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_(cropped).jpg) Grubb atIndianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Darian Kent Grubb |
| Born | (1975-10-09)October 9, 1975 (age 49) Floyd, Virginia, U.S. |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | NASCAR Cup Series |
| Team | 87.Trackhouse Racing |
Darian Kent Grubb (born October 9, 1975) is an AmericanNASCAR mechanic, engineer, andcrew chief who is currently employed atTrackhouse Racing as the Director of Performance and the crew chief of the team's part-time No. 87Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven byConnor Zilisch in the2025 NASCAR Cup Series. He has collected 1 championship and 24 wins (including 1Daytona 500 win) as a crew chief.
Previously, Grubb worked forHendrick Motorsports in a technical director position in 2020, 2019, 2017 and 2016 and as a crew chief for their No. 24 ofWilliam Byron in2018. Prior to that, he worked forJoe Gibbs Racing as a crew chief for two of theirNASCAR Cup Series teams: the No. 11 ofDenny Hamlin from2012 to2014 and the No. 19 ofCarl Edwards in2015. Prior to that, Grubb worked forStewart–Haas Racing from2009 to2011 as the crew chief for team co-ownerTony Stewart, winning the Cup Series championship with him in 2011. Before that, he had another stint atHendrick Motorsports from 2003 to 2008, starting his career as an engineer and was later the interim crew chief in2006 forJimmie Johnson's No. 48 after the suspension ofChad Knaus at the start of the season, where Johnson would go on to win the2006 Daytona 500.[1] Grubb then got his first permanent crew chiefing job in2007, working on Hendrick's No. 25 ofCasey Mears before moving into an engineering managerial role with the team in2008.
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Grubb was born inFloyd, Virginia, a small town inFloyd County, which had only one stoplight and an estimated 14,000 residents. Floyd is also the birthplace and childhood home of NASCAR legend Curtis Turner. His love of racing began to develop during his time atFloyd County High School. He builtLate Model stock cars that competed in races throughoutVirginia and theCarolinas. Grubb made a lasting impression upon his graduation in 1993, ranking 6th in a 156-pupilclass. As asenior at theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (more commonly known asVirginia Tech) in 1998, Grubb was influential in the design of the school's "Tinker Bell" ATV used in competition. He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree that year through a co-op program withVolvo Trucks andGeneral Motors. Grubb quoted this about his association with the co-op program:
"That was a really good program. I worked within Volvo Heavy Trucks for the first four years [of college]. I was basically able to do five years of college with alternatingsemesters, so I got a year-and-a-half of work experience by the time I graduated. I was a juniordesign engineer and worked with people designingtruck interiors - seats,dashes and all the integral parts of the interior of tractor-trailer rigs. My senior year [in college] I went toGeneral Motors and worked on theCadillac program that summer, basically working onmechanical systems, warranty reduction and power-steering systems. That was a good experience for me because it was my first time to actually move out of state and I got a chance to work with one of theBig Three auto companies."[2][3][4]
Grubb spent four years as an engineer withHendrick Motorsports, before taking over the crew chief job temporarily forJimmie Johnson's team at the2006 Daytona 500, after regular crew chiefChad Knaus was suspended. Johnson went on to win that race for his firstDaytona 500 victory. Johnson and Grubb went on to finish second at the 2006Auto Club 500. Johnson won two weeks later, again with Grubb, in the 2006UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. In 2007, he was named the crew chief forCasey Mears' No. 25 Hendrick team, where he scored another win, at theCoca-Cola 600. For the 2008 season, Grubb moved to an administrative role withHendrick Motorsports, supervising the No. 5 and the renumbered No. 88 teams.
On September 5, 2008, it was announced that Grubb would be leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season to join the newStewart–Haas Racing team to serve asTony Stewart's crew chief in 2009.[5] Their first win together came at theAll-Star Race atCharlotte Motor Speedway. Grubb also guided Stewart to his first points race win as an owner/driver at the2009 Pocono 500. During the 2011 season, Grubb led Stewart from a mediocre pre-chase effort to five chase victories and Stewart's third NASCAR Cup Championship by way of a 5-1 victorytiebreaker overCarl Edwards that NASCAR used in the event of a tie in the points standings at the end of the season. This was Grubb's first championship. However, Grubb announced that he had been informed of his release prior to thefall Charlotte race.
Grubb joinedJoe Gibbs Racing and became the crew chief forDenny Hamlin and the No. 11 team in 2012, replacingMike Ford. On July 29, 2014, Grubb was suspended six races for tampered firewall covers, which could lead to more downforce, during theBrickyard 400.[6] JGR shook up their crew chief lineup for 2015, and Grubb moved from Hamlin's No. 11 to JGR's upstart fourth Cup Series car, the No. 19, driven byCarl Edwards. Ironically, this meant that Grubb was now crew chiefing the driver who Stewart (who was crew chiefed by Grubb) barely beat to win the 2011 championship.[7]
In 2016, Grubb returned to Hendrick Motorsports to become the vehicle production director, which oversees chassis manufacturing.[8] In 2017, he was named crew chief for the No. 5 car ofKasey Kahne for the last 9 races of the season starting at New Hampshire.[9]
On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Grubb would be the crew chief forWilliam Byron for the2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.[10] On October 10, 2018,Hendrick Motorsports announced that Grubb would return to a technical director position while Knaus takes over crew chief duties for the No. 24 in 2019.[11]
In 2021, Grubb left Hendrick again and went toChip Ganassi Racing as their Director of Performance. The position was a subordinate to CGR's team manager, Tony Lunders.[12] When CGR sold their NASCAR team toTrackhouse Racing after the end of that year, Grubb continued in the same role for Trackhouse. On May 26, 2022, Trackhouse announced that Grubb would crew chief the team's new part-time third car, the No. 91, driven byKimi Räikkönen inthe race atWatkins Glen.[13] He would return atCircuit of the Americas with Räikkönen in 2023. He would also leadShane van Gisbergen to his first career Cup Series win in his debut at theChicago Street Course.
On October 16, 2024, Grubb was the interim crew chief of the No. 16 car forKaulig Racing (a team with an alliance with Trackhouse) No. 16 in thefall Cup Series race at Las Vegas after the team parted ways withTravis Mack.[14] Grubb was also the interim crew chief of Trackhouse's No. 1 car driven byRoss Chastain in the2024 season-finale atPhoenix after Phil Surgen was suspended due to the team being a part of the Chevrolet race manipulation atMartinsvillethe previous weekend.[15]
On January 6, 2025, it was announced that Grubb would crew chief the Trackhouse No. 91 at theDaytona 500 withHélio Castroneves.[16] On February 24, it was announced that Grubb would crew chief Trackhouse's No. 87 at theEchoPark Automotive Grand Prix withConnor Zilisch.[17]
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