Things to do for 2002
Crew chief Silly Season, and NASCAR addresses their “things to do” slate.
Crew Chief Changes This Week……….
Roush Racing
The crew chief Silly Season is still going at full song. One of the most puzzling changes took place at Roush Racing. Jimmy Fennig, long time crew chief for Mark Martin, driver of the No. 6 Viagra Ford, will be moving to the No. 97 Rubbermaid/Sharpie Ford which is driven by Kurt Busch. Ben Leslie, Kurt Busch’s rookie crew chief last season with the No. 97, will be moving to the No. 6 crew. Leslie contends that he still has a lot to learn, and hopes to progress with veteran driver Martin. Also involved in the Roush Racing shake-up is No. 6 car chief Shawn Parker, who will be moving to a Roush Racing Busch Series team. Roush employee Joe Don Bailey will move up to take the position of car chief with the No. 6 Viagra Ford team.
I assume that the change was initiated because 2001 was Mark Martin’s worst season since starting out with Roush in 1988. Martin finished 12th in the drivers point’s standings, which is the first time he has been out of the top ten in 13 years. Martin had his best seasons in the late ‘90s when he was a strong championship contender. He had back surgery during the off season in ’99 which ended up not being very successful, and in 2000 he complained of the constant grind of the 34 week schedule, and wanted to spend more time with his family. Sometimes a crew chief change can bring new life into a failing team.
Another reason for the change may be that Roush figures Mark Martin has had his best years and now he wants the best and more experienced crew chief to help his up and coming sophomore driver Kurt Busch. The 2001 statistics on both drivers do not really explain anything. Actually, Martin had better stats, scoring more than twice as many top ten finishes than Busch did, and they both ended up with three top five finishes. No matter how you look at it, Kurt Busch will definitely benefit from Jimmy Fennig’s many years of experience.
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