MOORESVILLE, N.C.--- A Bark River native has been given a promotion within NASCAR racing. Greg Ives was named the crew chief for Junior Motorsports on Tuesday, which is owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Ives will oversee the Nationwide Series car that's driven by Regan Smith.

It's a change for Ives, who has been working on the Sprint Cup series as a race engineer for the past seven years. He worked with Hendricks Motor Sports and star racer Jimmie Johnson since 2006, so it's a step down to go from the Sprint Cup Series to the Nationwide Series. But Ives says that it is also a step up because now, he is the boss.

"The goal of the move was to try to help Junior Mortorsports and Hendricks Motorsports to become more one identity, I guess," said Ives in a Tuesday afternoon RRN interview. "Mr. Hendricks himself felt it was an opportunity for me to hone my skills as a crew chief and to help Junior Motorsports to become the powerhouse Nationwide team that they are capable of being."

In a statement on Tuesday, Earnhardt, Jr., praised Ives.
 

Greg Ives talks about his new job as crew chief.

"Greg comes highly regarded. He has been a huge part of the 48 team’s success, and this is a good opportunity for him to get his feet wet as a crew chief," Earnhardt, Jr., said. "The partnership between JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports gives us the opportunity to help employees advance their careers while still keeping them in the family, so to speak.”

Ives, 33, is a Bark River native and a Michigan Tech University graduate. He says his job description will obviously change, and he is happy to take on the challenge.

"My responsibilites as an engineer were to try to make the car go fast, and kind of manage a few people," Ives said. "Now my responsibility is to make the car go fast and manage a few more people!

"I'll have a road crew underneath me and I will be responsible for managing their time and managing the car's direction throughout the shop," Ives continued. "On race weekend, instead of being a support group for the crew chief, I'm gonna have to have people below me to provide support for me."
 

Until Tuesday's announcement, Ives had spent all nine years of his NASCAR career at Hendrick Motorsports. He started as a mechanic in the then 24/48 (now 48/88) shop in 2004 before moving into an engineering role on the No. 48 team in 2006.
 

Greg Ives' 14-year-old nephew Jordan wins a race in Escanaba back in August.

That was the same year that Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus won their first of five consecutive Sprint Cup championships. In seven years with the No. 48 team, Ives took part in 42 wins, 113 top-fives, and 21 poles.

Now Ives takes over the top spot for Smith and the #5 car, which, by the way, won the final Nationwide Series race of the 2012 season this past weekend in Miami.

“Regan’s win on Saturday and the announcement of Greg’s hiring today are huge momentum boosts for this company going into the off-season,” Earnhardt Jr. said.


Ives, right now, is a happy guy.

"This new job promotion, and we just had a baby girl two and a half weeks ago," Ives said. "Things are going real good for my career and my family."
 

Greg Ives talks about his nephew Jordan's career.

And speaking of family, Ives' nephew, 14-year-old Jordan Ives of Gladstone, had a successful first season "racing with the big boys" in the Upper Peninsula.

The younger Ives was named the Rookie of the Year at Norway Speedway, something that Greg Ives notes that he never accomplished in his racing days.

Photos and some information courtesy of JR Motorsports.
 

Regan Smith in the #5 car won the Ford 300 race Saturday. Bark River's Greg Ives is his new crew chief.