As NASCAR makes its return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Greg Biffle's Roush Fenway team comes back for its third visit since John Henry and Red Sox ownership bought half of Jack Roush's race outfit, the organization comes to its quasi home looking stronger than it has on either of its two previous trips. After an inconsistent season in which its quintet of drivers didn't finish 12 percent of the races it started, and didn't put a driver in the top five during an average race, the Sprint Cup's best stable of Fords has reasserted itself this year.
Carl Edwards has placed among the top 10 more often than any other driver - doing so in 12 of 16 races - and his three wins are second, while Matt Kenseth is one of only five drivers with at least 10 top 10s. As a result, those two - Edwards fourth, Kenseth 12th - are in position to Chase for the Cup with 10 races remaining before the field of contenders is cut to a dozen. So is Biffle, who ranks seventh, while David Ragan is 14th, just 47 points from qualifying as well.
The drivers credited part of the improvement in performance to a simplified preparation process that now requires a team to ready one car rather than two because the so-called Car of Tomorrow has been fully incorporated to the Cup Series. But they also attributed a portion of their success to the work of Robbie Reiser, who was formerly Kenseth's crew chief, but moved into a role as Roush Fenway's general manager before the season.
There's still some room to go, especially with Jamie McMurray lagging behind the rest and currently running 20th. But even he is only 70 points behind his pace of a year ago, and as a whole the five drivers have already amassed nearly 700 more points than they had at this point a year ago.
The biggest leap belongs to Ragan, and if he can continue to improve, there's a legitimate chance Roush can put four cars in the Chase. Given McMurray's difficulties, it's unlikely they'll get five into NASCAR's version of the playoffs, as they did three years ago, but with a third of the contenders coming from their stable there would still be a decent shot of securing the team's third title of this decade.
"We know we've got to step it up," Biffle said, "and one of us has got to pull the title out."
The news this past week that Jamie McMurray is job hunting probably does not come as a great surprise to many. Though McMurray has denied such speculation, critics have had him with one foot out the door of his Roush Fenway ride ever since the beginning of 2008. Currently 22nd in the Cup standings with just two Top 10 finishes, the 31-year-old Joplin, Missouri native simply has never lived up to the hype that surrounded him in 2005 as a player in perhaps the silliest of Silly Seasons in NASCAR history. His hiring was the culmination of a series of moves that led to power plays, contract squabbles, and some unrealistically high expectations — none of which may ever be fully realized.
The events of that 2005 Silly Season were really something to behold. First came the news that McMurray had reached agreement to drive for Roush — even though he was still under contract with Chip Ganassi Racing through 2006. It was looked at as a positive change for McMurray, who, after missing out on the Chase for two straight years, reached an agreement with a team that put all five of its cars in the title hunt — making them the premier organization in Cup at the time. But Ganassi, clearly not pleased with the prospects of losing McMurray, chose to initially refuse to allow his top driver to opt out of his contract, a decision that would delay a move to Roush until the beginning of 2007. The news created a firestorm of opinions surrounding the appropriateness of McMurray negotiating with another team owner when he had well over a year remaining on his agreement with Ganassi; and in return, Ganassi’s defiant refusal to simply allow McMurray to move over to the Roush camp to replace the then-retiring Mark Martin generated considerable debate, as well.
Shortly thereafter, in perhaps an even more surprising turn of events, NASCAR’s defending champion Kurt Busch announced that he was jumping the Roush ship to replace the legendary Rusty Wallace in the almost equally legendary No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge. Like McMurray, Busch requested his release from Roush for the 2006 season; but just like Ganassi, Roush refused to allow his championship caliber driver to bolt the team early. It was a cruel twist of irony that threatened to shut down both deals; however, in the end both McMurray and Busch were granted their requests to move to new teams. The owners fully capitulated — albeit after some backroom deals were made — and McMurray was permitted to move to Roush at the conclusion of the 2005 season, with Jack Roush responding in kind and allowing Kurt Busch to defect a year early to Penske.
By the time the release was given, McMurray’s original plans of replacing a retiring Mark Martin had derailed; instead, he essentially replaced Busch, working with the same team but with a new car number — the No. 26 instead of Busch’s No. 97. Martin, who had originally agreed to stay another year when it was thought that McMurray would be held to his contract with Ganassi, later agreed to stick around to help old friend Jack Roush out of his dilemma as to how to fill the void left by the unexpected exodus of Busch.
As the year began, Jamie McMurray came to Roush amid a lot of hullabaloo; but with great expectations, as well. Rumored to have been lured away from Ganassi with one of the most lucrative contract offers in NASCAR history — reported at $20 million plus performance bonuses — it appeared that Jamie McMurray had arrived at just the right time to realize his full potential. And considering the successful team he had just landed at — a team that had just won the 2004 Cup championship — he seemed a sure bet to become a major player in NASCAR for years to come.
Following in Martin’s footsteps was going to be a tall order, and it’s one you can bet that Jack Roush and his management team fully considered when deciding on a driver best suited to fill that role. Roush certainly knows race car drivers, having his share of success in picking them, and Jamie McMurray seemed to possess all the necessary qualities he desired. Not only did Roush believe the man was talented enough to strap into the seat of his No. 6 Ford, but McMurray also appeared a success in the boardrooms, a trait that’s equally as important in today’s NASCAR. And like Martin, Jamie McMurray is a nice guy, too; he is seemingly always in control of his emotions, both on and off the track. Young and handsome, Jack Roush believed that he would have a driver that he could not possibly go wrong on.
It certainly is both puzzling and hard to figure how even the best drivers have found the right combination to rise to the top of their profession sometimes. It all seems so easy, as if everything just aligns properly. A driver at the top of his game pairs with a crew chief that seems almost to be able to read his mind; holes open when wrecks seem unavoidable; a consistently winning driver’s car performs as if it is bulletproof.
But these are not a set of circumstances that have graced Jamie McMurray with any regularity during his tenure at Roush-Fenway. In fact, it is quite the opposite. And even when McMurray was given the ultimate authority to shape his program — bringing on Larry Carter as crew chief and revamping the No. 26 team from top to bottom — it did nothing to change what were ultimately disappointing and inconsistent results.
In the end, barring a miracle, Jack Roush will release McMurray before the end of his contract. Even if it’s not until 2009, he surely cannot resign him with the performance — or lack thereof — that the two have experienced for more than two years. And when it happens, the move won’t be personal … just business.
Should the Charlotte Observer report that Jamie McMurray will be parting ways with Roush-Fenway Racing at the conclusion of the 2008 season be true, then adding McMurray’s name to the list of silly season spectacles could add yet another twist to this ongoing saga. Roush has already locked up Carl Edwards to another multi-year deal and appears to be only a few minor details away from re-signing Greg Biffle to his current contract. So, with Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr, and Elliott Sadlerall already being reported as being re-signed with their teams for 2009, and Joe Gibbs Racing going on record by stating that they would not allow Tony Stewart to exit his contract obligations early, that would leave McMurray and Ryan Newman as the two biggest names on the market assuming that Roush’s deal with Biffle does in fact go through.
Richard Childress Racing has already stated that they are in search of a driver to field their fourth Cup car for next season, and the lineup at Penske Racing remains uncertain with Ryan Newman yet to be re-signed and the future of Sam Hornish Jr. with the team potentiall in question. There have also been a few reports that a release from Hendrick Motorsports for Casey Mears might not be out of question, and nobody appears to be safe over at Chip Ganassi Racing, so a potential return for McMurray there could even be in play. So, there could definitely be some opportunities for McMurray should the rumors of his departure from Roush hold true. As stated earlier, however, McMurray told reporters on Monday that as of right now the rumors are false.
McMurray first broke onto the Cup scene in 2002 while substituting for an injured Sterling Marlin over at Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the Fall race at Lowe’s that season in only his second career start. He drove the next three seasons full-time for Ganassi, finishing between 11th and 13th in points in each of those seasons. Since moving to Roush in 2006, McMurray has won only one more race (the Pepsi 400 last year at Daytona), and finished 25th in points in ‘06 and 17th in points last year. Jamie fell outside of the top-35 in points following the fifth race of 2008, but has since been able to climb his way back to 22nd thanks to seven top-20 finishes in the past nine races.
Edwards Staying On, Jamie Wants ToRICHMOND, Va. -- Carl Edwards is staying at Roush Fenway Racing, signing a multi-year contract to drive the No. 99 Ford.
"I signed my contract [Thursday], so I'm staying with Roush," Edwards said just after exiting his car at practice on Friday at Richmond International Raceway. "I looked at everything and I talked to everybody and, for me, the No. 1 thing is looking into the future and saying, 'Where can I win the most races and have the most success?'"
Team owner Jack Roush said the deal was a three-year contract.
"What we had hoped for was more than that, but what my understanding was the last time I knew what was on the table was that it was a three-year deal," Roush said.
"A guy would be crazy to leave Roush Fenway Racing and go somewhere else," said teammate Jamie McMurray, who didn't know about Edwards' contract status until Friday afternoon when a reporter brought it up. "I'm sure there were offers everywhere and probably very appealing. But I can't imagine a guy like that wanting to leave when you're having the success that you are."
Greg Biffle is happy where he's at. And why not? That tiny mole hill that kept him out of the Chase for the past two seasons has signs of dwindling away.
Ask him about when it was that his team finally got over the hump and he won't point to his victory this past fall at Kansas. He talks about the 2007 races at Dover and Phoenix when he finished second.
"A lot of things have changed at Roush Fenway," Biffle said. "One is having Robbie Reiser as competition director, that has really helped all the teams."
Biffle said last week he's confident he will re-sign and stay in his position at Roush, but that he's not in a hurry to get a new contract signed. He clarified that statement, noting he's not "panicked" about any deadline.
"My 100 percent intent is to work out an extension with Roush," Biffle said. "I want to stay at Roush Fenway until I retire. They know that.
Toyota officials on Wednesday identified the Roush Fenway Racing part that owner Jack Roush said was found in a Toyota team's possession during a Sprint Cup post-race teardown as a spring. Jim Aust, the president and chief executive officer of Toyota Racing Development, said once the part was found to belong to RFR that it was returned. He was uncertain how the part, discovered on a table with other Toyota parts, got there or from which team it came. "I don't understand the whole procedure when a teardown happens," said Aust, referring to a post-race process in which several cars are broken down by NASCAR inspectors. "The only thing I know is it wound up with parts we had and [which were] returned to Roush. "It's unfortunate it happened the way it did. It wasn't anything intentional. There's no reason to be done intentional. I have no idea how it happened to begin with."
Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith said the part in question was not a spring, but he would not elaborate. No one at RFR has identified which Toyota team had the part. "Jack is the only one to talk to at this time and he presently doesn't want to make any additional comments," Smith said.
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