Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 | 3:38 p.m.
Mark Martin could finally win a championship at 50 years old. Tony Stewart could be the first owner-driver to win a championship since Alan Kulwicki. And Jimmie Johnson could capture an unprecedented fourth consecutive Cup title. Any one of these accomplishments would make major headlines at the end of the season.
But what if a Dodge team won a championship? That might be a surprising headline and a very compelling story.
The teams of Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch are the only two Dodge teams competing for a championship and each organization has been handed serious challenges to their championship bids. The merger of Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing has led Kahne to publicly question who is in charge at the organization. The leadership of the No. 9 team can hopefully overcome that. And as the team gets ready to switch to Fords next season, one has to wonder if the engine shop employees, who may be worried about losing their jobs, can stay as focused as they need to be. Kahne’s blown engine in the first Chase race didn’t help things, either.
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Kurt Busch, on the other hand, faces a different set of challenges regarding leadership. His crew chief, Pat Tryson, is leaving next season for Michael Waltrip Racing. Although Tryson and Busch will do what they can to stay focused on their championship quest, the timing of Tryson’s announcement was unfortunate. I would imagine the team would prefer, if it had a choice, to be free of the distraction Tryson’s choice could cause.
With challenges like these, a championship by either of these teams would make the accomplishment all the more meaningful.
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