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.
After scoring an emotional victory at Martinsville, Dodge Driver Dennis Setzer and crew went west to Kansas with high hopes of capitalizing on the team’s momentum.
Setzer made his way to the front of the pack, climbing as high as fourth position before disaster struck. On lap 73 as Setzer was coming out of turn one he was unable to miss a competitor who spun directly in front of his racing line. Crew Chief Marcus Richmond jumped into action on the radio giving each crew member a job as they went over the wall. “Get a bat, a hammer, lots of bearbond and duct tape,” said Richmond in a hurry. “Make sure you get the grill pulled back out so it does not over heat.” The Dodge Racing Team repaired the substantial front end damage and Setzer returned to the track still on the lead lap.
As the No. 18 Dodge headed into turn four on lap 113 the right front tire blew sending Setzer hard into the turn four wall. The extensive damage forced the team to retire from the event, where they finished in the 25th position.
Dennis Setzer, usually the optimist, didn't mind having to wait to back up his Martinsville win of a month ago. It's nice to get back in the truck while you're hot, but with the series having its longest break of the season, it's OK to carry that "champion" label for a while.
"It's not so bad to have that layover if you just had a good race," the Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia driver said.
But there are layovers and then there are sabbaticals. Sprint Cup has three weeks off all season; the Craftsman Truck Series just had three weeks off in a row. Teams found opportunities to test, take time off, rinse and repeat. To say they were eager to get going with Saturday evening's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 was an understatement -- especially with two more off weeks looming after Kansas.
Setzer failed to finish Saturday night after an accident on lap 126 resulted in his being credited with a 25th place finish. However, the spot was good enough to maintain his 4th place position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings.
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