Roush Racing switches crew chiefs for drivers

GLADEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Carl Edwards sees Jack Roush's decision to shift crew chief Bob Osborne to Jamie McMurray's car as a move to spark McMurray's season, not his own.
On Thursday, Roush Racing announced that Osborne would assume crew chief duties for McMurray's Nextel Cup team, while Edwards' team will be directed by Roush Racing's lead engineer, Wally Brown.
A trial shift
Edwards said Friday that he was told by Roush that if the switch did not work Osborne would be back. Another meeting was scheduled in 90 days to "discuss how it's going."
"It has to do with getting Jamie going," Edwards said while practicing at the Nashville Superspeedway for today's Busch Series Pepsi 300.
"That's all this is. That's something I want to make real clear because Bob is doing an unbelievable job. ... This is a compliment to Bob, if anything."
He said the change has "nothing to do with" either Osborne or the team's performance. Edwards is 22nd in points after seven starts this season, averaging a 24th-place finish with two top-five finishes.
Last year, en route to a third-place finish in the standings, Edwards won four races and had 13 top-five finishes.
Despite the results, Edwards said the team actually is running well right now and that makes the switch that much more "frustrating." However, he said anytime somebody like Brown could come in and get going right away, "right now is the time."
Edwards said Brown, whom he once roomed with while both worked at Kenny Schrader Racing about 10 years ago, is going to have to be given time and that gaining confidence will be his biggest challenge.
"You can't expect him to come in here and just be standing on that box screaming two tired or tired and making spring calls. The way Jack put it in that meeting is that Bob is still going to oversee our team at least for the short team while Wally is working on it," Edwards said.
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