Roush Fenway Racing News

Updated: 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009

Roush Fenway President on McMurray: We’d like him to stay: Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith on the team cutting from five teams to four after this season (as mandated by NASCAR to meet its four-car limit): “We’re still messing with the sponsorship pieces,’’ Smith said. “We’re still not sure how it’s going to lay out. We thought we’d be done by now but we’re not.’’ One of the teams will move to Yates next year, Smith said. Smith also was asked about the status of signing Jamie McMurray to a contract extension: “Jamie wants to stay. We’d like him to stay. We’re hoping we can have sponsorship around Jamie before he has to decide how much longer he can wait. We’ve been working together. Hopefully we’ll have that worked out pretty quickly before he has to turn his attention to the marketplace.’’(The Virginian-Pilot)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Former Roush Fenway employee files suit: Jason Myers, a former car chief and tire changer for Carl Edwards at Roush Fenway Racing, has sued his former team, alleging that he was wrongfully fired. In a lawsuit filed last week in North Carolina Superior Court in Concord, N.C., Myers claims that he was fired for missing work following a suicide attempt in February. Myers was car chief for the No. 99 Sprint Cup car from 2006 through 2008. He was replaced as car chief following the 2008 season, when Edwards’ Nationwide crew chief, Pierre Kuettel, was moved to his Cup car chief. According to his complaint, Myers, a diabetic, ingested 25-30 Tylenol tablets and approximately 200 units of insulin “in an attempt to kill himself” on Feb. 10. The suicide attempt had followed an initial suicide attempt in March 2008 and a partially aborted suicide attempt in October 2008, according to the complaint. Myers is suing under the Family and Medical Leave Act and asks for an unspecified amount in damages. “There are laws in place that permit people with depression to get the treatment they need, including the Family Medical Leave Act, which permits 12 weeks of leave per year, and the North Carolina common law, which protects people with disabilities from being terminated on that basis,” Myers' attorney Josh Van Kampen said Thursday. “We believe Roush Fenway violated those laws in terminating Jason Myers.” (SceneDaily.com)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Roush Fenway Racing opens new store: Jack Roush with the help of Concord Mayor Scott Padgett, Chairman of County Commissioners Jay White and Chamber CEO John Cox, cut the ribbon for the new Roush Fenway Racing store opening and the team's corporate headquarters in Concord, N.C. The ribbon-cutting ceremony and official unveiling of Roush Fenway's new store helped kick off the team's Speedweek activities just prior to the All Star race. (Roush Fenway PR)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

McMurray doesn't see move to Yates Racing as demotion: Jamie McMurray said he's had no discussions with anyone at Roush about his future. He said it twice, then said he didn't know how to make it any clearer and that the issue is essentially a media creation. McMurray also took exception to the idea that the team that gets moved would be a castoff of Roush Fenway Racing. "The media has made it that the team that's gonna get moved is going to be demoted or it's gonna be devastating. The fact is, we build all of Yates' cars and obviously our engines come from the same place and we share a lot of technology with Yates. It's really not a lot different from what the Stewart-Haas team has this year with Hendrick." (Orlando Sentinel)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Roush has mixed emotions about Talladega: The bump-draftin', restrictor-plate racin' gods who wreck so many Roush cars and ruin his title dreams showed him the other side. So naturally, the owner who loves to hate Talladega out loud took the occasion to love Talladega out loud, right? Well, all things are relative. "I hate loving it. I love hating it," Jack Roush said. "I'm really conflicted about Talladega." (Anniston Star)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Roush Fenway Racing pledges to be more green: It’s been 40 years since Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day and on this day of ecological awareness, Roush Fenway Racing is upping their pledge to promote more sustainable operations and better environmental management.  Always a leader in the sport of NASCAR on and off track, Roush Fenway has been working with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to reinforce its position as a leader in environmental stewardship in the industry. "I look at enacting more sustainable environmental practices as a means towards lowering our financial and operational risks as well as reducing our ecological footprint,” said Ian Prince, CFM, LEED AP and manager of real estate and sustainability for Roush Fenway Racing.  “If you do not add environmental thinking to your business strategy you run the risk of missing the upside opportunities in your market. Managing a NASCAR team more sustainably is most successful when you have a defined focus, and Roush Fenway has always been focused on being efficient in our operations." Through the team’s current efforts, they recycle almost 96 percent of every race car.  In 2008, the team recycled over 66 tons of waste (plastic, paper and metal); reduced the overall amount of waste produced by more than 11 tons; reduced storm water run off by 1.51M gallons; and saved 2.10M gallons of water by not using potable water for irrigation. As a next step, Roush Fenway Racing pledges to meet or exceed its corporate environmental target of an overall 10% improvement in indoor air quality; reduction of water consumption; increase in waste reduction and recycling; and improvement in energy usage over the next 18 months. (Roush Fenway PR)

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Roush: No decision made on 2010 driver lineup: Team co-owner Jack Roush said Friday that no decision had been made regarding what his organization’s NASCAR Sprint Cup team lineup would look like in 2010. Jamie McMurray, currently one of five Roush Fenway Racing Cup drivers, has been mentioned in media reports as the likely choice to go elsewhere, most likely to join Yates Racing next season. “That is premature,” Roush said of one recent report which said McMurray’s team was expected to be dumped. “And if I had something to announce, there would be something written on the shelf back there [in the media center]. “We’re not thinking about next year yet, we’re thinking about this year. Certainly there was nothing that has happened in the last week that is noteworthy or newsworthy and I wouldn’t care to speculate.” (SceneDaily.com)

Monday, March 9, 2009

Roush Fenway looking for sponsors: Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith should only be negotiating to renew the one NASCAR Sprint Cup sponsorship he has open – the No. 17 Ford and DeWalt – for 2010. But Smith’s organization is working on helping nearly all of its Cup sponsors (No. 26-Crown Royal, No. 16-3M and No. 99-Aflac) find other companies willing to pony up the money to buy some races for 2010 and beyond even though they have contracts obligating them for the entire season. Smith said the companies have requested help, and it’s imperative in these economic times that the organization find more sponsors willing to share some of the costs. DeWalt, whose contract is up after the 2009 season, has also indicated it wants a partner. The only sponsor that has not requested a partner is UPS. A new sponsor could be on one of those cars by the end of 2009 if there is a commitment for future years, Smith said. Even though Roush Fenway can have only four Cup teams next year, it also is responsible for sponsorship for Yates Racing, so it is continuing to court companies to sponsor Cup teams. On an initial call, Smith said the organization will offer anything open in its portfolio. The one thing his company won’t do is to stagger sponsorships on a car because the organization has to commit to a salary for the driver and needs the sponsorship to back it up. Smith said that car owners must realize that they need to spend money on sales. He said he has “a whole team” making cold calls about sponsorship.(SceneDaily.com)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

No. 16 crew wins pit road award: Greg Biffle's No. 16 team claimed the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award at Sunday's Shelby 427 Sprint Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Biffle's Ford Fusion spent the least amount of time on pit road -- 252.400 seconds -- during the 285-lap, 427-mile race. The speedy No. 16 pit crew has helped lift Biffle to fourth place in the driver point standings. The No. 16 over-the-wall crew consists of: Todd Zeigler (front-tire changer), Colin Pasi (front-tire carrier), Kyle Power (rear-tire changer), Kevin McDowell (rear-tire carrier), Rodney Fetters (jackman), Billy Manchester (gasman), Ryan Dextraze (catch can) and Chris Elliott (windshield). The team's crew chief is Greg Erwin and the pit crew coach is Andy Ward. For winning the weekly Tissot Pit Road Precision Award, the #16 team will receive $5,000. The payout for the season-championship pit road team will be $100,000 and a Tissot watch for the driver and members of the over-the-wall crew.(DMF Communications/Tissot PR)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Roush: Tires may of caused engine failure: At the forefront of Matt Kenseth’s mind, and the minds of the people at Roush Fenway Racing this week, is the cause of the failure. Engine failure also hampered fellow Roush drivers David Ragan and Carl Edwards. Team owner Jack Roush said that the problem might have originated with tires — they were too good. “I think we misjudged how fast this tire was going to be, and the engine turned more,” Roush said. “It’s the same spec on the engine that we had all of last year. It wasn’t something new or experimental. I had great confidence in it. “We had it the last third of last year, but we saw more RPM with it in qualifying than we ever had, and we saw more RPM in the race than we ever had. The tire didn’t fall off as much as we expected it to, so the tire did a real nice job, but we just over-revved the engine.” (Kansas City Star)

Friday, February 20, 2009

Aflac unlikely to sell remaining sponsorships on No. 99: Aflac will likely be the primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards for more NASCAR Sprint Cup races this year than originally announced. When Aflac announced it would become the primary sponsor in 2009, a company official had indicated that it hoped to keep only 20-25 races as the primary sponsor and sell off the remaining 11-16. That was back in May when the contract, reportedly a three-year deal with Roush Fenway worth $26 million a year, was inked. The economy has changed since then, as has Edwards’ stature as he challenged for last year’s Sprint Cup title and won a series-high nine races. Aflac currently has sold off four races – three to Subway and one to Claritin – and a company executive says it won’t sell off additional races unless the potential sponsor fits with Aflac’s business model. “Our strategy is right now we feel like we have the hottest driver in NASCAR,” Keith Farley, Aflac’s corporate sponsorship manager, said last week at Daytona. “We feel like since originally working with him last May and working on the contract, his value has gone up. Our strategy is to make sure we do what’s right for the Aflac brand and for Carl. (SceneDaily.com)

Monday, February 16, 2009

No. 17 Matt Kenseth winning car inducted into Daytona USA: The victory celebration of the 51st annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race continued Monday morning as Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 DeWalt Ford was inducted into the Daytona 500 Experience – the Official Attraction of NASCAR –during the annual ConAgra Champion’s Breakfast. Kenseth, owner Jack Roush and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer participated in a fan forum inside the attraction and received their winning Daytona 500 leather jackets from Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig. The three were joined by the rest of the #17 Roush Fenway Racing crew to continue the tradition of signing the car, which will be on display inside the attraction until the 52nd annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, 2010. “To win the 500 is really cool,” said Kenseth, who also unveiled the logo for next year’s Daytona 500 to the media attending the event. “It’s pretty cool that the 17 group and team that Jack and Robbie (Reiser, former crew chief, current GM of Roush Fenway Racing) assembled was able to win that first championship and first Daytona 500.” “The first 14 times that I came to Daytona for road racing I always took a trophy home – every time,” said Roush, referring to his Rolex 24 success. “As we started coming with the Cup cars and it didn’t happen right away, I kind of put it out of my mind and decided that I was snake-bit – that I had already had more success than I deserved and I would be denied this one.” Not wanting to jinx his chances of a victory, Kenseth was not prepared for this week’s whirlwind media tour in New York City and California. He had to fly back home after last night’s race to pack before returning to Daytona for this morning’s celebration. “I wasn’t prepared for it kind of on purpose,” Kenseth said. “One year I was thinking, ‘They take you all these places, don’t want you to go home afterwards, you’re gone all week – so I’ll bring some extra clothes.’ That was my worst 500 I think we’ve ever had. “I told (wife) Katie if it happens and we win, I’ll worry about it then. So I had to worry about it last night. They’re not going to let us go home until after California, so I needed to go home for a few hours.” Among the media duties Kenseth will perform this week include appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman on Monday night and Live with Regis and Kelly on Tuesday morning. “As a kid, I always watched Letterman with my dad,” Kenseth said. “Of any TV show I could ever be on, I’ve always wanted to be on Letterman. The first two times I’ve been on there we’ve done the Top 10 list and I’ve never got to meet him or talk to him. This time I think I get to sit down and talk to him so I’m looking forward to that.”(DIS PR)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Matt Kenseth wins Daytona 500: Matt Kenseth won NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 Sunday when heavy rain halted the race after 152 laps, 48 short of the scheduled distance. The victory was the first since November 2007 for the Ford-driving former NASCAR champion, who started from the rear of the field after switching to a back-up vehicle. "I was pretty miserable some nights because we just couldn't make our car handle," Kenseth told reporters. "This back-up car is actually way better than the 500 car. I felt pretty good going into this morning, but I didn't dream we were gonna win." (Washington Post)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Subway to sponsor No.99 Carl Edwards three races: Subway Restaurants will serve as the primary sponsor of Carl Edwards and the No. 99 Sprint Cup Series Ford for three races in 2009, which includes the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in April. Edwards will also pilot the car in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway and then a to be announced race.(RacingOne)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Roush defends NASCAR in slowing economy: Jack Roush, co-owner of the NASCAR team Roush Fenway Racing, contended that "the disappointing ticket sales and souvenir sales are an indicator of the health of the world's economy and not the referendum on the popularity of NASCAR." Instead, auto racing "has some economic challenges that are not unique to businesses around the world," he said. (LA Times)

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Roush Fenway pledges to "Go Green": With the country under new leadership and the start of a new race season upon us, Roush Fenway Racing announces their pledge to sustainability and environmental protection. Always a leader in the sport of NASCAR on and off track, Roush Fenway Racing will continue current environmental initiatives and look into new initiatives to “go green” in 2009. There are many aspects of the sport which will not change in the immediate future when it comes to environmental impact. However, the environment is a topic that’s important to many of our sponsor partners as well as the world, so in an effort to be good stewards of the planet, Roush Fenway Racing continues to seek ways to be environmentally conscious from materials in their daily operations, to the expansion and construction of facilities. Roush Fenway Racing currently recycles oil, solvent, steel, tires, aluminum, paper and plastic bottles and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Ian Prince, Roush Fenway’s LEED certified person on staff, oversees the operations of Roush Fenway’s 25-acre campus with three buildings totaling over 190,000 Sq. ft. All the building have innovated LEED building design features including (but not limited to) solar shades on southern exposure to reduce solar heat gain and glare, reducing the amount of artificial building cooling required; interior lighting controlled by individual occupancy and photoelectric sensors to reduce electrical usage; motion activated plumbing fixtures to reduce potable water use; and rain and storm water run off captured and contained for landscape irrigation reducing the need for potable water. As a point of interest, Roush Fenway uses no city water they have their own wells and storm water reclamation. In addition, Roush Fenway has proposed an emission reduction program to LED retrofit the shop Metal Halide lighting resulting in a 530 Megawatt savings of electricity each year. The use of Building Integrated Photovoltaic laminates that will produce 13,710kWh per year of electricity for 20 years to be sold back to the utilities companies is also being proposed. But that’s not where the effort ends. Roush Fenway Racing Sprint Cup standouts Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s) as part of their commitment to sustainability and environmental protection.(Roush Fenway Racing PR)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Blickensderfer named crew chief for Matt Kenseth: Roush Fenway Racing has named Drew Blickensderfer crew chief for Matt Kenseth’s #17 DEWALT Sprint Cup team for the upcoming 2009 season. “We are really looking forward to Drew coming on board with the #17 DEWALT team,” said Kenseth. “Drew brings a great work ethic and high level of enthusiasm to our team. He has been waiting for the opportunity to become a crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series and I know he’ll make the most of it. I had the chance to work with Drew for a couple of years in the Nationwide Series and he is one of the hardest working guys in the garage. He has a passion for the sport, and I know he will be a great addition to our #17 team.” Blickensderfer served the past three seasons as a crew chief in Roush Fenway’s highly successful Nationwide Series program. He helped guide Danny O’Quinn to a Raybestos Rookie title in 2006, before teaming with Kenseth in the Nationwide Series for the next year and a half. The duo earned three victories in the series, before Blickensderfer moved over to Carl Edwards’ No. 60 team midway through the 2008 season. There, he helped guide the Edwards’ team to seven wins in their last 19 races and a second-place finish in the Nationwide Series point standings. With the addition of Blickensderfer, Chip Bolin – who served as the crew chief on the #17 Sprint Cup team in 2008 - will return to his previous post as team engineer, where he was instrumental in helping guide the team to a Cup championship in 2003. “Chip has been one of the biggest assets to this team since the beginning,” said Kenseth. “Both as an engineer and crew chief, he has been instrumental in our championship run in 2003 and our making the Chase every year since. We are looking forward to adding Drew to the mix and everyone on this #17 DEWALT team is committed to working together and to running up front next season.”(Roush Fenway Racing PR)

Friday, December 12, 2008

Former Roush employee sues team: A former Roush Fenway Racing fabricator and over-the-wall crew member is suing the team for money he alleges he is owed for being laid off prior to the completion of his three-year contract. Nick Bailey, signed a three-year deal in October 2006 to run through the 2009 season, according to the complaint and portions of his contract filed recently in North Carolina Superior Court in Charlotte. He initially worked in the Truck shop at Roush as well as on the pit crew for the No. 16 Nationwide team. He was then transferred to Roush’s ARCA team in April 2008. At the time he was laid off Nov. 10 , 2008, his base salary was $1,050 per week, according to the complaint. He also was eligible for bonuses depending on the performance of the team and the pit crew. Bailey is asking for $63,000 – his salary from Nov. 10, 2008 through Dec. 31, 2009 – and for whatever bonuses it is determined he deserves. Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith confirmed that Bailey had been laid off as part of a reduction in the company work force but declined further comment.(SceneDaily.com)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Donnie Wingo named McMurray crew chief: Roush Fenway Racing announced that Donnie Wingo will serve as crew chief for Jamie McMurray and the #26 Crown Royal / IRWIN Industrial Tools team. Wingo, who has more than 15 years of NASCAR experience, will lead the #26 team in the upcoming Sprint Cup Series season. “I’m thrilled to be working with Jamie again,” said Wingo, who served as McMurray’s crew chief for three seasons at Ganassi Racing. “Jamie and I had some good runs together at Ganassi and we were pretty successful on the track. I’ve seen how well Jamie has performed in the past and I hope with coming over to Roush Fenway Racing we can build on that success. Not only do I get to work with Jamie, but I get to work with four other really good crew chiefs here at Roush Fenway Racing. With the support of them and everyone at Ford Racing, I’m really looking forward to next season.” In 2008, McMurray finished 16th in the Sprint Cup Series point standings with four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. “Donnie and I have been friends for years,” said McMurray. “Even when he wasn’t my crew chief, I would still call and talk to him - not just about racing - but anything. He is one of the hardest workers I know, so to be able to have him come over to Roush Fenway and be a part of this #26 Crown Royal / IRWIN Industrial Tools team is really exciting. We ended our season on such a high note, that I can’t wait to get back to Daytona. We have a few changes we are going to make to the #26 team during the off season, but I totally expect that we will be able to start the 2009 season just as strong as we finished 2008. I’m excited to have Donnie back as my crew chief and I am looking forward to next season here at Roush Fenway Racing.”(Roush Fenway Racing)

Monday, November 17, 2008

Roush wants test agreement: Jack Roush would like for his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup team owners to come to a gentlemen's agreement that they will honor the ban on testing by not even testing at tracks that do not stage NASCAR events. He emphasized that he is not going to build a private test track for any of his teams. "I have neither the money nor the inclination to build a test track, and also have had conversations with NASCAR president Mike Helton and I don't have any intention to try to get around their test rules," Roush said. "If we could organize a situation where all the established teams would hold hands and resolve not to test outside of the NASCAR mandated or approved testing, not go to the skid pads, not go to Canada, not go to Pikes Peak or any of the places they're checking on, I'd be happier with that than to skirt around. "[But] If everybody else does it, we may have to do it, too, but that's certainly not in the spirit of trying to save the teams money and trying to operate in these severe economic circumstances." (SI.com)

Sunday, July 27, 2008

McMurray expected to stay with Roush Fenway in 2009: Jamie McMurray said he'll remain with Roush Fenway Racing despite reports that he'll drive elsewhere next year. "The truth is I'll be there with [sponsor] Crown Royal," McMurray said Saturday. "There's not a question. It's 100 percent. I will be here ... at Roush Fenway." (Roanoke.com)

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Ragan to return to Roush Fenway in 2009: Roush Fenway Racing officials confirmed Sunday that David Ragan will be back behind the wheel of the No. 6 Ford next season. Sponsor negotiations to replace AAA on the No. 6 are awaiting the completion of Stewart’s deal, though team sources confirmed that Office Depot will not be back at Roush Fenway Racing next season. (SPEEDtv)

Friday, June 27, 2008

Greg Biffle signs extension with Roush Fenway: Greg Biffle announced today that he has signed a three-year extension of his contract with Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle has been with Roush Fenway Racing since 1998. During his 10 years at Roush Fenway Racing, Biffle has accumulated 46 wins, 166 top-five finishes and 250 top-10 finishes in 496 starts. Biffle is looking forward to the continued relationship with Roush Fenway Racing as well as a long-term partnership with 3M. “I’m extremely happy and relieved to have this contract complete,” said Biffle. “I have a team that can contend for the championship this season and for future seasons as well. 3M has been an incredible partner for several years now and having them on board made the decision even easier. All the elements are in place: the resources of Ford and Roush Fenway, the excellent team, the outstanding cars and having a great primary sponsor like 3M for the next few years.” In addition to Biffle’s Cup Series program, he is also running a partial schedule in the #16 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion in the Nationwide Series this season. “I would like to run another partial schedule in the CitiFinancial Ford next season,” Biffle said. “We’re still working out the schedule but I have always had fun racing in the Nationwide Series so I’d say it’s likely you’ll see me there in 2009.”(Roush Fenway Racing)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Roush Fenway finalizing 2009 driver lineup: Roush Fenway Racing hopes to soon solidify its current driver lineup in the same positions for 2009, team president Geoff Smith said Sunday at Infineon Raceway. The first item would be locking in #16-Greg Biffle, who said Friday he expects to complete the deal this week. As far as #6-David Ragan, Smith also was optimistic. “We’re working through a final contract now with a sponsor, and unless Tony Stewart puts a wheel under us, it should be over very shortly,” Smith said. The team’s other three drivers – #99-Carl Edwards, #26-Jamie McMurray and #17-Matt Kenseth – are already signed for next season. (SceneDaily.com)

Friday, June 20, 2008

Biffle signs 3-year extension with Roush Fenway: Greg Biffle has reached an agreement on a three-year deal with Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle met with Roush Fenway officials this week to iron out final details. He said a formal announcement, including a new deal with 3M, could be unveiled next week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.(ESPN.com)

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