The man had never been atop the pit box during a Cup race. His experience all came in the Nationwide Series with unimpressive drivers Mike Bliss and Jason Keller. But the relationship with a driver and his crew chief is the key to anyone's success. This is the perfect example.
Alan Gustafson is one of the better Crew Chiefs in the Sprint Cup garage, and has been atop a pit box since 2005. But Kyle Busch isn't going to radio in "My car's loose, I think I need a few rounds of wedge to tighten her up." You'll more likely hear "My car's junk."
Who in their right mind, would have any feasible idea of what to do to a car with that information? Well, the answer would be in the results Kyle keeps showing us.
Steve Addington may not be the best crew chief around, he might not even be a "top tier" crew chief, but what he is best at is understanding what Kyle Busch needs to make his car faster than anyone else. And that is all that matters.
People may flock to the guy who can calculate fuel mileage better than the next guy, but if he doesn't know what do to when his driver complains over the radio, he will never been in a position to calculate how many laps short his driver will or won't be at the end of the race.
With technology is at the forefront of any conversation, having chemistry between Crew Chief and driver is often overlooked as an important part of a successful race team.
Before this year is over, that won't be the case any longer. Kyle Busch and Steve Addington are proving that just because you aren't a master with a calculator, doesn't mean that you won't win any races.
11 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete