Dave Rogers also knows it won't do any good to worry about being on the receiving end of the demanding driver's first tirade.
"I'm probably going to take some beatings from him," Rogers said. "We all know that he can be verbal, and I'm probably going to have a give a few back. It's going to be a good working relationship."
Busch and Rogers make their debut in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Texas. Joe Gibbs Racing announced last week that Steve Addington would be replaced as Busch's crew chief after last weekend's event at Talladega.
Addington and Busch, known for berating his crew when he doesn't like his car or the pit efforts, won 12 times in 68 races since the start of 2008. That included four wins this year, but the duo narrowly missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part because of 12 finishes outside the top 20.
"I'm disappointed for Steve. I'm humbled," Rogers said. "I'm slightly surprised but not really. Everything changes so fast around here."
Rogers has been with the Gibbs team for years, serving on Tony Stewart's Sprint Cup series-winning team in 2002. He was in charge of Gibbs' No. 20 car in the Nationwide Series, winning nine times with four different drivers last year.
It's the second Sprint Cup spin for Rogers. The first wasn't good. He was replaced in his first season with Jason Leffler in 2005 when the team went the first half of the year without a top-10.
"I failed at the No. 11 car. There's no doubt about it," Rogers said. "Certainly I learned a lot through that experience. I would not change it for the world, and I think it will make me a better crew chief for the No. 18 car."
The change from Addington to Rogers came after consecutive top-10s from the 24-year-old driver. Still, Busch seemed to understand the change. Now he's gearing up for it.
37° 