Did Penske Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports shoot themselves in the proverbial foot and eliminate their chances for a Cup title before the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup even started?
Each of these teams placed one of its cars in this years Chase -- Penske the No. 2 car of Kurt Busch and RPM the No. 9 of Kasey Kahne -- but their Chasers seem to have a lot going against them already.
There appears to be a lot of confusion in the RPM camp since the team recently announced a merger with Yates Racing and a switch to Ford for 2010. As a move of disapproval, the team's vice-president has resigned. Also, several members of the engine shop have already departed, since the move to Ford means RPM will be shutting down its engine program and getting engines from the Roush-Yates group. The turmoil in the engine shop kind of leads to speculation around Kahne's engine woes at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday that resulted in a 38th-place finish, plummeting him to the basement of the Chase points standings.
Kahne's now in a whole, as far as the Chase goes, that will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for him to climb out of.
There are also other question regarding the atmosphere at RPM. It was revealed recently that fellow-RPM driver Reed Sorenson has been racing without a salary for the last few months.
No wonder Kahne is questioning his team's leadership and direction!
While Penske Racing isn't in the midst of a merger or a manufacturer change, the organization has managed to make at least one decision that is sure to hinder Busch's quest for a second Cup title for himself and a first for Penske.
Not long ago, crew chief Pat Tryson announced that he would be leaving Penske at the end of the year. Not long after that announcement, an announcement was made that he would head to Michael Waltrip Racing next year to be Martin Truex Jr.'s crew chief.
In some ways, it's understandable that a team owner not want someone who will soon be moving to another team be privy to technology the team is working on for the coming season. However, with a car in the Chase, is it a good idea to bar the crew chief from the shop except for Tuesday debriefings? I wouldn't think so.
Busch did manage at top-10 finish at New Hampshire Sunday, but that may be because it hadn't been long since Tryson stopped coming to the shop every day. Of course, all Chase drivers want to get as many points as they can whenever they can get them, but the clock may be ticking for Busch and the No. 2 team. It's probably only a matter of days before the effects of not having a full-time crew chief take their toll.
As any Chase competitor or former champion will tell you, championships are hard to come by. Why make the process even harder by putting your team at a disadvantage before the Chase even starts?
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