Jamie McMurray is happy to listen to what Mark Martin has to say. Credit: Autostock

Frustrated McMurray understands changes

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- This was supposed to be the season Jamie McMurray finally made the Chase. With ease.

So far, nothing has gone right. No top-fives. Just seven laps led. Twenty-first in points.

ROUSH BACKS FENNIG Owner Jack Roush said Friday that Jimmy Fennig will return one day as a crew chief in his Nextel Cup organization.  •   Complete story, click here

The results -- or lack of them -- were amplified last week when Roush Racing surprisingly moved McMurray's crew chief, Jimmy Fennig, to Busch Series duty.

At the request of team owner Jack Roush, McMurray arrived at the Roush Racing shop last week and was shocked to learn that Bob Osborne, who had led Carl Edwards' team to a near-title in 2005 -- would be his new crew chief.

CHANGES AT ROUSH Roush Racing has moved crew chief Bob Osborne from Carl Edwards' No. 99 team to the No. 26 team of Jamie McMurray.  •   Complete story, click here Carl Edwards views the decision to switch crew chiefs as a way to help Jamie McMurray get his first season at Roush jump-started.  •   Complete story, click here

The move was a huge one even in the immense world of Roush Racing, which fields a dozen teams in NASCAR's top three series.

Roush Racing expanded its Busch program for the 2006 season, and the move served to stretch the limits of the talent that Roush had assembled. None of his teams are in the top five in owners' points in the Busch Series.

Gasoline was thrown on fire when NASCAR suspended one of Roush's Busch crew chiefs, Chad Norris, for three races. That left Roush with precious little experience to fix his struggling Busch programs.

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Because of that, Roush said he needed more help on the Busch side, so he moved Fennig from the Nextel Cup operation. He then replaced Osborne with former engineer Wally Brown, who had served as Osborne's right-hand man on Edwards' team.

Still, it was clear that McMurray's team needed a shot in the arm after its lackluster start. The move took McMurray, who already had gotten accustomed to working with Fennig, by surprise.

"I was surprised that it happened so early and I felt like I got along really well with [Fennig]," McMurray said. "A little bit shocked, but [Osborne] took the 99 team from no sponsor and to a team that can win the championship.

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"I really like Jimmy Fennig, we got along really well. But we were not having the success that Roush teams are used to."

Roush said he made the decision alone without consultation -- something he rarely does.

"I looked at it myself and I decided it was good for the company and it was good for all the drivers and all the sponsors," Roush said.

When McMurray was hired to drive for Roush, he inherited a car that had won the title with Kurt Busch, but Roush says that McMurray will need time to adapt the cars to suit McMurray's different tastes.

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That has been little consolation to the self-critical McMurray, who says he has gotten very little sleep this season.

"It is very frustrating when you see all your teammates run well and you have exactly what they have and you're not able to make that work right away," McMurray said.

Compounding McMurray's frustration is the fact that all four of his teammates have led at least 50 laps this season.

Edwards and Greg Biffle are both lower than McMurray in the Nextel Cup standings, but both have been in a position to win races. Teammate Matt Kenseth is off to the best start in his career, and Mark Martin has completed every lap this season.

"You want to run well, and you're in an organization that just about contends in every race to win," McMurray said.