Penske Racing's Kurt Busch fourth in final race with crew chief Pat Tryson
By SceneDaily Staff
Sunday, November 22, 2009
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch finished out his tenure with crew chief Pat Tryson on a positive note, finishing fourth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Tryson, who announced just prior to the Chase For The Sprint Cup that he was leaving Penske at season’s end to become the crew chief for incoming Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., helped guide Busch to a win and seven top-10s in the 10-race, championship-determining portion of the season.
Busch ended up fourth in the standings, 27 points behind third-place Jeff Gordon, for his best points finish since winning the championship in 2004 with the team now known as Roush Fenway Racing. Tryson’s departure comes after a season in which Busch notched two wins and was much improved from 2008, when he missed the Chase and finished 18th in the standings.
“I just talked to him and told him I’ve got a lot of respect for him and am going to miss him but it’s one of those things unfortunately,” Tryson said after Sunday’s Ford 400. “But he drove his ass off again, so I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Busch led five times for a total of 43 laps and was running second when the final caution flag waved with 51 laps to go. Instead of taking four tires with the rest of the leaders, Tryson opted for a two-tire stop that allowed Busch to move into the lead.
But on the subsequent restart, Busch immediately fell into the clutches of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Kurt Busch eventually regained the spot on Kyle Busch but lost positions to Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick in the closing laps.
“We got behind on pit strategy tonight at the end,” said Busch, the top Dodge driver in the standings. “Pat said two tires and I said, ‘Make sure nobody else does four.’ Everybody did four, but that’s racing. We fought and fought all night. I found this weird line out on the race track where I could drive the car in really deep, and it was just building the right-front tire pressure so much that I couldn’t hang on to it at the end and Kevin caught us for third place.
“That doesn’t define our year. What defines our year was the perseverance, hard work and just being first in class this year.”
Hendrick Motorsports drivers swept the top three positions in the standings, with Jimmie Johnson capturing a fourth straight series championship, followed by teammates Mark Martin and Gordon.
“I felt like we ran really well in the Chase. If it wasn’t for two little things I think we would have been a little better there,” Tryson said. “We tried to get to third [in points] tonight but those Hendrick cars are real good. [The No. 2 Penske team] will have to step up next year and we’ll have to step up next year where we’re at to see if we can’t give the 48 [of Johnson] a little more of a run for their money.”
That’s also what Busch has in mind.
“These guys from Hendrick, they’ll beat you left and right if you’re not looking,” he said. “We just have to keep pushing them, find new ideas and go after them in ’10.”
Tryson was only allowed at the Penske shop for weekly competition meetings after revealing his plans to leave the organization, but says that didn’t make for a bad experience.
In fact, it has apparently been quite enjoyable.
“I had a blast actually,” said Tryson, adding that he doesn’t know exactly when his first day at Michael Waltrip Racing will be. “We had nothing to lose and everything to gain so it was fun. … We would have liked to give the 48 [team] a little more of a battle, but I think we all would have liked to give the 48 a little more of a battle.”
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8 responses to "Penske Racing's Kurt Busch fourth in final race with crew chief Pat Tryson". Post a Comment.
LUV88AND99 said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 10:59 PMPat Tryson is a class act and I was shocked to hear how Kurt speaks to him on the radio. That's probably why he wanted out. I heard today that Steve Addington may get the job--well, he's used to being verbally abused by the younger brother so maybe it will work out!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjoyceacolee said:
Nov 22, 2009 at 11:26 PMToo bad more of us haven't commented on Kurt's tirade about Pat Tryson. I really did not think Kurt was like his worm brother. He proved me wrong in his FOX interview after the race. Do you suppose he will want his children to speak of people who deserve respect like he talked about Pat today? Shame on you Kurt. Shame on your parents for not teaching neither of you better manners.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportgalvan18244 said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 3:36 AMKurt did a GREAT job this year! he did great things with his DODGE, he was able to run with hendrick all year!! Tryson is dumb for leaving!
Report as Abuseand kurt talking about him like that.. is badass!!
:)
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» Confirm Abuse ReportOddCyclone said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 1:32 PMKurt had a great year inspite of Tryson making the car worse as the races went on. If given a good car Kurt can run with anyone anywhere. Tryson was an OK crew chief, now it's time to get a better one.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportkpierces said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:39 PMPat made a very smart move. Kurt hogs the glory, but is more than willing to place blame on his crew or crew chief. If anyone has a u-tube link to recordings of Kurts car radio, please post them on here for other to see just how poorly this guy can behave. I would bet money, Pat wanted to show Kurt who's boss by only putting two tires on at the end. Maybe Kurt will learn from it, but it's doubtful. Most likely he'll try to get Penske to sew Pat for damages.
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» Confirm Abuse Reporttrtruckin said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 5:25 PMDon't know about Kurt's interview FOX but his interview after the race with the network that carried the race was all class. He didn't dis Tryson at all, but rather said how hard it was teaming up with him after Tryson's decision to leave and wished him all the luck in the world. He did say that "I'm looking forward to beating Pat next year with his knew team." But he said it in a joking way. Kurt has a much better personality than his younger brother. And believe me he's not the only one that talks "mean" (I think you said) to his crewchief. Get on the radio sometime and listen to Jr. or Robbie Gordon, or Tony Stewart (before ownership)or a mirriot of other drivers.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 5:44 PMi took the Tryson comment as a joke also...
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjdxenterprises said:
Nov 23, 2009 at 6:33 PMIf you are all talking about Kurt's comment about throwing Pat under the bus, I also took it as a joke. And I don't think Kurt talks to his crew chief any differently than most drivers do. I am sure that in the heat of the moment going 180 MPH with cars inches from your door can cause for some heated conversations as you try to hold on to your car. I really don't know how a parent can prepare their children for that. I prefer to leave mom and dad out... Their jobs ended long ago.
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