Lee Spencer / FOXSports.com
Posted: 2 hours ago
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Pat Tryson and Roush Fenway Racing have parted ways, effective immediately.
Tryson, 43, was most recently crew chief for Greg Biffle and the No. 16 team but moved to that operation at the start of this season after a three-year partnership with Mark Martin on the No. 6 Roush Fenway Ford. Tryson and Martin made the Chase for the Nextel Cup all three season and finished third, third and ninth in the point standings.
"Greg's awesome. Anyone that can't work with Greg is crazy," Tryson said. "He's a great guy and a great racer. If we don't wreck four times, and the brakes don't go out at Martinsville, we'd be in the top five. None of the cars are running well. Matt (Kenseth)'s finishing good, but he's not running well.
"Roush has been good to me the three years that I've been there. Things just haven't gone well for us this year."
Mark Martin had plenty of success with crew chief Pat Tryson, but Greg Biffle couldn't do the same. (Orlando Sentinel, John Raoux / Associated Press)
After Roush-Fenway experienced an uncharacteristically off-year in 2006 with just Kenseth and Martin qualifying for the Chase, the organization has not shown dramatic improvement this season. While Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champ, continues to persevere -- with an assist by one of the strongest pit crews in the sport -- Carl Edwards is just barely in the top 10 in points and Jamie McMurray is 12th. Biffle is 16th, four points behind Martin, who has missed three races this season, and rookie David Ragan, 26th, is nine points outside the top 25.
Tryson said that his phone has been ringing since he received the news Tuesday afternoon, including a call from a top 10 driver. DEI had expressed interest last season in having Tryson crew chief the No. 15 with Paul Menard, but Tryson, who has worked with Roush for most of the last decade, stayed to oversee the No.16 Ford, which is currently 16th in the point standings. DEI VP of competition Richie Gilmore said he'd still be interested in bringing Tryson aboard.
"I think it's a very good possibility," Gilmore said. "That's a guy that we have talked to in the past, and we'd certainly talk to him again."
Tryson added that Chris Andrews, who was formerly with Evernham Motorsports, would be the crew chief for the No. 16, but Greg Erwin will serve as an advisor on the pit box during Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 before officially taking over crew chief duties on Tuesday.
Gene Nead replaced Erwin last week as the crew chief of the No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Ford. Gordon said Wednesday morning that he "would not hold Erwin back if another crew chief position came along."
Posted: 2 hours ago
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Pat Tryson and Roush Fenway Racing have parted ways, effective immediately.
Tryson, 43, was most recently crew chief for Greg Biffle and the No. 16 team but moved to that operation at the start of this season after a three-year partnership with Mark Martin on the No. 6 Roush Fenway Ford. Tryson and Martin made the Chase for the Nextel Cup all three season and finished third, third and ninth in the point standings.
"Greg's awesome. Anyone that can't work with Greg is crazy," Tryson said. "He's a great guy and a great racer. If we don't wreck four times, and the brakes don't go out at Martinsville, we'd be in the top five. None of the cars are running well. Matt (Kenseth)'s finishing good, but he's not running well.
"Roush has been good to me the three years that I've been there. Things just haven't gone well for us this year."
Mark Martin had plenty of success with crew chief Pat Tryson, but Greg Biffle couldn't do the same. (Orlando Sentinel, John Raoux / Associated Press)
After Roush-Fenway experienced an uncharacteristically off-year in 2006 with just Kenseth and Martin qualifying for the Chase, the organization has not shown dramatic improvement this season. While Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champ, continues to persevere -- with an assist by one of the strongest pit crews in the sport -- Carl Edwards is just barely in the top 10 in points and Jamie McMurray is 12th. Biffle is 16th, four points behind Martin, who has missed three races this season, and rookie David Ragan, 26th, is nine points outside the top 25.
Tryson said that his phone has been ringing since he received the news Tuesday afternoon, including a call from a top 10 driver. DEI had expressed interest last season in having Tryson crew chief the No. 15 with Paul Menard, but Tryson, who has worked with Roush for most of the last decade, stayed to oversee the No.16 Ford, which is currently 16th in the point standings. DEI VP of competition Richie Gilmore said he'd still be interested in bringing Tryson aboard.
"I think it's a very good possibility," Gilmore said. "That's a guy that we have talked to in the past, and we'd certainly talk to him again."
Tryson added that Chris Andrews, who was formerly with Evernham Motorsports, would be the crew chief for the No. 16, but Greg Erwin will serve as an advisor on the pit box during Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 before officially taking over crew chief duties on Tuesday.
Gene Nead replaced Erwin last week as the crew chief of the No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Ford. Gordon said Wednesday morning that he "would not hold Erwin back if another crew chief position came along."
