McCall’s decision was crucial
LOUDON, N.H. — When NASCAR fans slammed crew chief Matt McCall for costing driver Kurt Busch a Cup Series win at Daytona International Speedway this month, he was a good sport and made a video for social media of him reading the criticism — even a critical tweet that came from his wife.
The feedback was quite different this past week.
Busch earned his first victory with Chip Ganassi Racing last weekend at Kentucky Speedway — in part because of a decision McCall made before overtime — and his chief was able to focus
on what was ahead rather than answering for any mistakes.
“It feels great, but I’m terrible about celebrating. Literally, when I get home, I’m already thinking about the next week,” McCall said Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “That’s the way I’ve always been and I’ve always raced. I think it’s because when you’re in a sport like this, you’re expected to win.”
That hadn’t happened until Busch edged younger brother Kyle in a two-lap overtime shootout on the 1.5-mile tri-oval in Sparta, Kentucky. It was the first time Kurt beat his brother in a 1-2 finish for them in a Cup Series race, but more importantly, it was a victory for the elder Busch, McCall and Ganassi, who had been in position to win the weekend before at Daytona until lightning struck — literally.
Busch was in front after making it through a massive wreck unscathed. NASCAR said the race was one lap away from resuming, but McCall called
Busch in for a quick pit stop, which turned out to be the end of the line.
Lightning quickly followed and the race was eventually called, making rookie Justin Haley the surprise winner and leaving McCall with a backlog of angry messages from fans questioning his logic — among other things. McCall said he may have taken it hardest of all.
“There’s stuff that’s out of control,” he said. “Our car was good enough to possibly win the race if we raced, so that made it a little bit harder to not stay out.”
The fortunes of Busch, McCall and Ganassi all changed in Kentucky, and this time the crew chief was widely credited with a crucial call that helped the team to victory on four fresh tires. He shared the glory.
“We just sort of got pretty lucky there to have the caution at the end,” McCall said. “Kurt had a really good restart and made it happen.”
The result lifted the spirits of Ganassi and Chevrolet considerably as the circuit headed north for today’s Cup Series event in New Hampshire, where Busch swept both races in 2004 and also won in 2008. Now 40, Busch is on a oneyear contract with Ganassi — his sixth team in a Cup Series career that started in 2000 and includes the 2004 season championship — and trying to enjoy each stop.
He’ll start third today, behind pole-sitter Brad Keselowki, who will be joined on the front row by Kyle Busch.
“Each week is fun because there’s speed to be found and teamwork to work on to make sure we’re going to have the best weekend,” said Busch, whose Kentucky victory was his 31st in Cup Series competition. “It brings it back to that passion and desire when I was younger to go out there each week and try to make sure we’re getting the most out of each session.”
With Busch as his driver, McCall said it’s almost like having a co-chief and an extra hand in the pit crew. Never bashful, Busch always has a few “suggestions” for his crew on how to make the car perform better.
“His feedback and the information he provides and what he asks for, it’s pretty precise,” McCall said. “I feel like he asks for what he needs and he asks for what we need to win. He just pushes for everybody to try and get better each week.”
Busch, whose victory last week clinched a playoff spot, said he learned the value of communication growing up racing with his father, Tom.
“When you learn from an early age and a successful racer like my dad was, it gets instilled in you on how to communicate the proper things with the car and gives you that confidence to know what you want changed in the car,” Busch said. “I just want their jobs to be easier because if their jobs are easier, they’re doing better and ultimately the car that I’m driving will have better results.”
McCall said Busch has made a considerable effort to ease the transition into his new team by hosting dinners and other group outings. He took a group of team leaders to Pittsburgh for a visit with team owner Chip Ganassi and a baseball game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs.
“He communicates with everyone. He tries to keep everyone involved,” McCall said. “He does a good job with trying to keep the morale high.”