Hallam will quit his job as head of race operations for McLaren at the end of the F1 season and join Waltrip's team this winter. The decorated engineer has participated in 430 Grand Prix races and won five world championships in a 27-year career in Formula One. He's worked for only two teams: Team Lotus and McLaren.
"Michael Waltrip Racing is giving me a wonderful opportunity to enter NASCAR, which is something I have always wanted to experience in my lifetime," Hallam said. "NASCAR racing is invigorating and the spectacle the drivers and teams put on for the fans is phenomenal. I am not underestimating the challenges before me and I know the differences between Formula One and NASCAR are obvious. However, the essence of what we will be doing is the same and that is racing."
Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, has struggled the last few seasons and was 30th in the points standings entering Sunday's race at Dover.
"He will be in a key position that will both allow him to learn about the NASCAR world while implementing the knowledge he has gained over the past 30 years in Formula One," Waltrip said. "This is another step that shows our employees, sponsors and all of NASCAR that MWR is serious about our desire to elevate our organization to an elite status in the Sprint Cup garage."
Hallam joined McLaren in 1990 and served as a race engineer for seven years. Hallam became head of race engineering in 1997 and kept that job until he was named head of race operations in 2007.
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RADIO, RADIO: Jimmie Johnson did what most drivers do when a race isn't going his way -- he complained and argued with his crew chief in mostly unprintable language.
It happened earlier this year at Las Vegas, where Johnson was having fits with the No. 48 Chevrolet en route to a 29th place finish. The two-time defending Cup champion laughed as he recalled his dialogue with crew chief Chad Knaus as "colorful."
Instead of going home afterward, Johnson had to hit a party thrown by his sponsor. He walked in with his head down expecting to talk about his race. Instead, Johnson was asked about every word he had said with his crew.
"It really hit me hard," Johnson said. "I wasn't bad before, but since then, if I can't get out of the car and look a kid in the eye, I have a problem with that."
There's almost no such thing as a private conversation between a driver and his crew chief. Fans can easily listen to the often-routine, sometimes-volatile conversations between the two thanks to scanners or the Internet. And what might be a brief beef between driver and crew can be blown out of proportion and debated for weeks. Tony Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli squabbled two races ago at Richmond and the in-car audio was replayed several times by ESPN.
Then Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., had a similar argument last week.
"I don't like answering questions about it and I am not going work to damn hard about changing it because I kind of like how it is," Earnhardt said. "It keeps me motivated and enthused during the race. It keeps me from getting relaxed and monotone during the race."
Johnson said that kind of bickering is normal in such a competitive atmosphere and that fans would hear similar remarks if a live mic were placed in the helmet of a football player or on the basketball court.
"I'm not trying to justify what we say or do, but you say things in a competitive sport that you probably don't want to at times," he said.
Earnhardt doesn't care if fans and media listen, he just doesn't want to hear complaints about what he says.
"If you hear something that upsets you, don't come crying to me or whoever said it on my radio," he said.
Jeff Burton believes allowing fans to eavesdrop on the conversations is one of the best parts of NASCAR.
"If I make somebody mad because I said something, so be it," he said. "As long as we know it, as long as it's clear that television, radio, print is going to print the things that we say, then so be it. It creates a bit of drama for us, but you know that's why it's fun to watch, so I'm OK with it."
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PIT STOPS: With Bill Davis Racing possibly up for sale, driver Dave Blaney could be looking for a new ride next season. Davis' one-car team has a lucrative Toyota deal, but is lacking the sponsorship needed to be competitive. Blaney, who has only two top-10s this season, said he's not sure what's ahead for him. "There's always options," he said. "I don't know, it's just all up in the air." ... Kyle Petty was excited about next week's stop in Kansas City where the second Victory Junction Gang Camp will be built. Petty and his wife, Pattie, started the camp to give children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses the opportunity to have a life-changing camping experience. "You could build one in every state and still not see the proper amount of kids," he said. "We'll just keep building them until we can't build them anymore. We've been very blessed to be in the NASCAR community." ... Dover International Speedway will honor over 500 supporters of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation on Sunday. They'll receive a tour of the track and meet Chase driver Jeff Burton.
