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CUP: Ford 400 Offers Last Hurrah
Written by: Tom Jensen   
11/19/2009
Homestead, FL
 
In their final NASCAR Sprint Cup Season crew chief Pat Tryson (Left) and Kurt Busch (Right) made the Chase for the Sprint Cup and are currently fourth in points. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

As is the case every year, Sunday’s Ford 400 will be the last hurrah for some NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, crew chiefs and even teams, the last time to try and make some special happen together.

Kurt Busch has enjoyed his best season since joining Penske Racing in 2004, but the Ford 400 will be his final race with crew chief Pat Tryson, who next year will lead Martin Truex Jr.’s efforts in the new No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

Waltrip will concentrate on team ownership next season and is expected to run no more than handful of Cup races as a driver. He began his Sprint Cup career in 1985 and will have made 759 Cup starts when he takes the green flag in Homestead. During his career, Waltrip has accumulated four wins — including a pair of Daytona 500 victories — 39 top-five and 127 top-10 finishes.

Truex, of course, is leaving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, the successor to Dale Earnhardt Inc., where the New Jersey native began his Sprint Cup career in 2004 and where he won back-to-back NASCAR Nationwide Series championships in 2004-05.

His seat will be filled by Jamie McMurray, who is moving over because Roush Fenway Racing is being forced to shrink from five cars to four next year, per NASCAR’s team-size requirements.

The Ford 400 will be the last start for Reed Sorenson at Richard Petty Motorsports, which is expected to complete its merger with Yates Racing shortly and consolidate by at least one and possibly two cars for 2010.

The status of several drivers and teams for next season remains up in the air, which could continue to fun full-time schedules, cut back to part-time or otherwise change their status. Teams with major sponsorship questions hanging over their heads include the No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driven by Casey Mears, Robby Gordon’s single-car outfit and the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford.

As a result, teams will be geared up even more than usual for the Homestead finale.

“Pat (Tryson) has been a great team leader and we’ve had a lot of success together and a ton of fun along the way. While it’ll be sad knowing that Homestead will be our final race together, we’ve pledged to put all emotions aside and focus on scoring one
final trip to Victory Lane there this weekend.”

“I want to thank the Richard Petty Motorsports organization for giving me the chance to race the No. 43 Dodge this year,” said Sorenson, who is looking for a ride for next season and actually drove some race this year without getting paid for. “I did the best I could and tried to represent the number and company in a way that would make (Richard) Petty and our sponsors proud. I learned a lot this year. The opportunity to work with people like Richard Petty and (Petty’s cousin) Dale Inman is something that I’ll never forget.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to




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