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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Kurt Busch Fourth In Final Race With Tryson
Kurt Busch finished out his tenure with crew chief Pat Tryson on a positive note...
SceneDaily.com  |  Posted November 23, 2009   Homestead, FL
Pat Tryson (Left) who announced just prior to the Chase that he was leaving Penske at season’s end helped guide Kurt Busch (Right) to a win and seven top-10s in the final 10 races. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch finished out his tenure with crew chief Pat Tryson on a positive note, finishing fourth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Tryson, who announced just prior to the Chase For The Sprint Cup that he was leaving Penske at season’s end to become the crew chief for incoming Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., helped guide Busch to a win and seven top-10s in the 10-race, championship-determining portion of the season.

Busch ended up fourth in the standings, 27 points behind third-place Jeff Gordon, for his best points finish since winning the championship in 2004 with the team now known as Roush Fenway Racing. Tryson’s departure comes after a season in which Busch notched two wins and was much improved from 2008, when he missed the Chase and finished 18th in the standings.

“I just talked to him and told him I’ve got a lot of respect for him and am going to miss him but it’s one of those things unfortunately,” Tryson said after Sunday’s Ford 400. “But he drove his ass off again, so I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Busch led five times for a total of 43 laps and was running second when the final caution flag waved with 51 laps to go. Instead of taking four tires with the rest of the leaders, Tryson opted for a two-tire stop that allowed Busch to move into the lead.

But on the subsequent restart, Busch immediately fell into the clutches of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Kurt Busch eventually regained the spot on Kyle Busch but lost positions to Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick in the closing laps.

“We got behind on pit strategy tonight at the end,” said Busch, the top Dodge driver in the standings. “Pat said two tires and I said, ‘Make sure nobody else does four.’ Everybody did four, but that’s racing. We fought and fought all night. I found this weird line out on the race track where I could drive the car in really deep, and it was just building the right-front tire pressure so much that I couldn’t hang on to it at the end and Kevin caught us for third place.

“That doesn’t define our year. What defines our year was the perseverance, hard work and just being first in class this year.”

Hendrick Motorsports drivers swept the top three positions in the standings, with Jimmie Johnson capturing a fourth straight series championship, followed by teammates Mark Martin and Gordon.

“I felt like we ran really well in the Chase. If it wasn’t for two little things I think we would have been a little better there,” Tryson said. “We tried to get to third [in points] tonight but those Hendrick cars are real good. [The No. 2 Penske team] will have to step up next year and we’ll have to step up next year where we’re at to see if we can’t give the 48 [of Johnson] a little more of a run for their money.”

That’s also what Busch has in mind.

“These guys from Hendrick, they’ll beat you left and right if you’re not looking,” he said. “We just have to keep pushing them, find new ideas and go after them in ’10.”

Tryson was only allowed at the Penske shop for weekly competition meetings after revealing his plans to leave the organization, but says that didn’t make for a bad experience.

In fact, it has apparently been quite enjoyable.

“I had a blast actually,” said Tryson, adding that he doesn’t know exactly when his first day at Michael Waltrip Racing will be. “We had nothing to lose and everything to gain so it was fun. … We would have liked to give the 48 [team] a little more of a battle, but I think we all would have liked to give the 48 a little more of a battle.”

SceneDaily.com•Mark Martin finds no frustration in finishing second to teammate Jimmie Johnson
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