Jimmie Johnson’s victory in the Daytona 500 Sunday has a Floyd County angle to it. Darian Grubb (right), a Floyd native, stepped in as Johnson’s crew chief after the team’s regular crew chief was ejected from the event for cheating. Grubb may stand in for the suspended Chad Knaus for another three races.

I first heard about Grubb while shooting NASCAR photos a few years ago. At the time he worked previousl Petty Enterprises but I never got a chance to meet him. Now he is the lead team engineer for Johnson’s team and Hendrick Motorsports. He graduated from Virginia Tech with an engineering degree and worked for Volvo before heading for NASCAR.

Small world. I graduated from Floyd County High School in 1965 with his mother, Wanda Hollandsworth. (Photo courtesy of The Associated Press)