More on Fatback to the 18

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followthe18

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From Jayski's, kinda crazy...

Sources close to Robert Yates Racing say crew chief Michael McSwain's decision to begin a job search came after he tested with 2003 driver Elliott Sadler recently at Kentucky Speedway. Sadler, who was endorsed by McSwain to replace Ricky Rudd, ran four-tenths of a second slower than Rudd ran in a similar test earlier at the track. Sadler says McSwain told him things weren't going to work out. "I was surprised more than anything, but if his heart isn't in it, then he needs to go somewhere else," Sadler says. Rumors are that somewhere else for McSwain might be as crew chief for Bobby Labonte because Jimmy Makar is moving into a different role after the season. The question is whether McSwain would be a good fit with Labonte, who is generally more reserved.(Sporting News)(10-28-2002)
 
It took a test session for Fatback to realize Sadler's not as good as Rudd? :rolleyes:

Yeah, I can't wait for him to be Bobby's crew chief....
 
I don't think McSwaim likes the whole Rudd shake-up as much as Rudd did.

McSwaim wants to win, and he has worked hard to get that team to where it was with the budget they have compared to Dale Jarrett's team. Now Yates threw McSwaim for a loop by putting in a younger driver and changing around the team.

Going to the #18 team might actually be a pretty good move for McSwaim.
 
Actually, I'm pretty sure McSwain was part of the reason behind the Rudd-Sadler shake-up. He was convinced that Rudd was going to retire after this year, and convinced Yates to go after a new driver (presumably Sadler).

No doubt McSwain is a good crew chief, I'm just not knocked out about him coming to the 18 team.
 
McSwain is a winner, he has had that with Rudd. The #28 team will be turned completely upside down next year. Going to the #18 might help McSwain more than staying.
 
There were some rumors about chemistry problems b/w Fatback and Rudd, but they never seemed founded. I don't think he's the one that said to bring on Sadler.
 
It would be disappointing to me if one test session proved to be the major factor which might cause McSwain (or any other crew chief) to reach a conclusion that "things aren't going to work out". It might be more a case of the type of input McSwain expects and/or needs to feel comfortable.

"Fatback" has been CC for a variety of drivers true, but for the most it seems a common thread runs the majority of them.

His first gig was with Richard Jackson's team in 1997 with driver Morgan Shephard. Later that year he moved to Jasper Motorsports with driver Robert Pressley and then late in 1998 moved to Cale Yarborough's team with driver Rich Bickle. Finally hooking up with Ricky Rudd Racing in May of 1998. He moved with Ricky to Robert Yates in 1999.

The common thread I see here is drivers that are probably very specific as to what they want done to the car. Not sure about Rich Bickle, I just don't know much about him. But Morgan, Robert and Ricky all bring a lot of experience to the table when it comes to setting up their own cars. Guessing maybe that not only would they inform Mike that the car is handling poorly in some aspect, but an informed and specific fix for the problem.

I am not sure that Elliott has either the experience to do that and even if he does, I doubt that his role at Wood Brothers Racing involved a whole lot of that type of input.

With that in mind I can perhaps understand McSwain's position. Also I believe that if this is the case, Bobby Labonte might be a good driver for Mike to pair up with.


This is sheer speculation on my part. Just an observation from behind the keyboard.
 
My thought on Fatback is that he is awful young. Give me an old fert any day of the week. Give me somebody that has put so many square pegs in a round holes that they can do it in their sleep.

There is more to chiefing a car than pit road strategy.
 
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