Instant reaction: Addington out as Busch's crew chief
We had heard rumblings of a possible crew chief change for Kyle Busch after the season, but the news that Steve Addington has been replaced by Dave Rogers beginning at Texas comes as quite a surprise.
The mild-mannered Addington and fiery Busch had combined to win 12 races in less than two years together, and although they didn't make the the Chase this season, it seemed to be only a matter of time before they were running up front again.
Busch has often said in explaining the lack of success this season that he didn't have good enough cars to compete (this despite winning four races). Other drivers would kill for an "off" season like the one Busch has had (13th in points, 920 laps led, nine top-five finishes).
But apparently, officials at Joe Gibbs Racing think so much of Busch's talent and ability that anything less than a season like 2008 is unacceptable.
And so, before 2009 is even complete, Addington is out, replaced by another mild-mannered crew chief in Rogers.
Rogers has been brilliant in the Nationwide Series, but has no experience working with the new car in the Sprint Cup Series. What kind of transition period does he face to learn what adjustments have certain impacts on the car? As we've seen, many veteran crew chiefs still cannot figure out this car.
More important, will Busch have enough patience if he and Rogers get off to a slow start? They've worked together before, but this is a big change for a driver who hasn't exactly "struggled" by anyone's standards but his own.
You have to wonder if Busch had any say in this decision. If he knew it was coming, he sure didn't show it Monday night at a WWE event he was hosting. He was casual and carefree, not acting as if big news was coming the following morning.
It will be interesting to see if Addington remains at JGR. Perhaps he could be the answer to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s problems ˆ after all, Addington went from looking like a bum with J.J. Yeley to a genius with Busch. Maybe he could do the same for Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports.
