Comments on: Hey Penske, Why Not Just Release Tryson?

By: wv mule

wv mule — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:24:15 +0000

jeff, thankyou for responding it was a very good one. I was a diehard rusty fan and would get frustrated wth all the blown motors. so sounds like penske is screwed up, hopefully rusty wont do the same with RWI and in a couple of years i can pull for RWI in cup. thanks again jeff.

By: Zieke

Zieke — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:52:58 +0000

I too appreciate Jeff’s caring enough to write his posts on the Penske operation. It’s nice to be “up” on things instead of the usual drivel from the TV people.

By: Garry

Garry — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:08:44 +0000

WOW, that is good stuff
Jeff
on Sep 21st, 2009 at 11:57 am
As a former insider at Penske Racing…

I am unworthy to comment, except to say, thank you Jeff for taking time to share that very interesting info. It makes sense, explains the guts … etc … kewl … cant this stuff anywhere else… thx.

By: RA Eckart

RA Eckart — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:44:33 +0000

So we can call this the NASCAR Insiders 500, now, right? Congrats on your consistency and desire to win.

That said, in the office pool, I drew the slip that says, “Roger Penske will find a catalyst or create a catalyst that will relieve Pat Tryson of his duties. (See: Kurt Busch departure from Roush Racing.)”

What are my chances in the office pool?

By: Geoff

Geoff — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:06:01 +0000

Jeff nailed it. He was being very nice. For those of you that aren’t understanding what is going on at Penske it was real simple. The head engineer over there and a certain crew chief don’t like Tryson and basicly made it clear to Tryson he wouldn’t have a job over there come 2010. Tryson had no choice but to find what he could now given the current state of Nascar. Don’t get me wrong, I was pulling for Tryson to be gone long before this but this wasn’t in any way his doing. The Machievellian politics over at Penske is some of the most screwed up in Nascar. Another thing that Jeff got right was the issue of appearance over substance. You put those 2 issues and a couple of another minor things together and it is almost a vertical uphill battle for a crewchief over there to be competitive. I have been a Penske fan since the early 70’s and a Kurt Busch fan since he first was in the Exide Truck and the John Deere car. What I have seen since he went to Penske has about led me to hang up my Penske fandom. Roger may do great in the business world and open wheel but his Nascar operation is a disgrace.

By: Newracefan

Newracefan — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:58:21 +0000

Perhaps Tryson wanted to give Penske time to find a replacement, the end of the season is too late to start looking and still be ready for Daytona. I also think that pulling him out of the shop was a slap in the face of Kurt Busch basically telling him that we are more concerned with 2010 then you actually winning a championship. My guess Pat will be gone by the end of Oct if not sooner unless the 2 is in the top 4 which will not happen. I am sure all the other teams are using the info for 2010 now not letting it sit on the shelf for next year.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:35:28 +0000

wv mule sure not a problem. The biggest difference is that you have a different management team. If you notice the team’s performance has progressively worsened from the 90’s. Yes, we had an upswing again when Matt Borland and Ryan came on board, and again with Larry Carter and Rusty teamed up, but they too were hand cuffed from pushing the envelope, aero wise. So was Shane Wilson, he wasn’t afraid either, until he was sat down by management and read the riot act about how Penske Racing operates strictly following the letter of the rulebook, with no creative interpretation. Look how Shane has done at RCR now. But, back to the 90’s you may not know, but Penske reached outside, to Brandon Ash’s dad and his west coast motor shop to help their motor program, which there in house program was struggling at best. But since his help in the 90’s the Penske engine program is second to no one. The horsepower and reliability from there engine shop is to be commended. But what I was eluding to earlier, is that now, the new management, this is going back to 02 and 03 season to current, are essentially “job scared”. The issue is with middle management, which includes VP, engineering manager, and fab shop manager. They do not want to stick their necks out and push the envelope with these cars, aero or chassis. They enjoy their paychecks and do not want to jeopardize losing it. They live in fear if they get caught at the track, pushing the envelope such as Hendricks, JG, or Roush, that you will be fired on Monday, plain and simple. I can assure you I have been involved in and witnessed many heated discussions over this issue. So they take the safe road. So as you can see I am talking about the car assembly shop not the engine shop. If you have any more questions, I will try to answer them for you.

By: wv mule

wv mule — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:10:43 +0000

jeff if penske wont let any one push the envelope on performance than please explain the 90’s wth rusty winning all the time and if they werent pushin things, why so mny blown motors?rusty wins 10 times in one season but has 12 dnf’s.

By: wv mule

wv mule — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:55:19 +0000

penske wanted tryson gone but kurt bush begged to keep him cause he wants the same comfortable feel from the voice on his radio. Espn also told u this during the race. Kurt bush feels that on race day the gel between crew chief and driver is to good to mess with and feels he has a better chance to win chase instead of having a new crew chief who might not gel as good wth kurt on raceday. Maybe if u start watching the whole race u would already no that this is the case according to espn/abc.

By: West Coast Kenny

West Coast Kenny — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:30:22 +0000

Journo & T.C.,

Congratulations on your 500th post.

If any race team had your record of excellence for reporting and commentary, they’d run away with the Chase. I am always informed and amused. Thank you.

West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California