Mark Martin and crew chief Pat Tryson are glad they weren't part of the Roush shuffle. Credit: Autostock

Martin: No panic after Roush crew chief shuffle

Veteran driver says team is eager to get most out of McMurray

CONCORD, N.C. -- Mark Martin does not believe the decision to change the crew chiefs of Roush Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray was a sign of panic.

Nor does he believe the organization that put all five teams into the Chase for the Nextel Cup a year ago should panic with only two of those teams in line for the Chase after seven races.

	Mark Martin is the only Roush driver to be in the top 10 after seven races in both 2005 and 2006. Credit: Autostock
	Then and Now Compaison of Roush drivers in the point standings Driver 2005 2006 Change M. Kenseth 21 2 +19 M. Martin 7 4 +3 J. McMurray* 14 21 -7 C. Edwards 13 22 -9 Ku. Busch* 4 17 -13 G. Biffle 2 23 -21 * McMurray drove for Ganassi in 2005, while Busch now drives for Penske Racing South.

It all goes back to his faith in owner Jack Roush.

"This change came unexpectedly to me, but usually when Jack explains his rationalization things become a lot clearer,'' Martin said during a Tuesday press conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Martin hasn't spoken to Roush about the changes that sent Edwards' crew chief, Bob Osborne, to McMurray's team and Wally Brown from Edwards' engineer to his crew chief.

But Martin knows all the parties involved well enough -- Osborne was his head engineer in 1998 and Brown later replaced Osborne -- to know both teams will benefit.

Martin's only regret is that Jimmy Fennig, who was his crew chief in the ASA series in 1985 and later in Cup Series at Roush, was caught in the crossfire.

Fennig, who won the 2004 Cup title with Kurt Busch, went from McMurray's crew chief to the head of Roush's Busch Series program.

"I feel bad right now for Jimmy Fennig, but I certainly feel good about Wally Brown and Bob Osborne,'' Martin said. "Given the right circumstances Jimmy can be an even bigger asset to Roush Racing than he can in a crew chief position.''

Roush announced the changes last week, a few days after McMurray qualified 41st and finished 37th at Texas to leave him 21st in points.

Martin put most of the blame on the car, saying occasionally a team will have one with a "demon'' in it.

He also understood the need for change with 19 races left before the 10-race Chase heading into Saturday night's race at Phoenix International Raceway.

	Jimmy Fennig will move from Jamie McMurray's crew chief to head man of Roush's Busch Series program. Credit: Autostock
	ROUSH SHAKEUP Roush Racing announced last week that two of its Nextel Cup teams will have new crew chiefs for the race at Phoenix.  •   Complete story, click here Carl Edwards sees Jack Roush's decision to shift crew chief Bob Osborne to Jamie McMurray's car as a move to spark McMurray's season, not his own.  •   Complete story, click here

Martin is fourth in points and Matt Kenseth is second. McMurray, Edwards and Greg Biffle are 21, 22 and 23, with only the top 10 teams and those within 400 points available for the Chase.

"Jamie is a great driver, and we've got to get him where he can reach his potential,'' Martin said. "For some reason, we haven't been able to get him where he can get it done. So Jack has obviously taken some action to do that.''

McMurray left Gannasi Racing after last season to replace Busch, who left for Penske Racing South. McMurray originally was slated to replace Martin, who delayed his plan to retire from Cup after 2005 when Busch announced his plans.

"They're anxious to get that program going better,'' Martin said.

Martin said Edwards' team will benefit as well.

"Even though Carl lost his crew chief, he gained another really bright crew chief,'' he said. "But most of the reason the No. 99 runs fast is because of the guy behind the wheel. A lot of people might not like that, but that's my opinion.''

Martin said Edwards, whose struggles have had more to do with bad luck than bad handling, understands.

"The thing Carl Edwards told me about it was, 'I was surprised by it, but I know he [Roush] wants to win every bit as bad as I want to win,'" Martin said. "That's having faith, and Carl Edwards is that kind of guy.''

Smooth ride

Martin isn't concerned that the new surface at LMS will be a problem next month in the Nextel All-Star Challenge or the Coca-Cola 600.

MARK'S MUSTANG RIDE It took Mark Martin one lap in a street car Tuesday to learn LMS was as good as ever.  •   Complete story, click here

Martin said the track maintained the character that makes it his favorite on the circuit after taking a few laps in a Ford Mustang.

"Obviously, history says that there should be concerns about tires being able to be durable enough to hold up,'' said Martin, who won the all-star race a year ago. "Even though they held up in the test, will they hold up once the rubber starts laying down? No knock against Goodyear, we're just talking about 200 mph speeds at a downforce racetrack.

"It's just an incredible challenge that I think we're going to have to wait and see. I don't think that we could expect anything worse than what we had last year."

There were an event-record 15 cautions during the October race and 22 in the Coca-Cola 600 in May.

Martin's biggest concern is with the smaller fuel cell NASCAR has mandated to ensure teams pit more often to avoid abusing tires.

"If there are durability issues, then a smaller fuel cell will be a good thing," he said. "If there's not durability issues, then the smaller fuel cell is going to create more cautions, more accidents and a more difficult race to strategize."