New Season New Faces New Outlook?

After what felt like an eternity away from the track, NASCAR has returned to Daytona for Pre-Season testing.  There were lots of new faces in the JGR #11 Fed Ex garage.  Gone are former Crew Chief Mike Ford and former Spotter Curis Markham, all in an effort to elevate Denny Hamlin to the next level of his career.  A move that has been a long time in the making, and is one that I truly believe will make not only the driver, but the entire team better.

So who are the new faces of the Fed Ex team? Well the Crew Chief will definitely look familiar to you.  He's none other than Darian Grubb, former Sprint Cup winning Crew Chief for 2011 NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart.  Stewart's loss is definitely our gain.  He's a racing master mind and will be a fabulous asset to the team and to Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin's new spotter is Chris Lambert, former spotter for Brian Vickers.  I'm not as familiar with Chris Lambert, but definitely feel the change in eyes and communication for Denny will be the most positive modification the team has made. The constant bickering and yelling on the radio had gotten old long ago and I'm ready for some good things for my driver.

Judging by the smiles on Denny's face during testing and Pre-Season Thunder fan meet and greet, things are definitely going in the right direction.  I like Hamlin's positive outlook, his focus seems to be on racing and getting back to basics.  I don't think moving to Scottsdale, AZ for a few months to clear his head and get away from the business of life has hurt him any.  I for one really like the changes I'm seeing all over JGR and especially with Denny Hamlin. 2012 has so much potential.  It has a clean slate with multiple possibilities.  All that's waiting is for the Fed Ex team to write their history.  And I can't wait to read the headlines.