Crew chief Greg Ives had never been more nervous watching his No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet negotiate the complicated 14-turn Road America course last week.
His anxiety wasn’t due to the rainy weather in Wisconsin, which forced teams to race with rain tires. It wasn’t even because his driver, Chase Elliott, took the lead on a green-white-checkered restart in a bid for win No. 3 on the season.
No, Ives was nervous because he wasn’t there.
Ives, the second-year crew chief who has four wins to his credit already, missed last week’s race to be with his wife, Jessica, as they welcomed the arrival of their son, Parker Rogers Ives, on Friday. Parker was born approximately 53 minutes before practice began in Wisconsin, allowing Ives to simultaneously communicate with his team, while Parker resting in his arms. During the race Saturday, Ives conversed with Ernie Cope and the engineers, glued to Elliott’s every move.
“I was more nervous watching it on TV than actually being there on the pit box,” said Ives. “It was quite the balancing act to make sure I kept attention on my wife and also the car at the race track. I am fortunate and grateful to have the depth at JR Motorsports to allow me to enjoy such a miraculous experience.”
Ives returns to his usual role this weekend as the NAPA team returns to oval racing. Kentucky Speedway is a mile-and-a-half oval in which Elliott debuted last year in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Series. The John R. Elliott 300 begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Elliott enters the weekend leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with a 46-point advantage over Ty Dillon. He trails Regan Smith by only 11 points in the overall point standings.
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