Mike Hembree: Steve Addington gets a new start

By Mike Hembree - Associate Editor

Friday, December 18, 2009

Steve Addington has joined Penske Racing as the new crew chief for driver Kurt Busch.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

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11 Comments

COMMENTARY

Steve Addington’s decision to leave Joe Gibbs Racing to join driver Kurt Busch at Penske Racing probably was somewhat difficult, but it looks like a good move for all parties.

In the world of crew chiefs, a quite diverse universe, Addington is an attractive mix of old school and new world, a smart and calm guy who knows how to run a race and a crew.

Of course, Addington is trading one Busch (Kyle) for another (Kurt). Although Kyle has made the most noise in recent years, Kurt, a former champion, has re-established himself as one of NASCAR’s leading drivers and with Penske Racing putting its house in order, the team seems ready to produce at a higher level.

With his productive partnership with Kyle Busch apparently at somewhat of an impasse, it was time for Addington to move on. All indications are that he could have remained at JGR in some sort of research-and-development or engineering-related role, a popular escape path for teams with crew chief-driver combinations that don’t work out, for whatever reason. This concept works fine for some crew chiefs, but others continue to crave the challenge of race-day pit road, and they move on.

Addington has too much to offer on Sundays to put all his effort inside the shop. He and Kyle Busch won a string of races together, and there is no reason to suspect that his war-wagon presence and preparation skills will change in a new partnership with the older brother.

Prior to becoming a winning Sprint Cup crew chief, Addington had a long and successful partnership with Nationwide Series driver Jason Keller. They produced one of the most dependable pairings in that series despite a temporary breakup that saw them go separate ways.

Addington, 45, made a successful transition to Sprint Cup and put together two winning years with Busch as they scored 12 victories together. Busch did not qualify for the Chase For The Sprint Cup this season, however, and there were indications late in the season that his strong personality ultimately would result in a crew chief change for the No. 18 team. It wasn’t exactly a fair shake for Addington, but it wasn’t unexpected.

Some crew chiefs are seen as race winners; others are viewed as expert point racers. Perhaps there was the impression at JGR that Addington wasn’t the best crew chief for Kyle Busch in the long run, in the pursuit of the big prize.

In a new setting at Penske, Addington has the chance to prove he can beat one Busch with another.