When desperation hits in any sport changes occur. Sometimes those changes work and other times you have to play the wait and see game.
For example crew chief swaps at Hendrick Motorsports have worked as a whole for all drivers involved. The quick changes just a few days after collecting their fifth title aligned Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with new leadership.
Two weeks ago following the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway change was in the air.
Richard Childress Racing announced that Jeff Burton would be working with Luke Lambert as Todd Berrier was replaced.
Burton season has been anything but a struggle. He is buried 25th in the points he has yet to collect a top 10 finish this season.
What could go wrong this season has and the change atop the pit box won’t mean this team will be title contenders this season.
Still they are mathematically a long shot for the Chase still this makes it a good opportunity not only to gamble for a win but to prepare for 2012.
Hard to believe in August they can focus on prepping for next season but it has been that type of season and Sunday was no different. They finished 35th when it was said and done. Struggling late in the race with ignition and radio problems it cost them a chance to battle for a top 10 finish.
For Greg Biffle he usually looks forward to running at IMS. He has had success at tracks like this.
With his new crew chief Matt Puccia they looked early on this weekend that they would contend for the win.
They instead got caught in the lap 120 wreck and were forced to pit road. That pit stop allowed them to try and make it on fuel. While most of the leaders hit pit road Biffle was able to save enough fuel to finish seventh.
That being said Biffle needed track position and with a treacherous pit road they never could get close to the front.
“The fuel mileage kind of worked out for us today,” said Biffle. “We got in that wreck and then kind of had to come down and pit and that set us up for making it to the end, but we were off just a little bit. I don’t think we were off that much. We just couldn’t get any track position. We had a pretty good car, but I was just stuck back there.”
Juan Pablo Montoya was also a part of the crew chief changes during the off week. Brian Pattie was replaced by Jim Pohlman.
Heading into IMS many expected Montoya to do what he has done the last two years, dominate.
Instead he ran top 10 for much of the day. Team didn’t have the best car but they were looking at a solid finish.
Just like for Biffle fuel mileage kicked in and Montoya was forced to pit. He then struggled in traffic and ended up finishing 28th.
It’s too early to say whether these changes worked for any of these drivers.
The results this past weekend are hard to judge but you have to look at the long term. The model for crew chief changes has been set by HMS and even inside of Richard Childress Racing in the past.
Biffle and Montoya are still in the Chase hunt but they need results and by results they needs wins.
Even if the crew chief changes hadn’t occurred when they did if they want to make the Chase they have to find a way to win.
Give it time and these teams could find themselves battling for wins instead of battling themselves.
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