by Fr. Dale Grubba for RacingOnline – March 13, 2009
“We’re back in business,” Team owner Roger Penske proclaimed after Kurt Busch dominated the race at Atlanta. It was a race in which he led more laps in one afternoon than he did all last season, 234 of 330. Compared to last season this one has been turning up roses for the Penske organization.

Last year there were no Dodges in the Chase, and at the start of this season the question was whether or not Dodge had a chance to break into those ranks. Addressing the issue Kurt Busch said there are some tracks that have been a plus. It is a matter of limiting the tracks that the team has struggled at whether it be Chase only tracks like Kansas and Homestead or those that the team runs at throughout the season like Pocono or Dover. It is a matter of turning the bad days of 15th to 25th into better days. Busch feels that that is done with pit strategy and a team effort.

The main concern as the season got under way was the team’s performance at the mile and a half tracks. “We can run a fast lap in the beginning, but our pace drops off too quickly,” Busch observes. “Is it due to excessive tire wear? Is it due to one tire burning up more than another? We need all four tires to read the same temperature. Now at the mile and a half’s the right rear is too hot. The right front inside edge gets too hot from trying to make the car turn. We just have to balance the car out a little better. I feel like we are just as competitive at 40% of the tracks as the other teams. We just have to get better at the mile and a half’s.”

Last year presented a number of new things for the Dodge teams to sort through, including the COT and a new engine. Busch acknowledged the fact that all the variables played a role in the 2008 season. “Once we realized we weren’t in the Chase we tried to go through as many of the variables as we could to challenge ourselves to get better. I feel like the engine department picked up speed with us running the new R6. Experimenting with set ups helped us quite a bit. Where we seemed to struggle is we learned so much from week to week, from May to July, that it was hard to go back to our notes from previous years. It was almost like having a fresh notebook.”

Among the new things on the Dodge COT for 2009 is a new nose, something that excites Busch. “It has the same template as the Chevrolet,” Busch says. “Last year I was discouraged when I found out our nose piece was different from the other manufacturers. Now, having the same stuff makes me feel better.”

One of the things Kurt Busch realizes is that the Penske operation is up against the “Big Four” – Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing. “Being from Vegas the odds are stacked against us,” Busch observed. There are only six Dodges competing against the Toyotas, Chevrolets, and Fords who outnumber us. We have to work together to be more competitive. One of the things I’d like to see changed is the engine program, something we can do internally between the six cars to help us get a horsepower advantage over the rest of the field. Can we share information? It is always tough because you don’t want to let information out the door, but with us being outnumbered maybe we need to circle the wagons.”

Then Busch makes an interesting observation about horsepower, “Dyno horsepower is different from asphalt horsepower, that feel you get when you step on the gas pedal and get pushed back in the seat. It’s not necessarily a horsepower number. It’s the jetting, the timing, that brute torque power you have to have. Some tracks you want to have that torque. Other tracks like Martinsville you don’t because you light up those rear tires. The engine could be a start. Wind tunnel numbers might be another area where we could share information.

“When all four Hendrick cars, or Roush, or RCR cars are in the Chase it means what is working on one car is working on the others. Driver preferences somewhat go out the window with this car. Whatever you find that will make this car work, all three teams benefit from it. That’s what we are looking to do. That will make Sam (Hornish) and (David) Stremme more competitive. For us, we hope we are that one guy, that David versus Goliath that makes the Chase.”

With less funding and fewer teams will there be less competition? Busch doesn’t think so. What it will do is make each team evaluate how they are operating and how much they are spending in each department. “Even though there are fewer cars we still have double the car count of the IRL or F1. There is no other series that has as many cars out on the track with the opportunity to win as NASCAR does.

“Don’t quote me but when I started in 2001 there were 19 race winners. Honestly, I think anybody in the top 20 can win. We are evidence of that. Last year we finished eighteenth in points and won a race.”

As the 2009 season unfolds and the Penske organization has found success, all of those questions that Kurt Busch had to answer at the beginning of the season seem to be fading into the background. With four top tens, including a fifth place at Fontana and a victory at Atlanta, Kurt Busch is giving every indication that David may be able to stand toe to toe with the Goliaths of NASCAR.