Kevin Meendering
{{short description|American NASCAR crew chief (born 1981)}}
{{update|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name = Kevin Meendering
|image = Kevin meendering (33287375138) (cropped).jpg
|caption = Meendering at Daytona International Speedway in 2019
|birth_name = Kevin John Meendering
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|3|17}}
|birth_place = Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
|occupation = Crew chief
|years_active = 2008–present
|country = {{flagicon|USA}} United States
|sport = Motor racing
|league = NASCAR Xfinity Series
|team = 17. Hendrick Motorsports
|alma_mater = University of North Carolina
}}
Kevin John Meendering{{cite web|url=https://radaris.com/~Kevin-Meendering/1285913618 |title=Kevin J Meendering from Concord, NC |publisher=Radaris.com |accessdate=12 May 2024}} (born March 17, 1981) is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is fielded part-time for Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and William Byron.
Racing career
=2016–2018: JR Motorsports=
Meendering's first crew chief job came with JR Motorsports, who he worked for from 2016 to 2018 as the crew chief of their No. 1 Chevrolet driven by Elliott Sadler in the Xfinity Series.{{cite web|url=http://www.jrmracing.com/racing/crewchiefs/kevinmeendering/default.aspx|website=jrmracing.com|title=JR Motorsports|accessdate=December 22, 2018|archive-date=July 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728114623/https://www.jrmracing.com/racing/crewchiefs/kevinmeendering/default.aspx|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/video/kevin-meendering-elliott-sadlers-xfinfity-outlook-kansas|title=Kevin Meendering on Elliott Sadler's Xfinity outlook before Kansas|website=NBC Sports|date=17 October 2018|accessdate=December 22, 2018|archive-date=29 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729024638/https://www.nbcsports.com/video/kevin-meendering-elliott-sadlers-xfinfity-outlook-kansas|url-status=dead}}
=2019–present: Hendrick Motorsports=
On October 10, 2018, it was announced that Hendrick Motorsports would split up the legendary driver/crew chief pair of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus starting in 2019 after they had a dismal 2018 season. Meendering was announced as Johnson's new crew chief for 2019 and that Knaus would replace Darian Grubb (who moved into a technical director position for HMS) as the crew chief of Hendrick's No. 24 car driven by William Byron.{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/silly-season-scorecard-fas-racing-172506096.html|title=Silly Season Scorecard: Go Fas Racing, Corey LaJoie news leaves one major ride open|last=McFadin|first=Daniel|date=December 20, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=December 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222034207/https://sports.yahoo.com/silly-season-scorecard-fas-racing-172506096.html|url-status=dead}} On July 29, 2019, following a string of disappointing finishes during the 2019 season, Hendrick Motorsports announced that the No. 48 car's engineer, Cliff Daniels, would replace Meendering as the crew chief of the No. 48. Meendering would be moved to a different unspecified role at Hendrick after he was relieved of his crew chief job.{{cite web |url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2019/07/29/hendrick-motorsports-cliff-daniels-crew-chief-jimmie-johnson |title=Hendrick Motorsports names Cliff Daniels as No. 48 crew chief |first=Reid |last=Spencer |website=NASCAR.com |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. |date=July 29, 2019 |access-date=July 30, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2019/07/29/jimmie-johnson-on-crew-chief-change-we-have-to-act-now/ |title=Jimmie Johnson on crew chief change: 'We have to act now' |first=Chase |last=Wilhelm |website=NASCAR.com |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. |date=July 29, 2019 |access-date=July 30, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.jayski.com/2019/07/29/cliff-daniels-named-crew-chief-for-jimmie-johnson/ |title=Cliff Daniels named crew chief for Jimmie Johnson |first=Scott |last=Page |website=Jayski's Silly Season Site |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. |date=July 29, 2019 |access-date=July 30, 2019}}
On June 2, 2022, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Meendering would return to crew chiefing for the first time since 2019 as he would be the crew chief of the team's new part-time Xfinity Series car, the No. 17.{{cite web |url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2022/06/02/hendrick-motorsports-to-enter-three-xfinity-series-races-in-2022/ |title=Hendrick Motorsports to enter three Xfinity Series races in 2022 |website=NASCAR.com |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC |date=June 2, 2022 |access-date=June 20, 2022}} On June 20, HMS announced that Meendering would also serve as the interim crew chief for Kyle Larson's No. 5 car in the Cup Series after Cliff Daniels was suspended for four races (Nashville, Road America, Atlanta in July and New Hampshire) due to the car losing a tire and wheel during the race at Sonoma.{{cite web |url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2022/06/20/kevin-meendering-to-serve-as-kyle-larsons-crew-chief-amid-daniels-suspension/ |title=Kevin Meendering to serve as Kyle Larson's crew chief amid Daniels' suspension |website=NASCAR.com |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC |date=June 20, 2022 |access-date=June 21, 2022}}
On March 8, 2023, Hendrick announced that Meendering would return to be the crew chief of their part-time Xfinity Series car, the No. 17, although this year he would share the job with Greg Ives, the former crew chief of their No. 48 car in the Cup Series.{{cite web |first=Toby |last=Christie |url=https://tobychristie.com/2023/03/08/hendrickcars-com-sponsoring-four-nascar-xfinity-races-between-larson-byron-and-bowman-in-2023/ |title=HendrickCars.com Sponsoring Four NASCAR Xfinity Races Between Larson, Byron and Bowman in 2023 |website=TobyChristie.com |date=March 8, 2023 |access-date=March 16, 2023}} On March 16, Hendrick announced that Meendering would return to be the interim crew chief of their Cup Series No. 5 car as Daniels was suspended again for four races after the team's L2 penalty for illegally modified hood louvers.{{cite web |first=Toby |last=Christie |url=https://tobychristie.com/2023/03/16/hendrick-motorsports-names-interim-crew-chiefs-for-atlanta/ |title=Hendrick Motorsports Names Interim Crew Chiefs for Atlanta |website=TobyChristie.com |date=March 16, 2023}}
Personal life
Meendering's older brother, Jeff, is also a NASCAR crew chief. Jeff works for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series as the crew chief for their No. 18 car driven by Sammy Smith. The Meendering brothers are from Marne, Michigan.{{cite web |first=Steve |last=Kaminski |url=https://www.mlive.com/sports/2019/07/west-michigan-native-out-as-jimmie-johnsons-crew-chief.html |title=West Michigan native out as Jimmie Johnson's crew chief |website=MLive |publisher=Advance Publications |date=July 29, 2019 |access-date=June 21, 2022}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Hendrick Motorsports}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meendering, Kevin}}