FORT WORTH, Texas -- Dave Rogers had been to the big show, and he didn't miss it. He had crafted something of an empire for himself in the Nationwide Series, building a championship-caliber team, turning out race-winning cars on a regular basis, and getting to spend Sundays with his wife and two children. He enjoyed it. He loved it. He had found the perfect balance between home and the competitive arena that is NASCAR, and wasn't knocking on doors looking for a way back onto the Sprint Cup level.

“

... but when the opportunity came up and you realize that Kyle Busch is the driver, you just couldn't pass the opportunity up.

”

-- DAVE ROGERS

But that way found him. The decision by Joe Gibbs Racing to replace Steve Addington as crew chief of Kyle Busch's No. 18 outfit led team executives to the natural successor within their own shop -- Rogers, who has won 14 races in the past two seasons as crew chief of Gibbs' No. 20 Nationwide operation. It wasn't an opportunity he was looking for. But given Busch's potential, it wasn't one he felt he could turn down, either.

"Certainly, one of the toughest decisions I've ever made in my life," Rogers said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, where he was outfitted in a new yellow and brown No. 18 team shirt. "Life was very good when we were running well. I had Sundays at home with my wife and kids. Life was great. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I didn't have to come over here and do this. I just didn't need to do it, but when the opportunity came up and you realize that Kyle is the driver, and you look at the engineering staff that Joe Gibbs Racing has, you just couldn't pass the opportunity up. Hopefully we'll have the same thing over here that we had on the Nationwide side."

Rogers' hesitancy is understandable, given his previous experience on the Cup circuit -- which was not a pleasant one. The Vermont native was an engineer on Tony Stewart's No. 20 car prior to the 2005 season, when Gibbs promoted him to crew chief and paired him with Jason Leffler in the organization's new No. 11 car. But the personalities never meshed, the communication was never right, and the performance suffered as a result. Rogers knew it was wasn't working, and even suggested a crew chief change to team management, which told him to stick with it. (Continued)