When Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed Sprint Cup races in 2012, his absence was felt strongly by his Hendrick Motorsports team.
For crew chief Steve Letarte, not having Earnhardt at the track meant so much more than just not having him in the car those weekends.
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So as Earnhardt prepares to miss at least the next two races this season — he didn't drive at New Hampshire last weekend as well — with concussion-like symptoms, Letarte understands what Junior and his team face. Letarte was his crew chief through the 2014 season, when he stepped away to work as an analyst for NBC Sports.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Steve Letarte (Getty Images)
In 2012, when Earnhardt missed those races with concussion-like symptoms after two hard crashes, Letarte and Hendrick Motorsports put Regan Smith in the car and kept going.
Earnhardt had been seventh in the Chase standings before the previous race at Talladega, though he was 11th at the time that he stepped out of the car.
Looking back, Letarte says that time "seems like a whirlwind now."
"It was vastly an unfortunate situation. You never want to lose your driver," Letarte said. "It became clear to us all that Dale needed to sit out some time, so Regan Smith was the driver of opportunity at that point. I thought Regan did a great job in a tough situation; he came in, he drove hard, he gave us good feedback. But it was unfortunate."
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That came not only because of the working relationship Letarte had with Earnhardt, but also because of their close personal ties.
When he looks at those races without his driver at the track, Letarte can see what crew chief Greg Ives faced last weekend at New Hampshire and will again for the next two weeks.
It's not just having a different driver in the car — even with one of the caliber of Jeff Gordon, who will drive Earnhardt's car at Indianapolis and Pocono. The impact goes so much deeper.
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"Dale and I not only were co-workers but we were very good friends," Letarte said. "It was kind of like going on vacation without your wife, is how I equate it. It's like I went to a racetrack and the confidant that I lean on the most for just opinions and ideas wasn't there. He was hundreds of miles away. So that was the biggest difficult situation for me … was just not having him (be) part of the process."
That is now something with which Ives deals as well.
"Greg Ives is a very smart engineer and Hendrick Motorsports knows how to build a car," Letarte said. "So I think the fact that [Earnhardt's] just not there to be part of the process is probably the toughest part."
Fill-in drivers are nothing new in NASCAR. Kyle Busch missed the opening 11 races last season. Tony Stewart missed eight this year. Even if a driver misses races at this point in the season, the team can adjust.
As Letarte points out, in some ways, the teams talk less about that than others do.
"If you're a mechanic on the 88 or an engineer on the 88, your job description hasn't changed much," he said. "You still know you're going to every race, you still know you're preparing to win every race, you still have your list of things to do. If you're the crew chief, it changes because your communication is different. It's more of an emotional drain because the driver is such a leader of the race team that I think not having them is emotionally draining for the crew because these drivers do a great job getting to know their crews.
"Dale, specifically, I know is always around his guys, talking his guys up, becomes friends with his guys. I think it's more of an emotional situation than it is physically trying to prepare to go race."
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The transitions aren't over, either. The team also faces an adjustment when Earnhardt returns to the car. Letarte remembers what it was like when Earnhardt returned in 2012, even after missing just a couple of races.
So while the team will be thrilled when Earnhardt returns, it will also once more adjust to change.
"There's always a transition back," Letarte said. "I remember back, I can't speak in the future, but to my situation in 2012 I just had to be a little cognizant to the fact that he hadn't been around those last couple of weeks, not take things for granted that we might have learned. You know, the sport moves so fast that two weeks is an eternity. Things are learned, things are forgotten, cars have found different setups. So I think that Greg Ives is going to have to be very cognizant to the fact that Dale hasn't been around for a couple of weeks.
"But at the point, for a driver that has been out of the car, out of something he loves to do, when he gets back in, I think just the energy level of having your full-time driver back is a big boost to the race team."
Sprint Cup teams begin practice Friday at Indianapolis. That's the first time Ives and his crew will be with Gordon on the track. Sunday's race begins about 3 p.m. ET.