Crew chiefs change jobs in NASCAR Winston Cup all the time, seeking more money, the right driver combination, and team chemistry-some with fanfare, others with little notice. But Tommy Baldwin Jr. is a rarity.
Baldwin is the guy who attained an instant identity in the glow of the Winston Cup spotlight last summer when he turned down a Hendrick Motorsports overture to succeed Ray Evernham as crew chief for Jeff Gordon and the vaunted #24 Chevrolet team to remain at Bill Davis Racing.
The garage was incredulous. Evernham and Gordon form the best crew chief-driver tandem of record in the sport, bolstering that status with 47 victories-at this writing-and three championships and a runner-up since their rookie season of 1993. Evernham, who has known and followed Baldwin since their Modified racing days in the Northeast, wants to move up to higher management at Hendrick.
Why on Earth would a relative unknown with less than four years experience in NASCAR's premier series decline what's considered the sport's number-one crew chief job, and a chance to lead the biggest star in one of the largest and strongest organizations? Most crew chiefs would take that job in a heartbeat as the opportunity of a lifetime. Bill Davis Racing is a first-class operation with great potential, but it and driver Ward Burton showed only one career Winston Cup victory, in 1995, when Baldwin nixed Hendrick.
Agony and Ecstasy
Obviously, the decision was agonizing for Baldwin, 32, a Long Island, New York, native whose father, Tommy, continues to race Modifieds at age 52. Well, let him explain. "I had told Bill Davis before Evernham approached me in July that if Ward and (primary sponsor) Caterpillar signed for another three years, I'd stay too," says Baldwin, who joined Bill Davis Racing in September 1998. "While those negotiations were going on, I told Ray I was interested. I mean, hey, I had to consider that this is the number-one job in Winston Cup and that Ray had built an empire with the help of his people and Hendrick's resources. Ray has changed the way racing is done with his ideas and innovations. He seems to be a step ahead of everyone else
"But I asked myself, do I want to join them and learn everything they do, or do I want to do it myself, stick this out, and help build an empire-like Ray has-that Davis has already started? It came down to a heart-and-gut feeling that I want to build something on my own. My father advised me that most of us are racing to beat the big guy, so why not race to be the big guy?
"Ward Burton is every bit as capable as Jeff Gordon-I just have to harness him a little more. Bill Davis is an awesome car owner and friend."
Baldwin paused to reflect. "Evernham actually got me established in Winston Cup, has given me huge opportunities, and I consider him a very good friend, though I doubt if he would give me another chance now," Baldwin says. "Throughout my racing career, I've gone to him for advice-sometimes personal. At least I got the first chance to take over the position, and that's something no one can take away from me."
Not the First Time
The opportunity wasn't the first from Evernham. In 1995, when Baldwin moved south to Charlotte to pursue Winston Cup, Evernham gave him menial jobs for two weeks, then connected him with car owner Larry Hendrick and then-driver Ricky Craven. In less than a month, Baldwin advanced from the unemployed to crew chief of the #41 Chevrolet.
Another overture came at the end of the '97 season. Craven had moved to Hendrick's #25 team, the organization's black sheep still without a victory since 1991, and wanted Baldwin, his crew chief at Hedrick's. "I met (owner) Rick Hendrick and was very impressed," Baldwin says. "Apparently, there were a couple of people involved who didn't think I had the necessary experience and knowledge for the job, so we mutually agreed it wouldn't be a good deal."