NASCAR’s Matt Kenseth gets new crew chief after winless season

Though there is some debate whether or not stock car racing should even be considered an actual “sport”, in one respect it’s exactly the same as its counterparts in the NBA or NFL—superstar drivers seldom have to take the blame for a bad season.  In team sports, it’s the coach that more often than not takes the rap for underachieving and in NASCAR it’s the crew chief.  After Matt Kenseth struggled through a winless 2008 season, crew chief Chip Bolin has been demoted back to his former role as the team’s head mechanic.  Drew Blickensderfer will take his place atop the pit box as he tries to guide Kenseth back to the winner’s circle.

Kenseth has been one of NASCAR’s most consistent drivers throughout his career, and until 2008 his entire team was the picture of efficiency.  Longtime crew chief Robbie Reiser was given much of the credit for the success, and after the 2007 season he was promote to a managerial role overseeing all of the Roush Fenway Racing Team operations.  Bolin was promoted to crew chief and the results suggest that he was not ready for such a demanding role. 

Blickensderfer has been a crew chief for both Kenseth and his Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards at the Nationwide Series level.  After he was moved to Edwards’ team midway through the 2008 season, the team went on a tear winning seven of the final 19 races to secure a second place finish in the overall points standings.

For good or bad, superstar drivers seldom take the blame for a team’s struggles and Kenseth was particularly “untouchable”.  He had just signed a multiyear contract extension and even assuming the team wanted to make a change in the driver’s seat this made it financially tenuous to do so.  More likely, Kenseth will regain his old form with the team under stronger leadership at the top.  Kenseth failed to win a race in 2008 for the first time in seven years, and his 11th place finish in the championship standings was also the lowest since 2001. 

In a press release, Kenseth praised the leadership change:

"We are really looking forward to Drew coming on board. Drew brings a great work ethic and high level of enthusiasm to our team. He has been waiting for the opportunity to become a crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series and I know he'll make the most of it."

Blickensderfer’s first challenge will come at the Daytona 500 in February 2009—a race that Kenseth has never won.