By Ryan - Posted on December 6, 2011

This week, Darian Grubb, Tony Stewart, and the rest of the No. 14 team are in Las Vegas, celebrating their amazing championship run in the Sprint Cup Series. Unfortunately, it is bittersweet for crew chief Darian Grubb, who will be looking for a new job.

Apparently, in spite of the strong finish of the Stewart-Haas team – winning 5 of the 10 Chase races – Tony Stewart had decided before the Chase started that he would be replacing his crew chief.

"We'd pretty much made our decision, and we made our decision off the last three years basically," Stewart said. "You don't make those decisions based off of three years and then change your mind two weeks later because you won a couple of races. There was more to it than that. But he's a great guy and a very smart crew chief, and the great thing is he can write his own check now. When it comes to whatever options he's going to have, he'll have a lot of leverage because of this championship. I'm proud of him for that."

Grubb did not seem to see things as positively as Stewart. He received an award at the Myers Brothers Luncheon for being the crew chief for the championship team, and afterward, delivered an emotional speech. He said that the whole situation was uncomfortable for him, as part of him wants to celebrate the championship, and part of him is concerned about moving forward after the Las Vegas celebration. He also wants to know what he could have done differently, saying that “I don't disagree that they needed to make some changes. I just wish I knew what I could do better to try to fix that myself; so we could continue on as we were."

Steve Addington, formerly the crew chief for Kurt Busch, will be taking Grubb’s place atop the No. 14 pit box. Stewart said, “I think Steve’s got a good blend of the technical knowledge and the practical knowledge at the same time, and I think that will help me.”

It also seems that Grubb will land on his feet, particularly with the Sprint Cup championship now on his resume. He has been offered a job by Hendrick Motorsports, but there is no opening for a crew chief, so he is spending time considering his next move.