Rick Hendrick announced on Friday that he has named Lance McGrew the full-time crew chief for the No. 88 Sprint Cup Series car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. McGrew had already been fulfilling crew chief duties for the team since May 28 on an interim basis when former No. 88 crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was reassigned within the Hendrick Motorsports organization.

"I have total faith in Lance and what he's capable of accomplishing with Dale Jr.," Hendrick said. "There was a lot of pressure with how he came into this deal, and the way he's handled it has been extremely impressive. Lance is confident in himself and in his decisions, and all the outside distractions aren't going to faze him. He's a strong-willed guy who will keep his eye on the ball and not settle."

In addition to being the crew chief on the No. 88 through the final four races of 2009, he will continue the position in 2010.

"Lance has been part of the solution, not the problem," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He's tough, which is what I need, and we've really clicked in a short period of time. The communication has gotten better every practice and every race, and I know that's going to keep improving. Having this decision behind us is really important, and now we can focus on the future instead of the past."

McGrew was the Busch Series championship crew chief for Brian Vickers at Hendrick Motorsports in 3003 and has wins in all three of NASCAR's national series. He has also won races with Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart behind the wheel.