Friday morning at the Richmond International Raceway, Tony Stewart announced that Daytona 500 winner Darian Grubb will climb atop the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot pit box to serve as Stewart's crew chief in 2009. After six years at Hendrick Motorsports, Grubb will join the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing for what is being described only as a "multi-year contract."

"It's a very huge moment for me," Grubb said of the announcement. "Everything I've looked forward to in my life and challenges I've been presented with and to be able to step up each time and get that opportunity with Tony, the capability he has as a driver and a past champion. The future heading forward is extremely bright and I couldn't be happier."

"This is something that is another key step in the equation of us getting on our feet next year and getting everything pointed in the right direction," Stewart told the gathered media. "We have a team leader now and somebody I feel very comfortable and very confident in."

Grubb has worked his way through the organization as an engineer and took over the No. 48 team in 2006 after crew chief Chad Knaus was suspended. In that time atop the box, Grubb led Jimmie Johnson to two victories, including the season opening Daytona 500. In 2007, Grubb moved over to the No. 25 team with driver Casey Mears, where they earned five top-5's, ten top-10's and a win in the Coca-Cola 600.

An engineer by trade, Grubb explained he never really looked towards being a crew chief as a goal of his career, but that some opportunities simply can't be passed up. "As soon those opportunities come up, it's something you just can't pass up," Grubb went on to say. "The opportunity here to go forward with Tony and Stewart-Haas Racing and the chance to build a championship contending team and work from the ground up."

Joining Stewart-Haas, Grubb will be moving to a team that has a close working relationship with the organization he has spent the last six years at. Grubb will also be taking over the role that Stewart's current crew chief Greg Zipadelli has spent ten years perfecting. Both Stewart and Grubb admit that they have been working with Zipadelli in order to help the pair get acquainted with one another.

Stewart explained the chemistry between a driver and a crew chief centers solely on two factors, first is the "common desire to win races and championships," and the second is personal. The two-time Cup Series champion explained Zipadelli thinks very highly of Grubb, which gave the new team owner a "huge piece of mind."

These two are working closely to learn what each other want and need, both on and off the race track. If they can grow together and find the right chemistry, this combination will be one of the most dangerous in all of NASCAR.