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Team changes should benefit Busch, Newman
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2006 Rewind
It is impossible not to lump new teammates Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman together for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that both were easily the biggest disappointments of 2006.
Busch's much-ballyhooed arrival from Roush Racing was supposed to vault Penske Racing South over the top, putting the 2004 Nextel Cup champ into Rusty Wallace's legendary car. The season started with finishes of 38th, 16th, 16th, and 37th, but when he won at Bristol in March, everyone assumed things were back on track.
They weren't.
The entire Penske organization struggled with the Dodge Charger, leading what they thought would be an army of fellow complainers, but instead, they stood alone and looked more like whiners.
Newman's fall from grace is even more baffling, considering that nothing really changed on his side of the shop. A team that averaged three wins and eight poles a season from 2002-2005 won 0 races and only two pole positions. For the first time in his meteoric Cup career, the Rocket Man fizzled, failing to finish inside the top 10 in points.
Why One of Them Will Finish 9th
They don't call Roger Penske "The Captain" because they think the name is cute. He earned that moniker with a reputation for taking charge and righting the ship, no matter whom or what needed to be thrown overboard to do it. He faced a similar situation with his Indy Car team in 1995 when none of his cars qualified for the Indy 500, a race he has won more than any other man alive or dead. Over the next two seasons, he purged his driver roster and overhauled his engineering staff, eventually bouncing back to dominate open wheels once again.
This year, everything is new at Penske Racing. All of his race teams — NASCAR, IRL and sports cars — are migrating under one very large roof in Mooresville, N.C. Newman's longtime crew chief Matt Borland is gone, replaced by Mike Nelson. The Charger has a new nose, and the Car of Tomorrow will bring the arrival of the Avenger.
One surprise was one change that was not made, and that was the job status of Busch's crew chief, Roy McCauley. McCauley spent much of the season dealing with rumors of his demise, but four top tens and a pole over the final nine races of the season likely saved his skin.
The chances of both Penske Dodges making the top 10 are not good, but one of the two drivers could power his way back to respectability.
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The All-Telling, All-Knowing Stat: 2
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Send your questions & comments to Ryan |
That's how many times both Penske cars finished inside the top 10 on the same weekend — at Bristol in March and Infineon Raceway in June. Seventeen times, one car finished with a top 10 when the other did not. Sounds like the two teams need to get on the same page. Lack of communication between Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman was a huge problem. Here's hoping that trend doesn't continue.
Fantasy Lock: Bristol
Thunder Valley was the lone bright spot for both teams last season. Busch has always been the best play in East Tennessee, winning five of the last 10 Bristol races and adding his first BMS pole back in August. Newman has picked up five top tens in his seven starts, including two of his seven top 10s last year.
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