Busch, Tryson just won’t quit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –
Kurt Busch and Pat Tryson had every reason to coast through the season’s final 10 races in a long farewell before the crew chief bolts to a new team next year.

Only they promised not to go through the motions, and Busch’s win at Texas Motor Speedway showed they kept their word. The victory Sunday moved Busch to fourth in the standings and gave him a solid shot at celebrating a top-five finish when NASCAR’s season-ending awards ceremony makes its debut in Busch’s hometown of Las Vegas.

Not too shabby considering Tryson is allowed inside Penske Racing only once a week, for the Tuesday team meeting. He has been banned from the shop the rest of the time as Penske officials prepare for 2010 without him.

Tryson decided in August to move to Michael Waltrip Racing next season to crew chief Martin Truex Jr., news that broke a week before the start of the championship race. Busch wasn’t pleased with the timing, or Tryson’s decision, and everyone assumed the knee-jerk reaction would cost Busch a shot at the title.

Instead, they raced hard and overcame any limitations placed on Tryson’s preparation.

“Pat, great job for you,” team owner Roger Penske told Tryson after Sunday’s race.

Tryson thanked Penske for the kind words, and the subject was dropped.

It’s the same way Tryson has deflected talk about his departure. He has chosen not to harp on it and instead make sure Busch had the best race car possible each week of the Chase.

That was evident when Busch opened the Chase with consecutive top-10 finishes. There was an 11th at Kansas that hurt him in the standings, but he came back for another two top-10s.

Busch and Tryson have plenty to be proud of, most notably the professionalism they have shown during their farewell run together. Neither talks much publicly about why Tryson is leaving, but the crew chief has been adamant that it has nothing to do with Busch or his reputation as an emotional driver who is hard on team personnel.

It leaves Busch in a bind of having to replace a team leader who guided him to five wins and two Chase berths while probably resisting the urge to strangle him during one of his mid-race meltdowns. No matter how hard Busch might be on his team, the 2004 Chase winner is the best option out there for a crew chief looking for a winner.