By , Tom Jensen
Published September 28, 2015
There are always new faces with each running of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and 2015 is certainly no exception.
This year, for example, drivers Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray are each making their first Chase appearances.
But what's really remarkable is that six of the 16 crew chiefs are Chase rookies.
New Chase faces atop the box this year include:
Justin Alexander -- Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing;
Greg Ives -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports;
Matt McCall -- Jamie McMurray, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates;
Cole Pearn -- Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing;
Billy Scott -- Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip Racing; and
Adam Stevens -- Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing.
So is being in your first Chase as a crew chief a disadvantage? Maybe, maybe not.
"I'm excited, excited to get started," said Stevens, who was Busch's crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series before getting promoted for this year. "The JGR program is strong, so I think that we can have a good showing."
Stevens said having four JGR drivers in the 16-driver field plays into the team's favor, especially in the opening rounds of the Chase.
"It's a huge advantage to have more cars participating," said Stevens in an exclusive interview with FOXSports.com. "If it comes down to the wire, it's an advantage for the company. It might be a disadvantage for an individual team because it's hard to race your teammates as hard as you might need to. For instance, if we were all four at Homestead (racing for the championship), which would be highly unlikely. But at the start of it, it's a big advantage."
While Stevens is part of a four-car fleet, Pearn is the crew chief for the single-car Furniture Row team. He was an engineer on the team when Kurt Busch made the Chase in 2013, so he said he doesn't feel like a rookie this time around.
"At the end of the day, every race is a race, just like we've been doing all year, so I don't think the game changes much from that standpoint," Pearn told FOXSports.com. "But I don't know. Ignorance could be bliss at the same time. So you've got to prepare yourself at the same time, regardless of your experience, and be ready."
Pearn said that all the first-time crew chiefs have plenty of experience in prior jobs within the sport. "It's not like it's your first time from that standpoint," he said.
And on the other side, there's the reigning championship crew chief Rodney Childers, who helped lead Kevin Harvick and the Stewart-Haas Racing team to a title last year in his first year as a crew chief in the Chase.
"I didn't feel like I was at a disadvantage last year at all," said Childers. "But the big thing is, I learned a lot from it and I feel like I can do a lot better job this year than I did last year. Every time you go through a circumstance like that, you learn from it, and these guys will learn a lot in their first year. It's all about having the right team and the right people around you. If they've got that, then they've got a shot also."
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/six-crew-chiefs-in-the-chase-for-the-first-time-but-are-they-ready