Busch says transition to JGR, Toyota has been 'easy'
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Thursday, January 10, 2008
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch doesn't mind that he is carrying the banner for his team's transition to Toyota since he is the first of the team's three drivers to be at the track testing the model.
The 22-year-old seems comfortable, in both his transition to a new team and to a new manufacturer.
Busch says that he's sharing everything he is learning during the NASCAR Sprint Cup test session with his teammates to boost their effort next week and give them a better starting point in their own session.
"All the information's already been discussed," he said. "It's on a server, the Gibbs server. All the guys back at the shop have been looking at it. There's been phone calls back and forth about them already changing some of the stuff on their cars from what we've learned here with the 11 [of Denny Hamlin] and the 20 [of Tony Stewart]. So they've been doing a lot of stuff back there.
"A lot of the engine stuff that we've been learning here has been getting translated back there. They've been running it on the engine dyno. It's been non-stop. Joe Gibbs Racing has been working 24/7."
The work the team put in prior to the session has paid off. Busch was fastest in the morning session Wednesday at the track and has been consistently fast in the test.
"It's been a big deal to be able to come out here and run strong," he said Wednesday at the track. "We want to make sure we give the 20 and the 11 everything that we've learned so then they're coming back here the way we leave so they can keep going and keep going on the same path that we were."
For Busch, it's a lot of transition to be going through at once. After making the Chase For The Nextel Cup with his Hendrick Motorsports team and crew chief Alan Gustafson for the past two seasons, he has joined a team that hasn't been performing at that level. He's adjusting to working with crew chief Steve Addington and making the move seem easy.
Busch doesn't appear to be concerned with any aspect of the transition - or any drop-off in performance.
"It's easy," he said. "Everything's going great. You know, being back at the shop, working with the guys a little bit, getting seats all squared away, everybody's been real helpful, real eager, have been telling me about how excited they are.
"So, you know, the morale back at the shop's great. Everybody's excited about the tandem that we have here with myself, Tony and Denny. You know, everybody's pretty pumped up and ready to get the season rolling so hopefully we can get going."
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Denny Hamlin
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