They are numerous the reasons why Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss Steve Letarte next season. And once again the most obvious was on full display Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
In a race where track position was everything, no crew chief played the strategy game more astutely than Letarte, who did as much to win the GoBowling.com 400 as the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet.
During the Lap 117 caution for a multi-car pileup Letarte called Earnhardt to pit road for fuel and four tires. Ten laps after the race restarted, Letarte had Earnhardt back on pit road for more fuel. It was the final time Earnhardt stopped. Following another caution for an AJ Allmendinger wreck, there was Earnhardt positioned in second behind the slower Greg Biffle with 20 laps remaining.
Soon thereafter the series of maneuverings would jump Earnhardt out front -- a lead he would not relinquish -- and elicited a fist pump from Letarte.
"What it came down to it, it was Steve's strategy," Earnhardt said. "He pulled us on to pit road to about four laps short of our window to go ahead and put four tires on and fill it up. With the big wreck on the back straightaway, that eliminated a lot of cars we would have restarted behind, so he had confidence with us restarting just inside the top-10. That that would give us the ability to do what he wanted.
"Steve did a great job, really, with his strategy to get us in that position. We're not in that position just on car alone. We had a fast car and I drove a good race, but Steve's strategy gave us a chance to win."
Pocono represented Earnhardt and Letarte's third victory of 2014, which was appropriate coming in the same week Hendrick Motorsports revealed Letarte's eventual replacement. When the crew chief steps aside to become an NBC Sports analyst, it will be Greg Ives filling his role in a move met with near-universal praise when announced Wednesday.
But as capable a successor as Ives may prove to be, what he is not is Letarte, the crew chief who has formed an indelible bond with Earnhardt while also transforming the No. 88 team into bonafide title contenders.
Letarte and Earnhardt Jr. after winning the Pocono 400 in June (Jerry Markland-Getty)
Letarte's influence is most noticeable in what his team does not do: commit avoidable, costly mistakes. A stark contrast to two other prominent championship contenders, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, each of whom who continue to throw potential victories away.
Continual gaffes by crew and driver alike have thus far defined Harvick's 2014 season. The latest occurred Sunday when Harvick was dinged for speeding on pit road, an infraction which cost him a lap to the field. Scrambling to get back up front he then was collected in the Turn 2 melee.
Although he rallied to finish second, Pocono was again a race Harvick could have won.
Goodbye, Steve Letarte
Goodbye, Steve Letarte
Johnson again battled tire issues, an all too common occurrence for the defending Sprint Cup champion. As tire problems took away potential high finishes at Bristol, Fontana and New Hampshire.
Twice, Johnson had a tire go down Sunday. The first the 48 team recovered from; the second proved terminal with Johnson sustaining heavy damage after pounding the wall.
Earnhardt didn't even have the fastest car at Pocono. That honor belonged to teammate Jeff Gordon, who led a race-high 63 laps. But what Earnhardt had was a tactician on his pit box operating on a higher plane with a blueprint to assure his driver maximum success.
"When you come to a track like Pocono, you have to be very creative with your strategy, the pit crew has to understand the strategy and execute it efficiently," Letarte said. "And that's why today meant a lot to the whole group."
In every facet Sunday was a total team victory. Letarte made the sagacious calls while Earnhardt executed a hard drive in the closing laps including an outside pass of Harvick on the final restart.
Next year will present myriad new challenges to both Letarte and Earnhardt. For now, though, each are enjoying their final months together to the utmost.
"We all have a vested personal interest in each other to be better," Earnhardt said. "We want to help each other, we want to see each other, and we want to see everybody happy. I mean every individual you work with you try to make their day easier, try to make their job easier, try to help them be better at their job. We all do that for each other and I think the team clicks on all cylinders."