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Steve Letarte comes out of retirement on Sunday
Steve Letarte will be atop the pit box for Corey LaJoie and Spire Motorsports during Sunday's race at Homestead-Miami. Letarte comes out of retirement for the first time in six years. The news comes after LaJoie's usual crew chief, Ryan Sparks, had to be quarantined because of COVID-19 protocols. Two additional crew members were also sidelined for the same reason.
Also read: NASCAR 2021: Homestead Speedway odds, lineup
When asked about Letarte joining the organization, LaJoie said:
"That guy’s just an awesome personality, but I probably didn’t give him enough credit — and I was probably a bit young when he was crew chiefing for Jeff and crew chiefing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. That guy is one of the smartest guys that I’ve ever met, and he’s also infectious and he’s just a guy that gets you pepped up.”
Steve Letarte was promoted from Car Chief to Crew Chief for Jeff Gordon in 2005. The two had a decent level of success. The pair w ten races in their six years together and finished 2nd in the standings in 2007. Of course, teammates Jimmie Johnson, and Chad Knaus beat them to the title that year, but Steve Letarte was correctly identified as a crew chief that put his drivers in suitable positions to succeed.
After his time with Jeff Gordon, Steve Letarte was chosen as the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #88 team. Letarte went on to help the future Hall-of-Famer earn a Daytona 500 victory. The pairing, however, never resulted in a championship. Their best finish was 5th in the standings in 2013.
Ultimately, Steve Letarte retired from being crew chief in 2014 and joined the booth as an analyst for NBC. He was eventually reunited with his former driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr, in the booth, making for some memorable moments during weekly broadcasts.
All things considered, it is a move that makes sense. Steve Letarte is already a consultant for Spire Motorsports . It also gives LaJoie a great chance to keep his team's playoff hopes alive with the help of an expert crew chief by his side. At the very least, it should be an interesting learning experience for the American in 15th place.
