Engineer Alba Colon joins Hendrick

Engineer Alba Colon joins Hendrick

NASCAR

Engineer Alba Colon joins Hendrick

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Hendrick Motorsports has added one of the most accomplished females in NASCAR to its stable.

The organization announced Tuesday morning that Alba Colon will join the organization in an executive position. Colon will oversee its competition systems group, which had been led by Darian Grubb. This year, Grubb is back on the road full-time as the crew chief for rookie William Byron and the No. 24 team.

Colon will begin her new role later this month and work to enhance capabilities that support at-track competition, which include simulation programs, analytics platforms, data acquisition and communications technologies and at-track research and development. She will report to Jeff Andrews, the vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports.

Colon is highly regarded within the garage for her work with General Motors.

Hired in 1994 as a data acquisition engineer, Colon has experience in NASCAR, ASA, and the NHRA. In 2001, Colon was promoted to program manager for Team Chevy in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. A native of Spain who grew up in Puerto Rico, Colon graduated from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez with an engineering degree.

Under Colon’s guidance, Chevrolet won 11 Cup Series championship and 14 manufacturer titles. In September, Colon was honored for her work by receiving the STEM award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.

“Alba Colon was a key contributor to Chevrolet’s racing success for over two decades, including 14 NASCAR Cup Manufacturers’ Championships as our program manager in the series,” said a Chevrolet spokesperson in a statement per NASCAR.com. “We thank Alba for all of her contributions to Chevrolet Motorsports.”

The addition of Colon is a continuation of moves made by Hendrick Motorsports made in recent months. Doug Duchardt, who had served as the general manager since 2005, left the company in June. In August, HMS announced eight leadership promotions said to help strengthen the company. Among those included were Andrews and veteran Ken Howes.

Kasey Kahne won one race for HMS in 2017, but will not return next season. Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson won three races and finished in the top-10 in points after qualifying for the NASCAR Playoffs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wound up 21st in his final full-time season.

HMS will field cars for Elliott, Johnson, and newcomers Alex Bowman and Byron in 2018.

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