Crew chief change may not solve Busch's issues
Splitting up the team that had 12 wins in less than two years may not work
 Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR Despite helping Kyle Busch (right) win 12 races in less than two years, Steve Addington was replaced as the No. 18's crew chief. |
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So, no sooner do I put out a video blog saying it's too soon to split up Kyle Busch and Steve Addington, than Joe Gibbs Racing announces they're splitting up Busch and Addington before the season is even over. I guess that's why I'm a NASCAR blogger and J.D. Gibbs is a NASCAR owner.
Here is the stat that's hard for me to get over: 12 wins in less than two years. Yes, the team's four wins in 2009 are half as many as it recorded in 2008, but they're still twice as many as Kyle ever got as part of the Hendrick juggernaut. If we're talking stats, let's also acknowledge that eight points are all that stood between the No. 18 and a Chase date.
What Joe Gibbs Racing is basically saying, is the struggles the team has experienced over the past three months trump everything that came before. Clearly, they believe new energy and a new direction are required. I'll say this: If they were committed to making a change, now was definitely the time to do it.
There is one thing that is not going to change with Dave Rogers sitting atop the No. 18 war wagon, however ... Kyle Busch.
How much of Kyle's struggles have been of Kyle's own making? We will soon have the opportunity to find out. At times, it has appeared Kyle let his frustrations get the best of him. It has appeared he has given up on a car if it wasn't completely dialed in. Kyle's callow attitude and tempestuousness will not go away just because Addington goes away.
Rogers certainly did not impress as Jason Leffler's crew chief back in 2005 when Leffler piloted the No. 11. True, Rogers has complied some impressive Nationwide stats since, but that doesn't mean he can wrap his wrench around the "Car of Tomorrow," especially in an era of no testing.
I am far from ready to concede that the Busch/Addington pairing is a failure. I understand the need to represent in the postseason, but I think that duo had championship potential.
Split them up and let them go their separate ways. I'll be keeping an eye on which turns out to be greater, the whole or the sum of the parts.
Bass Masters and Buzz Cutler are co-hosts of Rowdy.com For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com.
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