The struggles for the Ford teams have been well documented this season. There is even a tidbit on Jayski’s Cup Series page right now about how this is Ford’s longest winless drought to start a season since 1983. And those struggles haven’t just been on the Cup side. Roush Fenway’s Nationwide Series program hasn’t been as strong this season as they’ve been in past years. Carl Edwards has led the way, but for a time, two of the other RFR teams were outside the top 30 in points. The #16 team has since raced their way back in, but the #6 team remains 102 points out of a guaranteed starting spot. The one Ford team that did have a moderate amount of success over the first part of the season, especially with limited resources, was Baker Curb Racing’s #27 team with Greg Biffle.
After Eddie Pardue was dismissed as crew chief of RFR’s #16 a few weeks back, Ben Leslie took over as the interim boss. It was announced this week however, that starting at Road America the #16 team would have a new leader; none other then Baker Curb’s Ricky Viers.
With Red Man tobacco on the hood, Greg Biffle behind the wheel, and Viers calling the shots, Baker Curb’s #27 was the best running Ford in several races this season. They managed to finish second twice, just missing wins at Las Vegas and Richmond.
A new FDA regulation that basically ends tobacco advertisements curtailed Red Man’s sponsorship, and with the team’s future in jeopardy, Roush took the opportunity to bring Viers on board. Who better to help turn around your company’s NNS program then the guy who’s been beating you all season?
Viers joins Drew Blickensderfer, Matt Puccia, and Mike Kelley as crew chiefs at Roush Fenway, and the pressure is on these four to slow down Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance of the series.
Besides hopefully helping the whole program, Viers is tasked with making contenders out of Roush prospects Colin Braun and Brian Ickler. Braun and fellow Roush young gun Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have both struggled mightily in their first full seasons, and those struggles have led to their schedules being cut. Ickler was brought in from Kyle Busch Motorsports to strengthen Roush’s driver development program and fill those holes in the schedule.
The NNS teams tested at Road America today in advance of Saturday’s race, and things may already be looking up for RFR. Ford drivers were first and second fastest in both sessions, and the combo of Viers and Braun was good for fourth quick. With Braun’s road racing background, this might be just what this team needs to turn the season around.
We’ve all heard the saying “if you can’t beat them, join them.” In the ultra competitive world of NASCAR, it becomes “if you can’t beat them, steal what makes them better then you.”
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A few months ago I wrote a post lauding Roush’s developmental commitment even through sponsorship adversity. I said Roush’s commitment to Colin Braun and to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was evident in its continued support of two underfunded teams. And I applauded the man (Jack Roush) and the team (Roush Fenway) for giving chances to those who couldn’t necessarily fund their own rides.
About a month later though Roush booted Colin Braun from the ride full-time in favor of a split schedule with other drivers. This wasn’t good for my argument – that is that Roush was a bastion for the development driver. As the picture became clear and the weeks have progressed though, Jack Roush has, in my mind (for what that’s worth), continued to demonstrate the importance of young and developmental drivers to his organization.
Roush, for his part, gave Colin Braun two full seasons in the Truck Series and some random Nationwide starts. Despite being one of the best funded teams led by a very good crew chief (Mike Beam) Braun was only able to score one win and finish 13th and fifth in the points in his two Truck campaigns. This season Braun wrecked (or was involved in wrecks) in five of nine races he competed in. Jack Roush, rightfully so, had seen enough.
While Braun’s days with the team appear to be numbered, he was given a reprieve by his sponsor Conway Freight, despite its discontent with the situation.
Where one driver appears to have run his course though, another has gotten an opportunity. Roush Fenway signed Brian Ickler to run at Charlotte – and from what we’re hearing beyond. The young driver has been able to put together limited deals throughout his career and is getting his opportunity to excel in top-notch equipment.
With Braun in just 14 more races this season that leaves plenty of opportunities for Ickler to get seat time. And we’re hearing in addition to this weekend’s race at Charlotte, Ickler will also run at Daytona and Kentucky in the coming weeks.
Adding Ickler to a stable that includes Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and young Chris Buescher (check out TC’s post from yesterday) further adds to a portfolio of great potential talent. While certainly driver development isn’t an exact science (Roush has proven that), committing to building the stars of tomorrow continues to be a priority for this organization – and for that I continue to commend them.
This week, we go from the high banks of Talladega to a Saturday night short track shootout in Richmond. The Nationwide cars will kick the racing weekend off on Friday night at RIR, while the Truck Series heads west to Kansas for a rare Sunday race. While we wait for the weekend to arrive, here’s a big batch of reader questions and our answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Don:
How do the teams get cars to tracks in such short times? Does the transporter go back to Charlotte each week or is there more than one transporter and they alternate weeks? The transporter has to be completely restocked each week and some times Charlotte is not on the way.
Most Cup Series teams have two drivers per truck. This allows them to make it back to Charlotte in a timely manner after a race (for races close by this isn’t a problem). In the case of West Coast races organizations will often send extra trucks from Charlotte to run equipment to their teams out West because driving to Charlotte and back just isn’t feasible. Smaller teams will often just turnover the equipment they already have. – Journo
2. From ATS:
Every weekend when I watch the beginning of the race I see the #00 and David Reutimann come to the front and run in the top-5 or top-10. Only to have a failure of MWR equipment ruin his day. Do you think we could see David move teams at the end of 2010?
I don’t see David Reutimann going anywhere. I believe his contract is up this year or next, but I think he’s pretty happy where he’s at. Remember he and Waltrip go back a long ways. And anyway, where would he go? There aren’t too many seats available. – Journo
3. From Marcus:
What happens to Penske Racing’s #12 car now? Will Justin Allgaier drive it or what happens? Just let me know if you get any inside information.
It could be used for Hornish or it could go away. I haven’t heard anything specific, but I don’t think Allgaier will be in it next year (full-time at least). It’s possible he could run a few races, but they won’t be moving him full-time to the Cup Series in 2011. We’ll let you know if we hear anything. – Journo
4. From West Coast Kenny:
T.C. and Journo, It seems like Robbie Gordon causes a yellow during every race. Is it possible he does that just to get TV time for his sponsors?
I’m going to say probably not, but anything is possible. – Journo
5. From Woogeroo:
What is the deal with some races being impound races and some of them are not? It seems to me like Detroit’s love affair with half the autos fasteners being metric and the other in inches… with no rhyme or reason. I can understand Daytona with all it’s goings ons… but what’s the deal with the rest of them?
It is my understanding that only the Talladega races and the Daytona race in July are true impound races. I don’t know for certain what NASCAR’s reasons are for impounding cars at these tracks, but I would imagine it’s because there are so many extra little rules. Impounding the cars allows NASCAR to have more control over what the teams can and can’t do. – T.C.
6. From Cinde:
Kurt to drive the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. Is Pennzoil that much better of a sponsor? Do they provide more sponsor money than Miller Lite? Or just pay the driver more? In your opinion why would Kurt go to Pennzoil? Or, perhaps did he really not have a choice at this time? Finally, do the CC and crew generally stay with the driver, or will that be a change as well? Thanks! Love your weekly writings!
It doesn’t have to do with Shell/Pennzoil being a better sponsor. And Miller is still with the organization. I’m not privy to their negotiations, but I would imagine Shell wanted Kurt Busch and Miller was OK with shifting their focus to Brad K. Wam, bam, Penske had a deal. In my experience drivers, for the most part, don’t really care who’s on the car, as long as they’re able to race. I’m sure Kurt Busch is just as happy hawking oil as he was beer. As far as switching crews, we haven’t heard anything about that and given the success the two teams are having in their current configurations, I don’t see Roger Penske making any major changes. – Journo
7. From Allen:
I’ve noticed during pit stops the lug nuts sometimes fall under the tires, has a lug nut ever been shot back and hit someone when the driver stomps on the throttle to leave?
It certainly has. The gas man and catch can man are usually the guys in the direct line of fire, but others have been hit. Trust me, it isn’t pleasant. – T.C.
8. From Doug:
You told us that you and Journo are Batman and Robin. Allow me to be just a little bit skeptical, if that’s OK. My question: do regulars in the press box and on pit row know who you are, are you both really in deep cover?
As far as we know our identities are unknown. If someone does know who we are, we haven’t heard about it. – Journo
9. From djones:
Regarding the recent penalties at MWR, are the drivers aware of suspect parts on the car, or other infractions? I’d like to believe they are innocent. Thanks.
I would say in most cases the driver probably doesn’t know. There is really no reason they need to know, plus keeping them in the dark gives the sport’s stars that oh-so-convenient “plausible deniability.” – T.C.
10. From Kim:
Sitting here in Talladega! If the race is an “impound” race and the cars would have been impounded after qualifying, what happens when qualifying is cancelled, as it was today? Are the cars deemed impounded at the moment qualifying is cancelled?
Actually, cars are impounded before qualifying, so the rainout doesn’t really matter. Teams were allowed to make any final adjustments to their cars on Friday evening, and then they were sealed until the race. The cars did go through an inspection on Sunday morning before the race, but teams were not allowed to do their usual race day work. - T.C.
11. From Amy:
While watching Talladega I am noticing that during the draft some of the cars have their hoodflaps popping open…I have never noticed that before- it that a product of the bump draft or the spoiler? Does it hurt anything?
It’s just a product of the aerodynamics and how the air travels over the cars. If I remember correctly, the flaps are coming up because they are in a low pressure area. And I don’t believe the car’s performance is hurt by it. – T.C.
12. From Michael:
A few years ago it seemed Jon Wood was on a path to a great future. Then, poof, he was gone. Any news?
Jon’s last start in any of the top NASCAR series was at the Phoenix truck race in November of 2008. He has not reappeared, I believe, because of his performance and because of his own personal issues (which I will not get into here). Wood made 17 truck starts in 2008, and only managed a best finish of 10th. Once the Wood Brothers team ran out of money to keep their truck program going, Jon was out of a ride. I would be surprised if he returned to competition down the road. It’s a shame too, because he could have been a very solid driver. – T.C.
13. From Kim:
Another question came up while sitting at Talladega: that hat hit the track close to where I was sitting. Why call a caution during practice for a bird, but not call a debris caution for a hat on the track? I’ve seen debris cautions called for a lot less!
Birds and other animals on track can (and have) actually cause significant damage to race cars. A hat on the other hand, especially like the one that ended up on the track at Talladega, is much less of a hazard. Didn’t the hat end up getting hit and destroyed anyway? – T.C.
14. From Dave:
I’m a little surprised you guys haven’t written about Roush’s situation in Nationwide since Colin Braun got ousted. I’m thinking as far as the 6 and 16 go, it looks pretty ugly. Does Roush go back to Erik Darnell at this point, Kenseth for the rest of the season, or does Roush stop running those cars when they’re unsponsored? Colin will run only, what, 10 more races? So I’m just assuming Stenhouse, who’s been equally as disappointing, won’t make it the full season anymore. Just seeing if you’ve heard anything… I don’t mean to sound happy about the situation, but I just don’t think the plan was ever a good one– two rookies in those cars full time. Thanks!
The situation at Roush has more to do with Jack’s frustration with Colin and the situations he puts himself in and the mistakes he continues to make than it does issues with young drivers or even unsponsored teams. Running these teams full time is exactly what Jack needed to do. He needs to see what these guys can do and see if they’re worth keeping (you can’t keep running part time schedules with young drivers and hope to accomplish anything). After three seasons with Colin, I think Jack has seen all he needs to see. With Ricky though, I don’t think he’ll get pulled unless there is some serious trouble down the road. Remember prior to this season Ricky had just one full ARCA season and a couple of Nationwide Series starts. – Journo
15. From David:
2 questions, what is the problem with racing someone hard(Jimmie Johnson – Jeff Gordon) also heard Hamlin complain. Do they think competition should move over for them because of who they are? Also how about a road course in the chase.
I don’t think actually racing each other close is the problem with some of these guys. What bothers them is when that close racing turns into contact and wrecks. Jeff Gordon has been mad the last few weeks because he’s been wrecked while racing hard with someone, not because of the actual racing itself. You have to remember too, some of these guys just need something to complain about. If it isn’t the wing, it’s Toyota has more power, or it’s people racing “too” hard, etc. etc. For your second question, I’m all for adding another road course race. In fact, I wrote a post about it last season. See it here. – T.C.
16. From Rick:
I heard ricky rudd is helping the #23 team in the Nationwide series is that true or is he helping anyone?
I haven’t heard anything about that, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Does anyone know anything about this? – Journo
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
Now that Danica is taking a NASCAR hiatus for a few months, can we please get back to talking about the actual competition in the Nationwide Series?
Three races into the season, the top ten in NNS points could be mistaken for the top ten in the Cup Series. Seven of the top ten are Cup drivers, with only Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace, and Scott Riggs representing the NNS only crowd.
Of the three, Allgaier looks to be strongest challenger to unseat a likely Cup-driving champion. In three starts this season, he has one top five and three top ten finishes. At Las Vegas, Allgaier looked to be a contender for the win before fading late and finishing seventh. He certainly has the backing and the team to get it done, and the knowledge and experience from a solid rookie campaign could push him over the top.
There are also several intriguing new-comers to the series who could surprise and break through for wins. James Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Colin Braun, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all could have a say before the season is over. They all have the necessary talent and are all driving in equipment that has won in the recent past. Three races in, Buescher, Bayne, and Scott are all inside the top 20 in points, while Braun and Stenhouse have struggled and will have to dig themselves out of a hole.
Of the three Nationwide only drivers in the top ten, I think the most interesting story is that of Scott Riggs. He was tabbed to pilot the #09 Ford for RAB Racing only a few short weeks before Daytona. Riggs filled the seat that was vacated when John Wes Townley left the team and took his family sponsor to Richard Childress Racing. The RAB team is running without a major sponsor, yet has still found a way to be competitive against fully funded, Cup backed teams. With a little help, this team could be a factor.
It seems unlikely that, with so many Cup drivers in every race, a young driver like Allgaier will be celebrating at Homestead. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard are all planning on running the full slate of Nationwide Series races. But like they say, that’s why we run the races.
If you watched the Nationwide race this weekend it was hard not to notice the two white Fords. Normally this paint scheme (or lack thereof) is saved for those underfunded, or unfunded programs, with little known, or older drivers. Not the case here. The teams both came out of the Roush Fenway stable and piloting the cars were two of the sport’s brightest young prospects: Colin Braun and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
The sight of those unsponsored Roush cars was certainly odd. This is a team that is among the best in the garage at selling sponsorship (not so much keeping it though) and certainly one of the most competitive in the Nationwide Series.
This season the team has both of the rides in question partially funded by existing deals with Conway Freight and Citi Financial, but up to now has been unable to lock down deals to fund the cars for the whole season.
If this was just about any other organization this might be a source of concern for the drivers; think JR Motorsports, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Fortunately for these guys that’s not the case at Roush.
As odd as it may seem to see a team like Roush run without sponsorship, especially that blatantly, this is not the first time Roush has run one of its teams without a primary sponsor. Carl Edwards ran a good portion of the 2003 truck schedule without sponsorship and other Roush prospects have done the same, including Erik Darnell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., David Ragan, and Colin Braun.
While this may seem a lesson in how to lose money, it really says so much more.
The commitment of Jack Roush to his development program and its drivers shines through in this moment (and others like it). Few owners these days are willing to give young, untested drivers the opportunity to show what they’re made of without funding. Not Jack Roush. His commitment to drivers he sees as future stars, or at the very least worth developing further, is highly commendable.
On top of that it signals to potential sponsors Roush’s commitment to keep those teams running in spite of adversity. It says with Roush you’ll find stability and you’ll find an owner willing to put performance and future development above the almighty dollar. It says this isn’t a team that’s going anywhere.
In a world where money has become a synonym for talent, I respect Jack Roush’s willingness to find real talent without deep pockets. He’s using his fortune to help those without it, and usher in the stars of tomorrow. It’s a shame there aren’t more owners willing or able to do the same thing because, after all, isn’t this the way things ought to be?
Filed under: Kyle Busch, Roush Fenway Racing, Camping World Truck Series
Roush's 50th Is Braun's First originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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