Jeff Hammond (NASCAR)
Jeff Hammond | |
---|---|
Fox NASCAR Freedom Racing Enterprises | |
Known for | Two-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion crew chief |
Jeffrey L. Hammond (born September 9, 1956) is an American
In addition to his work at Fox, Hammond also serves as the general manager and crew chief in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Freedom Racing Enterprises. He formerly was a co-owner (along with business executive Tom DeLoach) of Red Horse Racing, a Truck Series racing team which operated from 2005 to 2017.
Background
While attending high school at North Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was named a 1973–74 High School Prep Football All-American as a cornerback.[1] He played college football at East Carolina University for Pat Dye until he suffered a career-ending injury in 1975.[1]
Racing career
Hammond's NASCAR career began in 1974 as a tire changer for
In 1991, Waltrip and Hammond formed
In 2020, Hammond joined
In 2024, Hammond would join the newly formed Freedom Racing Enterprises as its general manager.[4] He would also serve as crew chief following the departure of Greg Ely after Las Vegas.
Hammond has worked with four NASCAR champions in his career: Cale Yarborough (a mechanic), Darrell Waltrip (a crew chief for two of the three), Terry Labonte (1987 for a few races), and Kurt Busch (2000 in his first races).
Broadcasting career
In 2001, Hammond and Waltrip were reunited, this time as broadcasters for Fox Sports' coverage of NASCAR. Hammond works for Fox Sports 1 as an analyst for NASCAR Race Hub.[1]
Hammond served as an analyst for Fox NASCAR Sunday, the network's prerace show, alongside Chris Myers and Darrell Waltrip from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, he covered stories on pit road as they developed throughout the race for FOX NASCAR, becoming the first former crew chief to serve in that capacity for network television's NASCAR coverage. In addition, Hammond offered his expertise for years as an analyst for FOX Sports 1's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series practice and qualifying coverage. He also co-hosted the Budweiser duel at Daytona and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race several times for FOX Sports 1.
When Fox unveiled a new mobile studio for NASCAR pre-race broadcasts, Darrell Waltrip remarked "There's Hollywood Hammond inside the Hollywood Hotel," and the nickname stuck with the broadcast studio where he and Chris Myers broadcast the pre-race shows until 2012 when he was replaced by Michael Waltrip. In 2005, he became an owner of Red Horse Racing's Craftsman Truck program, where they have won fifteen races.
Hammond has also broadcast wrestling events for
Hammond contributes a regular online column on
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jeff Hammond". Roth Talent Associates. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ Aumann, Mark (February 4, 2008). "Crew chiefs driving force for Daytona 500 winners". NASCAR. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ Long, Dustin (January 28, 2020). "Champion crew chief Jeff Hammond returning to pit box". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ "Spencer Boyd forms Freedom Racing Enterprises; team to race full-time in Truck Series beginning in 2024". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
External links
- Official website
- Jeff Hammond crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference
- Online column on Foxsports.com