Ryan Newman (Pictured) is outspoken in his criticism of Carl Edwards' driving tactics. (Photo: Getty Images)
Two races into the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is way, way too early to panic. But it's never too early to take care of business.
Already, Roush Fenway Racing has changed crew chiefs at Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford Fusion, putting veteran Todd Parrott atop the pit box and moving Drew Blickensderfer to crew chief of Carl Edwards' NASCAR Nationwide Series entry.
And although no one else talking crew chief changes at the moment, some of NASCAR's top drivers and teams are dire need of a change in fortune at Sunday's Shelby American Cup race at Las Vegas Motors Speedway.
To wit:
• Kasey Kahne wrecked twice in the first two races, one of which was his fault, one of which wasn't. Two races into the season, he sits 33rd in the Cup driver points standings, not the start he or his Richard Petty Motorsports squad was looking for.
• Ryan Newman, who like Kahne qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup last year, crashed his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in the Daytona 500 and had a rare motor failure in the Auto Club 500. He is 36th in points heading into Las Vegas.
• Likable Australian driver Marcos Ambrose, a man who seems to be on the edge of a breakout season, was felled by engine problems in his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota not once, but twice in the first two races. Ambrose is 39th, worst of any non start-and-park driver.
Newman, who also started off slowly last season, is ready to put his early season misfortune in the rear-view mirror.
“I’m really hoping this is the place for my luck to change,” said Newman of the 1.5-mile LVMS oval. “I think this team has really improved the way we approach the mile-and-a-half track. I think our cars have gotten better since last year’s Las Vegas race, and I’m confident. Unfortunately, just like last season, we’ve had a couple of bad races to start 2010. We’re hoping that Lady Luck is on our side this weekend.”
The engine failure in California was especially tough to swallow, Newman said, because his SHR team had made big gains at the 1.5- and 2-mile tracks, where last year the team was at its weakest.
