chief. Kevin works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief for their part-time No. 17 car in the Xfinity Series. The Meendering brothers are from Marne, Michigan. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendrick Motorsports</span> American racecar team

Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 307 Cup Series races and 14 Cup Series owners and drivers championships to go with three Truck Series owners and drivers titles and one Xfinity Series drivers crown. Additionally, the team has 28 Xfinity Series race wins, 26 Truck Series race wins, and seven ARCA Menards Series race wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Gibbs Racing</span> NASCAR racing team

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992. JGR has won five Cup Series championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart–Haas Racing</span> American professional stock car racing team

Stewart–Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It was founded in 2002 as Haas CNC Racing after Haas, whose company was a sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports, elected to form his own team. In 2009, Stewart, who had been driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, made a deal with Haas to drive for the team and in return receive a 50% stake in it. The team is set to close at the conclusion of the 2024 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Addington</span> NASCAR crew chief

Steven J. Addington is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for RSS Racing as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2024, he is primarily crew chiefing their No. 29 Ford Mustang driven by Blaine Perkins. He has won 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 11 Xfinity Series races as a crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darian Grubb</span> NASCAR crew chief and technical director

Darian Kent Grubb is a NASCAR mechanic, engineer, and crew chief who is currently employed at Trackhouse Racing as the Director of Performance and the crew chief of the team's part-time No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Kimi Räikkönen and Shane van Gisbergen. He has collected one championship and 24 wins as a crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Zipadelli</span> NASCAR crew chief

Gregory C. Zipadelli, nicknamed "Zippy", is an American crew chief in NASCAR. He is currently the competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing. Zipadelli is most notable for being the crew chief of the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Joey Logano from 1999 to 2011. He has won 34 races and two championships in 2002 and 2005 as a crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Boswell</span> American racing driver and crew chief

Richard Warner Boswell II is an American former professional stock car racing driver and crew chief who works for Stewart-Haas Racing as the crew chief of their No. 14 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Chase Briscoe. He previously crew chiefed the team's No. 98 car in the Xfinity Series driven by Briscoe and Riley Herbst. He previously drove in the Xfinity Series in one race in 2009 for JR Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Food City 500</span> Motor car race

The 2006 Food City 500 was an event held at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 26, 2006, as the fifth race in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.

The NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge is an event held by NASCAR during All-Star race weekend. The event was an exhibition pit stop contest featuring the top teams from the Sprint Cup Series. The event was cancelled for 2013 due to lack of sponsorship. The event is due to be revived during the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Gustafson</span> NASCAR crew chief

Alan Arthur Gustafson is an American NASCAR Cup Series crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Chase Elliott in the NASCAR Cup Series. He and Elliott won the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship together.

Gregory Stuart Ives is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is fielded part-time for Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and William Byron. He is also serving as the interim crew chief for Hendrick's No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Alex Bowman in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was previously the permanent crew chief for the same car in 2021 and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Stevens (NASCAR)</span> American NASCAR crew chief (born 1978)

Adam Gregory Stevens is a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for Christopher Bell since 2020. In 2015, he became the first crew chief since Jeff Hammond in 1982 to win the championship in his rookie season as the crew chief for Kyle Busch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 36th season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 36th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began with the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Daniel Suárez was the defending drivers' champion while Toyota was the defending manufacturer's champion, although Suárez couldn't defend his title due to him racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Meendering</span> American NASCAR crew chief (born 1981)

Kevin John Meendering is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is fielded part-time for Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and William Byron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 41st season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 41st season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 5 at Phoenix Raceway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Shiplett</span> NASCAR crew chief

Michael Gene Shiplett is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Bret Holmes Racing as Bret Holmes's crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Mack</span> NASCAR crew chief

Travis Steven Mack is an American NASCAR crew chief who is currently employed at Kaulig Racing as the team's technical director as well as the crew chief of their No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by A. J. Allmendinger and other drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 42nd season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 42nd season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series saw 36 chartered teams and several open entries compete throughout the season.

References

  1. 1 2 Long, Dustin (June 29, 2007). "Crew chiefs adjusting to battlefield promotions". News & Record . Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Meendering shifts gears, named Labonte's crew chief". ESPN . Associated Press. November 26, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Vincent, Amanda (November 30, 2016). "NASCAR Xfinity: Jeff Meendering named Cole Custer's new crew chief". Auto Racing Daily. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Sammy Smith running full time for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  5. ↑ Crane, John (December 13, 2023). "Joe Gibbs Racing announces four-car lineup for 2024 Xfinity Series". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  6. ↑ Kaminski, Steve (July 29, 2019). "West Michigan native out as Jimmie Johnson's crew chief". MLive . Advance Publications . Retrieved December 14, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.