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Crazy Woman Driver By Kay Bell Big Changes For Two Top-Tier Teams Silly season last fall turned out to be serious, and so far successful, race business when two world-class series champions unexpectedly changed teams. The move to Joe Gibbs Racing has paid off for Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 The Home Depot/Husky Toyota, pictured here celebrating with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 400 at Kansas Speedway on April 21, 2013 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) CHANGING LANES In motorsports, change is a constant, especially when it involves drivers and teams. Seldom, however, do top drivers on top teams switch seats, and when they do it's usually big news. That's just what happened not once, but twice at the end of last year. Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and a regular championship contender, left Roush Fenway Racing to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. Across the pond, Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Formula 1 22 0613 crazy woman driver cl.indd 1 champion, left McLaren to drive for rival Mercedes. Both moves were surprises, and the results in both situations are pretty encouraging. Kenseth had been at Roush Fenway since 2000, when his entire team joined the Roush organization. Right off the bat, he beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. out for rookie of the year and became the only rookie to win the Coca-Cola 600. His team dominated the 2003 season, though they won only one race, and he captured the championship in as easy a fashion as it's ever been won – in fact, Kenseth's JUNE 2013 // WWW.CHANGINGLANESDIGITAL.COM 5/7/13 10:48 AM