Thursday, January 09, 2014

BREAKING NEWS: Letarte Heading For TV Booth In 2015

Letarte (R) will depart at season's end
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will have a new crew chief in 2015.

GodfatherMotorsports.com has learned that crew chief Steve Letarte will relinquish his spot atop the No. 88 team’s pit box at season’s end to accept a new position as a television analyst with NBC and NBC Sports Network, beginning in 2015. Multiple sources say Letarte will join Rick Allen and driver Jeff Burton in the broadcast booth for the final 20 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the final 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series events. The network also holds rights to select NASCAR Regional Racing Series events, Mexico's NASCAR Toyota Series, the annual NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony and various post-season awards banquets.

Letarte has served as crew chief for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver since 2011, with one win, 24 Top-5 and 54 Top-10 finishes in 106 starts. Earnhardt finished fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings last season, despite failing to win a race. He recorded Top-5 finishes in five of the final eight races and is expected to challenge for the 2014 title.

An official announcement of Letarte’s new position is expected this week in Daytona Beach, Fla., where NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are scheduled to test tomorrow. 

Reached for comment today, Letarte said, “I will be the crew chief for the No. 88 Chevrolet in in 2014. That’s all I know right now.”

28 comments:

  1. Thats not Good you don't give jobs like this up with out being pushed out. Something feels REALLY Strange about this Hendrick doesn't really let people go!

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    1. Christine12:14 PM

      Exactly..there is more to this story.

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  2. NO Steve!!!! Please don't go! Please!!!!

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  3. Anonymous10:46 AM

    Seriously? This has got to be a bad joke?!?!?!

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    1. Anonymous12:11 PM

      I agree...something is up!

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  4. Congrats to Steve Letarte. I'm sure it's extremely stressful to be the crew chief of the most overrated male driver in the history of NASCAR.

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    1. Anonymous11:59 AM

      +1 !

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    2. Anonymous12:09 PM

      We all have opinions!

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    3. Anonymous12:11 PM

      If ur not a JR fan , why are u worried about it? Right..... I know a jimmy fan when I see one! Lmao

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    4. Anonymous2:31 AM

      sounds like some one is jealous of jrs fame !!!

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  5. Anonymous11:18 AM

    Wow. This is a total shocker.

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  6. Anonymous12:02 PM

    I have an inside scoop on this...its all about Steve wanting to spend more time with his family as he is a family man...nothing to do with mr H or anything like that..he has young kids and life as a crew chief is an all in job...

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  7. From pumping gas at Wiscasset Speedway with his dad and now the TV booth. Nice to see him progress.

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    1. Anonymous2:19 PM

      Love that track. To bad they didn't run there more

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  8. Congrats to Steve, he does a great job the few times I've heard him on the radio with The Bagman and Pistol Pete. Plus, it's a lot of stress as a crew chief and he may get to spend more time with his family.

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  9. Had heard this as a rumor a while ago. Steve has young children and this gives him time to be with them. He will do fine with Rick and Jeff. I like the trio.

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  10. Anonymous1:00 PM

    He has a better chance of getting in vicyory lane as a broadcaster!

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  11. Anonymous1:30 PM

    This is a bummer..seemed they "clicked" as a team. Don't worry JR NATION..Dale Jr will overcome !! just a minor setback !!!!!!

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  12. Biggest Canadian Fan.1:58 PM

    Wow, I thought the two of them were great for each other, we have this year and will WIN the Cup.

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  13. Biggest Canadian Fan.2:02 PM

    Wow I thought they were great together well we have to win the cup and are going to this year.

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  14. Replies
    1. Anonymous4:03 PM

      Looks like Chad may be making a move!

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  15. Anonymous4:01 PM

    Nooooooooo! They work so well together snd seem so close to being consistent winners.

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  16. Anonymous5:40 PM

    WTH, GOOD FOR HIM AS LONG AS HE GIVES HIS ALL THIS YEAR, HAVE A GREAT YEAR, JR IN THE RUNNING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP.

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  17. Anonymous7:27 PM

    agree with Linuxed!!! absolutely FLOORED!!!!

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  18. I agree with Tom and Christine. There's more to this story! My feeling is that planning is/was already underway for a new crew chief for Jr. in 2015.

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  19. A fantastic blog with a lot of useful information. I would love to get updates from you. Keep blogging. All the best.

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