Inside the Garage: JGR crew chief Steve Addington (cont'd)

Q: Speaking of the driver lineup at JGR, talk about adding Kyle Busch to a group that already included Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. How do you feel about working with Kyle?

Addington: I'm really looking forward to working with Kyle. You watch him in the Truck Series, you watch him in the Busch Series and you watch him in the Cup Series -- and he's fast everywhere he goes. You can't guess perfect [on the setup] all the time, but he always manages to get a top-five or top-10 finish out of everything he sits in. Looking at him and our program, I think everything fits together where we'll be great competitors next year.

Q: Kyle has been accused of being a bit of a loose cannon. Does that concern you?

Addington: You look at it and he's a young kid. He's been thrown into the spotlight here. Anything he does is going to get criticized -- or maybe not criticized, but scrutinized. He's out there in the public eye. Stuff that me and you do nobody even thinks nothing about it. And it you look at it, it's been a while since he's had any problems. Down the line I think he's handled himself very well with frustration lately. So, I mean, I think as he gets settled in here, he's already matured a bunch. And running good takes care of all that anyway.

Q: The other day after Busch supposedly spilled the beans about the organization making the switch from Chevrolets to Toyotas next season, J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR, joked that Kyle will fit right in. ...

Addington: [chuckling]: Yeah, that's true. It's going to be three great personalities to work with. It's going to be a lot of fun -- probably never a dull moment. And especially when you think about three guys racing each other from the same company hopefully up front, that's going to be a neat thing. When the 20 and the 11 race each other now, that's cool. We think next year we can get the third car up there into that mix with them.

Q: Has it been strange finishing out this year with Yeley as a lame-duck driver of the No. 18?

Addington: It is in a way, but I think everybody is pretty comfortable with it. He's working on his deal. He's got a place to go. It's been kind of a smooth transition. He's excited about his future; we're excited about our future -- and we're trying to get him to Victory Lane before he leaves Joe Gibbs Racing.

Q: How huge an adjustment would a switch to Toyotas be for you as a crew chief?

Addington: Well, I mean, nothing's really done yet. I haven't really looked into it. Our focus has been on this year, what we've got to do to try to finish strong this year. If something comes and we make the change and they announce that it's official, that's when we'll start working toward next year and figuring all that out.