Greg Ives sat amongst a room full of media members in downtown Charlotte this January and never flinched when asked how he would handle the pressure of being Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief.
He was the man with a plan, a man who carried the confidence of recent success with both Regan Smith and Chase Elliott in the XFINITY Series. So, he said, he was going to guide the 88 team his way and not through outside influences. The team needed to end as strong as they start, which Ives felt was a downfall and area he wanted to focus on improving.
And as he had done the day he was announced as the new leader of the Hendrick Motorsports team, Ives made it a point to express on that January day, just weeks from Daytona that he openly embraced the loud, proud and opinionated voices of Junior Nation. 35 years old and approaching his first crew chief job in the Sprint Cup Series with its most recognizable figure, Ives breezed through media day like an old pro.
At the time, many could have argued he had been the personification of calm, cool and collected because Ives didn’t really know what he was getting himself involved in. Giving the right answers is one thing, but being the man under a microscope to put Earnhardt Jr. in Victory Lane and produce championships, is another.
Sunday, after winning at Talladega Superspeedway in the GEICO 500 it became clear that Ives knew all along being the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. pales in comparison to being Payton Ives father.
His eight-year-old little girl was being discharged from the hospital as the celebration was wrapping up in Victory Lane. Saturday night she had fallen and suffered a significant break to her right arm that required pins being inserted. Under no circumstances Payton told her father, was he to leave Talladega to come be by her side.
“Dale offered to fly me home, that it would be okay if I missed the race. She’s my biggest fan, but my biggest critic as well,” Ives said. “I asked her if she wanted me to come home. She said no, it was my job to go out there and try to win the race. That’s the only thing that’s going to satisfy her.”
Tough as nails Payton was not to be argued with, and dad knew it would be a losing battle. She, after all, never shed a tear when falling from her swing set and breaking her arm, therefore, didn’t want her dad running home to check on her. Earnhardt Jr. not being a father himself offered to fuel up the plane for Ives to give him the opportunity to go home if needed and not feel obligated to remain at track.
Ives did stay in Talladega where he and Earnhardt Jr. won their first race together and of 2015.
It was another smart call by Payton, a week after calling her father out because of the racecar he had brought to Richmond. The 88 was never a factor in the Toyota Owners 400 finishing 14th and Ives somber mood was not because he was worried what Earnhardt Jr. would say to him when the two met to debrief.
“I went into the hauler and I’m like, man, why are you so down? It wasn’t a great day, but we got to stay positive,” Earnhardt Jr. recalled. “These guys get real affected by our moods. We can’t stomp and kick or pout. We got to tell these people out here loading this car we’re going to show up next week.
He was worried about what she was going to tell him when he got home because she’s been hard on him. That’s probably good, she keeps him honest.”
And waiting at home, Payton had a simple message.
“She told me I need to give Dale better racecars because he can’t win with one like that,” revealed Ives.
Talladega went exactly how Payton would have wanted it. Dad called the race perfectly, sticking to his tire strategy while letting Earnhardt Jr. be as aggressive as he was hoping to be and in turn, kept the 88 where it needed to be. Plus, as Payton had instructed, Ives did bring a fast car – it had finished third in the Daytona 500.
No, pressure isn’t being a crew chief. It wasn’t leaving his engineering spot with Jimmie Johnson after five consecutive championships to lead Regan Smith to wins in 2013. When tabbed to work with Chase Elliott in what turned out to be a record setting, 2014 championship year? He never wavered.
Pressure for Greg Ives is not crew chiefing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s simply being a dad.
“She’s pretty tough on me for an eight-year-old. That’s good,” he said. “That’s what we need. We need self-assurance that we’re doing the right thing, but at times we also need a kick in the butt.”