Season Preview: Roush-Fenway Racing
After running runner-up for the NASCAR Cup championship on four occasions with Mark Martin from 1988 to 2002, Roush Racing finally won it all in 2003 with Matt Kenseth and then again the following year in ’04 with Kurt Busch. Additionally, the organization had runner-up finishes again in 2005 with Carl Edwards & Greg Biffle and again in ’06 with Kenseth, establishing Roush as one of the absolute elite forces to be reckoned with in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, second only to Hendrick Motorsports.
With 102 combined victories in the Cup Series, Roush Racing ranks fourth on NASCAR’s all-time list and second on the active-teams list, trailing Hendrick by 65 wins … adding further proof to the team’s dominance. After placing three of their five race teams in the Chase for the Cup field in the playoff system’s inaugural campaign in 2004 and then qualifying all five of their teams for the Chase in ’05, things have since started to go south. In 2006, only Kenseth and Mark Martin qualified, and after the Chase field expanded to allow for 12 drivers last year, they still were able to qualify two teams once again in ’07.
Much of the disappointment incurred by Roush Racing fans in 2006 has been chalked up to the inexperience of Carl Edwards and the adjustment period for Jamie McMurray to his new team. Last year’s performance has widely been accepted as a result of NASCAR’s inception of the “Car of Tomorrow” and Hendrick Motorsports going on an absolute tear. Still, many fans are not counting Roush out of the 2008 championship hunt with Kenseth and Edwards. Many fans also believe that McMurray has finally begun to get things going with Roush and that Biffle will be able to return to form sooner than later.
In an odd way, another positive that Roush fans can hold onto this season is the fact that 2009 will be the last year that Roush will be allowed to field five race teams in the Cup Series. With both Edwards and Biffle in their contract years this season, as well as many long-term sponsorship contracts that still linger out there for Roush, every driver on the team’s roster has all the incentive in the world to make both 2008 and 2009 successful campaigns, or they could soon find themselves looking for work. I’ll go on record by stating that I believe Roush Fenway Racing will be the primary force to throw a wrench into the HMS domination this season, and 2008 will be solid all around for the Roush camp.
Cup Series Roster:
6: David Ragan – After being thrown into Cup competition last season with Mark Martin’s retirement from full-time competition, Ragan’s rookie season campaign fell well-short of what many race fans had expected from him. Garnering only 2 top-five’s and 3 top-ten’s all season long, the youngster was the lowest finishing Roush car coming in 23rd in points for the season. I believe he’ll improve a bit this season in terms of consistency, but it’s going to be a tough year with the highly-touted rookie class coming in this year, the Toyota’s picking up steam, and the Hendrick boys still running strong. I don’t see him picking up any wins, and his improvement in the points standings will be limited to three or four spots.
16: Greg Biffle – Greg’s ultimate goal is to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win championships in all three of the main series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Truck). His start in the Cup Series sent him well on his way to accomplishing this feat, picking up 11 wins in his first four full-time seasons and finishing runner-up to the 2005 Cup Champion Tony Stewart, finishing only a mere 35 points shy in a season that saw him bring home six victories for Roush. He’s come up just shy of making the Chase field since then, though, finishing 13th in ’06 and 14th in ’07. Forget about the last two seasons, though. Biffle is a veteran driver at this point in his career, and still has plenty left in the tank. With his established desire to remain with Roush Racing, he has plenty of motivation to keep his ride well past 2009, and as he enters his contract year he appears to be well-focused. Look for Biffle to make the Chase this year and close it out around 8th in points.
17: Matt Kenseth – The 2003 Cup Series champion hasn’t finished outside of the top ten in points since 2001, and has been one of – if not the – most consistent drivers in NASCAR since then. After appearing very solid in the early parts of last season, the middle of the year saw Kenseth start to drop in the standings and he entered the Chase for the Cup in 8th place and the Chase itself didn’t start out much better. In fact, after Martinsville, Kenseth sat 12th in points – the very last spot in the Chase field – with only four races left to go. Refusing to go quietly, though, Kenseth went onto finish 4th at Atlanta, 2nd at Texas, 3rd at Phoenix, and won the season finale at Homestead to claw his way back up to a 4th place points finish. Despite heading into 2008 with a new crew chief for the first time in his career, I don’t see Matt encountering the same problems he ran into last season. He seems to have a firm handle on the COT now, so expect him to not only be extremely consistent and win four-to-five races, but he’s also my pick for the 2008 Sprint Cup Series Champion.
26: Jamie McMurray – After getting off to a great start to his Cup Series career with Chip Ganassi Racing, Jamie announced that he would depart from the team following the 2005 season to race for Jack Roush, and it’s been a rough, bumpy road ever since. In his two seasons with Roush, he’s finished 25th and 17th in points with a total of 6 top-five’s and 16 top-ten’s, though he did pick up a win at the July race in Daytona last year – his first win since filling in for an injured Sterling Marlin at Lowe’s in 2002. Still, McMurray’s proven that he’s a capable driver when he finished 11th through 13th in points from 2003 to 2005 while with Ganassi. He does appear to be getting a little more comfortable with the Roush organization, though, as he spent the majority of last season hovering around the 17th spot, which is where he ultimately finished. This season should be a little bit better, but I’m still not expecting him to make the Chase field. Look for him to head into Richmond this fall as one of the bubble drivers.
99: Carl Edwards – 2005 saw Edwards complete one of the most successful rookie campaigns ever seen – though his thirteen starts the previous year disqualified him from actually being considered as a rookie. That year Edwards won 4 races and tied for second in points in his quest for the Cup championship. Since then, he finished 12th in 2006 and 9th in 2007. His inconsistency last year may be a result of him running a full-time [then] Busch Series schedule as well en route to winning that championship. He says that he plans to run the series again this year in hopes of becoming the first driver to win both championships in the same season, but he has assured that his primary focus will be on the Sprint Cup Series, which could prove to be the difference. I’m expecting him to win a couple of races and finish around 7th or so, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him walk away with a top five points finish.
Driver Roster: A
Off-Season: B
2008 Outlook: A
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2 opinions for Season Preview: Roush-Fenway Racing
brian godin
Feb 18, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Why can’t I find caps for Rousch-Fenway racing in the Sox style franchise hat.
Tim Zaegel
Feb 18, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Brian, I’m not sure. I tried doing a quick search for them myself on your behalf, but without much success. I’ll keep an eye out for them, and should I happen to find one will be sure to let you know.
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