by FOXSports.com

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After 200 laps, the No. 2 just got tight and nothing the Pat Tryson led crew changed seemed to help. They took spring rubbers out, put wedge in, took wedge out and did track bar and air pressure adjustments but none if it seemed to help much. He was lapped twice by his brother, Kyle Busch, who was setting a torrid pace much of the race. Kurt was able to secure the Lucky Dog both times and finished on the lead lap in a respectable 15th place.

Kurt and the Brew Crew will head out to the West Coast for the Fontana, CA race next weekend.

This week, I caught up with Kurt's crew chief Pat Tryson outside the team hauler for a brief chat about the handling woes on the COT and his racing roots.

The Life of a Crew Chief

The Sonoma race this past June marked Pat's one year anniversary with the Miller Lite team and to date he has enjoyed three trips to Victory Lane (Pocono and Michigan in 2007; New Hampshire in 2008) with the Brew Crew. Pat is an intimidating figure around the garage — the strong silent type — but he is easy to talk to, has a great sense of humor and a lot of Pennsylvania pride!

Tryson has been hanging around racing garages for a long time. At age 16, he got his first taste of racing at the drag racing strips with his father, who was an engine builder. Pat didn't only get his education in the garages though, he graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a B.A in Business Administration and football. He moved to North Carolina and worked with the Allison brothers building chassis and then landed a job as the car chief/mechanic on Kenny Bernstein's top fuel dragster.

His first year as a NASCAR crew chief came in 1997 for Geoffrey Bodine and then in 1998, he was the crew chief for Geoff's brother, Todd Bodine. In 1999, Pat was snatched up by the Roush organization where he started as Kevin Lepage's crew chief. He left Roush in 2001 to work for the Wood Brother's as the crew chief on the No. 21 car with Ricky Rudd and Elliott Sadler but returned to Roush in 2003 as the crew chief for the No. 6 team and Mark Martin and then for Greg Biffle before joining the Miller Lite team in June 2007.

Tryson worked his way up through the ranks, but it has come with some sacrifices. His schedule is grueling as he works at the Penske garage Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm. He gets Thursday afternoon off and then leaves with the team Thursday evening and is on the pit box until Sunday night. Pat admits the hardest part is not spending much time with his wife and seven year old daughter, but unfortunately, it comes with the territory of being a crew chief on a top NASCAR Cup team.

Pat's experience has given him a wealth of knowledge but admits the new car, which was introduced full time this year by NASCAR, means starting over with setups. He spoke candidly about the difficulty setting up the car since NASCAR regulates nearly everything it has taken away much of the crew chiefs' creativity and tools they used to set up the old car. Drivers who are used to a certain feel of the car through the turns seem to be struggling the most to adapt to the COT and there is not a happy crew chief in the garages as far as I can tell. The main problem for the No. 2 team has been getting the front end of the car to turn without wearing the right front tire out. While Kurt is still technically eligible for making the Chase, it is very unlikely so the team is using the rest of the 2008 season to test and take risks. Pat said after Bristol, "I can't just say we have to change this or change that — we have to get our chassis better overall if we're going to consistently be battling there up front. This team is committed to do what it takes to get better and we'll get there."

Both Pat and Kurt Busch believe there is an easy fix — raise the splitter 3 inches and eliminate the bump stops. NASCAR so far has not listened to the feedback the teams have been giving them but Pat and the Brew Crew won't stop trying to get creative with the setups and working hard to get Kurt the best car possible. With a talented crew chief like Pat Tryson calling the shots and a very capable crew, I know they will figure out the new car and the Miller Lite Dodge will be back in Victory Lane again very soon.

Thanks for the inside scoop Pat!