Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR

Crew members for Matt Kenseth work on the car during a pit stop in the Checker Auto Parts 500 on Sunday. Kenseth finished 13th and has all but conceded the Nextel Cup title.

Teams that seem to be on top suddenly can’t do anything right (see Ryan Newman), and teams that appear to be in disarray quickly turn it all around (see all of Richard Childress Racing).

Roush is far from the rock-bottom place that Childress was two years ago and Robert Yates Racing is now. But to avoid falling all the way down, he’ll need to figure things out with McMurray’s team — and quickly.

It’s easy to point to the No. 26 team as a major source of the problems, because what was a winning operation the past two years with Kurt Busch behind the wheel isn’t even competitive with McMurray in the driver’s seat.

When that team began to struggle, it had a domino effect on the entire organization.

Yes, Roush had his issues with Busch during their time together. But the guy still won races — and the 2004 championship — and the information his team brought to the table helped everyone in the organization.

But when Busch begged out of his deal, it turned everything upside down. McMurray suddenly had to replace him instead of Martin, and Martin couldn’t retire as planned because Roush was still short one driver.

So McMurray went to a team he wasn’t expected to join, with a crew that wasn’t meant for him. And when it didn’t work, a disappointing season was set in motion.

“Kurt Busch was the catalyst to all that,” said Martin, who is leaving at the end of the season. “If you scoot way back, the whole world could have been different by one decision — the whole Roush world could have been different by one decision.

“Our tools maybe haven’t been quite as sharp as they were last year. The effort has been the same, and I think Roush Racing hopes that next year they’ll be back with the tools as sharp as they were. But last year was a very special year for us.”