Bruce: Challenges run deep for two-car organization
After 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, Clint Bowyer finds himself 17th in the points standings, a position that’s better than a lot of folks in the garage today.
By picking up one or more spots between now and the fall race at Richmond, Bowyer would likely find himself in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Of course, a win would all but seal the deal as well. But there’s a long stretch of lonesome asphalt between the Michael Waltrip Racing driver’s current residence and Victory Lane these days.
Competitive isn’t a term that’s been over-used this season at MWR when it comes to the organization’s two Sprint Cup Series teams. Bowyer has managed only three top-10 finishes, no top-fives, and has led just two laps in 2015.
The No. 15 team has been MWR’s best this season, and that tells you all you need to know about the current status of the Cornelius, North Carolina-based group, co-owned by Michael Waltrip and Rob Kaufmann.
The group’s second entry, the No. 55, has been fighting to find its footing since the beginning of the season, with no apparent success. Primary driver Brian Vickers has been sidelined by yet another bout of blood clots — his return isn’t expected this season — and the team’s roster has featured three different drivers in his absence. David Ragan, the former Front Row Motorsports driver who took a short stint driving in relief of the injured Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, is the most recent to settle into the seat, and only time will tell if stability provides any benefits.
On Tuesday, MWR announced a crew chief swap between its two teams, moving Billy Scott from the No. 55 to the 15 and Brian Pattie from the 15 to the 55.
Pattie’s been to Victory Lane — once with former Sprint Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya and three times with Bowyer. Scott, the former lead engineer for the No. 55, was handed the reins of that team after the conclusion of the 2013 season.
It’s a different approach, if not exactly a new one. Crew chief changes are one of the first lines of defense a team tries when results fail to meet expectations.
Team chemistry is one of the few things that can’t be measured on a set-up plate or with a template. No one knew that pairing crew chief Cole Pearn with driver Martin Truex Jr. this year at Furniture Row Racing would produce substantial results. Yet Truex just ended a 69-race winless streak, sits second in the points standings and has led the most laps in the past four Sprint Cup Series races.
But while Pearn has proven to be a big plus for Furniture Row, his addition isn’t the only reason behind the turnaround. The team is also putting fast race cars on the track each week. Competitive cars.
MWR currently is not.
Given that some drivers have been unable to find their comfort zone with the new rules package for 2015, perhaps that’s worth consideration as well. But no one, save for the unheralded Brett Moffitt, has managed to crack the top 10 in the team’s No. 55, suggesting that the problem goes deeper than the drivers’ ability to adapt to the new less-horsepower, lower downforce platform.
“We’ve got to make our cars better,” Bowyer said during a break in Wednesday’s open test at Darlington Raceway.
It’s a refrain the 36-year-old has made on more than one occasion this year.
Asked who was ultimately responsible for such matters, Bowyer took a side street if not the high road, choosing instead to confirm how much he’s looking forward to working with Scott.
“Yeah, but we did change crew chiefs. … Billy’s a quiet guy but he’s a fun person. He’s a very, very smart person, very capable of doing this job,” Bowyer said.
Changing crew chiefs might solve some of the MWR’s ills. It remains to be seen whether it will cure the disease.