Ganassi fires No 42 crew chief Jimmy Elledge-UPDATE
Quote selected text Published May 21st, 2008 in NASCAR News
UPDATE:
Ganassi driver Juan Montoya is not happy at all with the firing of Jimmy Elledge, his crew chief.
“I wasn’t really part of it, so, I am pretty frustrated,” Montoya said. “They told me ‘We are thinking of getting rid of Jimmy’ and I said ‘Don’t do it.’ Next thing I knew, they did. That’s what happened. You are going to have to ask somebody else about it, because I wasn’t involved in this.”
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Jimmy Elledge, crew chief for Sprint Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Dodge, has been released from his duties at Chip Ganassi Racing, team officials confirmed Tuesday.
Brian Pattie, 32, will replace Elledge on a interim basis. Pattie was the crew chief for CGR’s No. 41 Nationwide car.
Elledge, 37, has been at CGR since 2003. He recently moved to Montoya’s car when Ganassi officials swapped crew chiefs with the No. 41 Dodge driven by Reed Sorenson.
Donnie Wingo moved from Montoya to Sorenson while Elledge switched to Montoya before the race at Talladega on April 27.
Montoya finished a season-best second at Talladega, but was 32nd at Richmond and 23rd at Darlington in the two races since that event. Montoya ranks 16th in the Cup standings, 76 points outside the 12th-place Chase cutoff spot.
Elledge began his crew chief career in 1998 with driver Hut Stricklin. Elledge spent two seasons at Andy Petree Racing as Bobby Hamilton’s crew chief, earning his first victory with Hamilton at Talladega in 2001.
Elledge is the brother-in-law of Dale Earnhardt Jr. His wife is Earnhardt’s older sister, Kelley, who also is Earnhardt’s business manager.
- Elledge hired as Allmendinger’s crew chief
- Ganassi swaps No 41 and No 42 crew chiefs to help struggling team
- Tensions rising between Montoya and Ganassi over Elledge firing
- Frustrated Montoya meets with Ganassi
- Montoya now pleased with team’s direction
HAY ALL THE EARNHARDT HATERS,,,,,,,,,, NO COMMENTS YET,,,,,,,,,,,,,, WHERE ARE THEY ???
I dont think Jimmy Elledge has anything to worry about. He is Jr’s brother-in-law, so I dont think he will go hungry.
Just from watching him as a crew chief, he’s not much to write home about. Much as I like Kelly, and think Jr is #1, he’s not in their class. Just my point of view.
NascarNannie88 wrote:
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YOU MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING THERE NASCARNANNIE88, NEVER PAYED MUCH ATTENTION BUT PABLO ISN’T A VERY GOOD RACER AND COULD BE DUE TO ELLEDGE…
JAG wrote:
He wasnt doing too well with Wingo either but it couldnt be the driver it just couldnt. lol
I knew Jimmy when he was just a kid running around Shasta Speedway and he had a HUGE thirst for knowledge and was always interested in lending a helping hand, even on my old street stock.
His dad was/is one of the premier engine-builders in Cup and helped put Sr. on the map when it came to restrictor plate engines; DEI history speaks for itself in that department.
No, Jimmy won’t have any difficulties finding work, whether at DEI, JR Motorsports, or anyplace else. I wouldn’t look for JPM to start improving his race finishes anytime soon and while there might be something to be said about a certain number of crew chiefs and their influence on their drivers/teams, I’ve always known Jimmy to be very solid, whether with Bobby, Reed, Hut or even the “world’s greatest gift to NASCAR,” JPM. I’m very certain he’ll land on his feet his talents won’t go unnoticed.
rrtscb
JAG wrote:
He’s not blood related….. l0l
Hello,JR Motorsports!
Jimmy is a great guy , he will land on his feet. theres always room for a good crewchief in NASCAR
JAG wrote:
I like your new nickname JACKA_S GOOFBALL, its seems to fit you with the comments you leave.
I think CGR is in deep. The teams performance has been terrible this year. It’s the team it’s not the driver or the crew chief. It’s equipment.
I agree with Erin. They need to overhaul the whole NASCAR deal. They haven’t done much after spending a lot of money. They don’t even have a regular full time sponsor for a world class driver like Dario. I know the Cipster has been peed as of late and he should be. But this is the team he assembled and has to fess up.
motorsports photography Howie wrote:
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I like yours, Howie the goofball HOG Shuttertwit…
wrote:
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I mean shuttertwat………
i went to high school with Brian Pattie so i wish him well. plus i like Montoya. all you people bashing him look at what he’s accomplished vs Hornish, Franchitti, etc. all those open wheelers were series or Indy 500 champs and they’ve blown so far in NASCAR. i know JPM has been in it a year longer but he was doing better than others at this point in time last year. i like Casey Mears but he’s no good. i wish Hendrick would replace him with Montoya and you haters would realize just how good JPM is - Ganassi’s equipment is garbage.
JPM should have had a say on wether his crew chief was going to be let go or not. I think that was a jacked up situation.
Shawn wrote:
Why should he have a say? JPM is just another employee like the Crew Chief was.
I KNEW JIMMY WHEN HE STOOD AROUND AT RCR AND DID NOTHING,WENT TO THE CLUB ONCE WITH HIM AND EVEN BOUGHT HIS PIZZA AND BEER AND HAD SOME GOOD LAUGHS,THEN SAW HIM A YEAR OR 2 LATER AT MARTINSVILLE AND HE ACTED LIKE HE DIDNT KNOW ME AND WOULDNT SPEAK,I HOPE HE NEVER FINDS ANOTHER JOB,ALSO HEARD HE WASNT WITH KELLY ANYMORE,SO HE MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK REAL HARD,AND JIMMY IF YOU READ THIS ,IM GLAD YOU DIDNT SPEAK AND DONT BOTHER NEXT TIME,GOOD LUCK!!!