Penske Racing officials have named Steve Addington as Kurt Busch’s crew chief on the No 2 Miller Lite Dodge.
Busch’s previous crew chief, Pat Tryson, previously announced his was leaving; going to work at Michael Waltrip Racing. There had been some discussions about promoting from within Penske ranks, but it’s difficult not to take advantage of a crew chief, at a major team, with multiple wins to his credit. Steve Addington has a proven track record of success in NASCAR and we are excited to welcome him to Penske Racing,” said owner Roger Penske. “By adding Steve to the winning Miller Lite team and working closely with Kurt, we believe we have the combination in place to compete for a championship as we head into the 2010 season.” Addington, 45, comes from Joe Gibbs racing where he was crew chief to Kyle Busch, Kurt’s younger brother, on the No 18 Toyota with 12 wins in the last two seasons. Earlier this year, Addington was replaced by Dave Rogers, Kyle Busch’s primary Nationwide crew chief after a number of less than satisfactory finishes even though Kyle had won races this year. After that announcement Addington wasn’t pleased, at the time he said on radio “And I’ve been with the No 18 car for five years and the past two years have been awesome and I think it’s just, you just question what you have to do to make it over here.” “I am really looking forward to working with Penske Racing, Kurt Busch and the Miller Lite Dodge team,” said Addington. “This a championship-caliber team with a great driver and with the resources and experience at Penske Racing, we have the opportunity to add to the team’s success starting next season.” “We’re coming off a strong season, but I know we can be even better in 2010,” said Busch, the 2004 Cup Series champion. “With Steve on board, I am confident we can build on the momentum from 2009 and compete for wins and the series title in the Miller Lite Dodge." "I've got a lot of respect for this organization and the people in it. But you sit back and you wonder, you know, what do you got to do because you beat a lot of great guys in this garage in the past 18 months and you start questioning what do you got to do to be successful in this business? And I've been with the No 18 car for five years and the past two years have been awesome and I think it's just, you just question what you have to do to make it over here. And I understand that and I've talked to a lot of people, and I've got a lot of support and I've got a lot of respect in this garage area." Photos: NASCAR - Getty Images
Recent Articles
|
Racing Multimedia
Recommendations |