It’s official: Car owner Rick Hendrick has named Lance McGrew the full-time crew chief of Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s No. 88 Chevrolet. McGrew, 41, assumed the role May 28 on an interim basis.

“I have total faith in Lance and what he’s capable of accomplishing with Dale Jr.,“ Hendrick said in press release. “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.“

Earnhardt has struggled in his 10th full Sprint Cup season and is on pace for the worst points finish of his career.

“Lance has been part of the solution, not the problem,“ said Earnhardt, who has won 18 points races in the Cup series, but only once since joining Hendrick Motorsports last season. “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.“

As a crew chief, McGrew earned the 2003 Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers and has posted victories in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. In addition to Vickers, he has won races with drivers Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart.

MY TAKE

This was an obvious move, but it’s best for the team that they ended all speculation now. Why obvious? Because he has run better the past few months despite the awful finishes. And making another change at the end of this season would only ensure more bad results, because it takes time to build chemistry between a driver and a crew chief. Earnhardt can’t afford to continue these miserable results for several months in 2010.

And if you’ve ever heard Earnhardt’s radio chatter during a race, he’s not the easiest driver to work with. He seems to show McGrew a lot more respect than he did Tony Eury Jr., so it makes sense not to overreact to the bad finishes and toss aside McGrew for another option.

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Lance McGrew is named the full-time crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.