Darian Grubb crew chief for Stewart team

Former Hendrick Motorsports employee Darian Grubb has been named crew chief for Tony Stewart's new entry at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.

Stewart officially confirmed Grubbs' hiring at a news conference on Friday at Richmond International Raceway.

"This is something that is another key step in the equation of us getting on our feet next year. We've got a team leader now," Stewart said.

Grubb is a team engineer at Hendrick but has served as a crew chief there as well. He filled in for Chad Knaus during a 2006 suspension and called the shots for Casey Mears back in 2007.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for me to not only work with a driver of Tony's caliber but to help build an organization into one that can win races and eventually contend for championships," Grubb said.