James: Even with rookie, Joe Gibbs Racing remains a confident juggernaut
CHARLOTTE — Matt Kenseth admits to being blindsided by the news.
He still doesn’t know why teammate Carl Edwards opted to retire earlier this month. But he doesn’t believe the potent mix of talent and experience that made Joe Gibbs Racing a juggernaut last season will be undone when one veteran in his prime is replaced by a rookie.
Kenseth believes he, 2015 series champion Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will be just fine as 2016 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez assumes Edwards’ spot in the No. 19 Toyota. Meanwhile, rookie Erik Jones joins Martin Truex Jr. at Toyota affiliate Furniture Row Racing, which is expanding to a second Cup team.
Their expected performance seems to be much less of a mystery than why Edwards walked away after 13 seasons.
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“Kyle, Denny and I, this will be our fifth year together,” Kenseth said Tuesday at NASCAR’s media tour.. “I feel like our communication is really good. The three of us understand each other pretty well, our tendencies and how we communicate different things. For [Jones and Suarez] to be able to jump in there, I think it will be a big help for them and at the same time I think we’ll learn things from those guys as well. It’s always good to see a guy’s fresh perspective on things that maybe you don’t have or maybe get stuck in your way.
"Hopefully they come out ... running good, just not as good as me.”
JGR got stuck in a winning way last season, capturing 13 of the 26 regular-season races (including Truex) and placing all four drivers and Truex in the 16-driver playoffs. Truex subsequently won two of the first three races of the playoffs and Edwards and Busch advanced to the one-off final at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Edwards appeared in prime position to roll away with his first NASCAR Cup championship before a late caution and crash on the restart ruined his chances.
Edwards accounted for three victories, nine top-fives, and 18 top-10s last season. While Suarez is regarded as a prized product within the Toyota Racing Development camp, and his arrival alleviates the backlog of talent needing opportunity on NASCAR’s biggest stage, he can’t be expected to add much to the immediate task of pushing JGR forward. The same could be said for Jones, a lauded truck series champion joining FRR’s expansion second Cup program.
“We’re going to have a little bit of struggle from Suarez, but it’s going to be nothing but a learning experience from him, coming in and experiencing these Cup cars with the less downforce and more horsepower and stuff like that, stuff he has to get accustomed to,” Busch said. “For us other three, I presume our average finish would stay as [strong] if you cut out the 19 car.”
Part of the dynamic of successful multi-car teams, though, is the collection and sharing of information that benefits the group. Suarez won’t immediately be able to contribute to that part of the job. But he’s made frequent withdrawals.
Busch said Suarez — at the encouragement of JGR management — peppered him with questions during his 2015 rookie Xfinity Series season about tracks, tire wear, expectations, any nuance he could grasp.
“He wore me out for sure. It was a good thing,” said Busch, noting that he all but penciled in their weekly call every Thursday at 3 p.m.
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Busch attempted to wean Suarez off the habit once he began visiting tracks for a second time. He noticed such a reduction in queries that he asked Suarez last season why he didn’t ask as many questions.
“You told me not to!"said Busch, mimicking Suarez’s Mexican accent. “I said ‘No, I didn’t say you couldn’t, I said to use me sparingly. Like once every five weeks is OK.’
“Now that he has me and Matt and Denny and Martin to go to I would be once every five weeks again. It works. It’s good.”
So the JGR formula will continue to work even with Edwards gone, they believe. And if so, they’ll be very good again.
Follow James on Twitter @brantjames
PHOTOS: 2017 NASCAR media tour
