Jeff Meendering moves from association with Jeff Gordon to Bobby Labonte. (McIsaac/Getty Images) » More Photos

NEW PIT BOSS Jeff Gordon said the most difficult part of getting busted by NASCAR for illegal aero mods last week in California is losing his crew chief, Steve Letarte, for a six-week suspension. Filling in for Letarte during that absence will be Jeff Meendering, who is normally atop the pitbox during races with Letarte and Ken Howes, longtime Hendrick vice president of competition. Still, it won't be quite the same, Gordon said.

"Steve and I clicked right from the beginning and to me the hardest part about this penalty is losing Steve," Gordon said Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. "I know Jeff's going to do a great job and we've got a lot depth in this team but losing that momentum and that chemistry that we have. We got it instantly and we've been able to only make it better over time. I think Steve and I are going to stay really close through this whole time because we're going to talk a lot on the phone. I'm going to see him a lot away from the race track and we're going to talk on the phone in between practices and all those things. I think in some ways this is going to bring the team closer together. It's going to bring me and Steve and our communication closer."

Tony "Pops" Eury Sr. (R) to be a source of motivation for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports.(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) » More Photos

JR ACHIEVEMENT Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said he's thrilled to sign his uncle, Tony Eury, Sr. – a/k/a "Pops" - to head his competition operations at JR Motorsports, Earnhardt's Mooresville, N.C.-based team that fields a NASCAR Busch Series car, a Hooters Pro Cup car and three late models. "Yeah, we are real excited. You know what he did, you know what he has done, you know where he has been," Earnhardt said at New Hampshire International Speedway. "He has done a lot of great things and my company can really use somebody like that and he can really be a huge benefit for us as we move forward with our programs. We are not running as good as we would like to on the Busch side. I hope he can help us a whole lot there. I hope he can motivate my guys and straighten out the ones that ain't right."

And Earnhardt said Eury will fill a definite team need. "We have got to always keep watching out the window of the office to make sure that everybody is on their toes and working hard. Make sure nobody is taking advantage of you," Earnhardt said. "Pops, his eyes are doing that 24/7 when I can't be around. But he will just motivate people and get people to work and he always had that ability to really put a fire under people."

NO MISTAKING MESSAGE Jeff Burton said the harsh penalties NASCAR levied against Hendrick Motorsports earlier this week sent a message to everyone in the Nextel Cup garage: Don't push the rules with the Car of Tomorrow. "Well, they are severe," Burton said of the 100-point, $100,000-fine, six-week crew chief suspensions given to two Hendrick teams. "There is no getting around that. NASCAR has made it very clear that they are not going to tolerate anything. It was a very, very harsh penalty - more severe than I would have anticipated. On the other hand, NASCAR has made it clear about their intention with this car. They sent a very clear message to the garage area. It's gotten everybody nervous. Everybody is on pins and needles, but that's what they want."

Burton said the end result is teams are having to rethink what they can and can't get away with. "We can't think the same way any more. This has been a game of 'What is NASCAR going to let you get by with?' and it's no longer that game," he said. "There is nothing they want you to do with these bodies. There is no wiggle room. There used to be a process of the presentation of the car. And if they didn't like it - within reason - they'd let you fix it. That isn't the case anymore. If they don't like it, then you're going to get penalized. It's much tougher today than it was. But that was their intention with this body and with this concept. They're just trying to execute it."

NEW MAN Juan Pablo Montoya said winning his first NASCAR Nextel Cup last Sunday has been a huge relief – on many fronts. "It just took a lot of pressure off myself, out of the team, out of the whole Texaco/Havoline Dodge and the whole Chip Ganassi," said Montoya, who gave his team its first victory since 2002. "It's a lot more relaxing coming here knowing that you've already won a race. That was the big question of everybody, if I could do it and I did it. For us and for my own sake, we're just starting what we want to achieve. That's just showing where the whole organization is going and where we need to be and the car we're running has been competitive the last few weeks with the COTs. It really shows we're going in the right direction."

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