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Filed under: Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR

As Jack Roush made his final left turn on approach to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., just before crash landing his jet on July 27, he appeared to overshoot the runway center line -- the first visible glitch in what turned out to be a disastrous landing, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed in its preliminary report on the crash.

Roush suffered severe facial injuries in the crash of his Hawker Beechcraft model 390 (Premier IA) business jet, including a ruptured left eyeball that cost him the sight in that eye, and was hospitalized for more than two weeks. He was released Wednesday and returned to the track Friday for the weekend's races at Michigan International Speedway.

The preliminary report, a brief account of the facts gathered thus far, did not address the "conflict" with another plane that Roush has spoken of. It also did not detail the role or observations of air traffic controllers working the landing other than to note that they have been interviewed and the air traffic control audio tapes have been secured for further review. Normally, it takes the NTSB three or four months to determine a probable cause for an accident.

The NTSB said amateur video of the approach -- video that apparently has not yet become public -- showed that Roush made a "left base turn" on his final approach to the 8,002-foot runway 18R at Oskkosh.

Roush and his passenger, Brenda Strickland, who also received non-life threatening injuries in the crash, had left Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Mich., at 5:29 p.m CDT, 47 minutes before the crash at 6:16 p.m. They were flying to Oshkosh to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association's Airventure 2010 fly-in convention. The weather was clear and Roush was flying under visual flight rules as he was cleared to land.

 

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Filed under: Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- NASCAR team owner Jack Roush was back at the racetrack at Michigan International Speedway Friday, having permanently lost vision in his left eye but otherwise feeling lucky to have survived yet another plane crash.

And yes, he expects to fly again.

Roush, who crashed his jet July 27 while landing at an air show in Wisconsin, said he ruptured his left eyeball in the crash and doesn't expect to ever be able to see out of it again.

"Everything will come back, except for the eye," he told reporters at Michigan International Speedway. Roush then joked that he uses his right eye to examine spark plugs anyway.

Wearing sunglasses and his trademark Panama-style hat, Roush came to the track at about 3:30 p.m. and was present on pit road for qualifying. He had left the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Wednesday.

 

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Filed under: Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Fifteen days after suffering severe facial injuries when he crashed his jet upon landing at a Wisconsin airport, Jack Roush was released from hospital care.

A statement on the Roush Fenway Racing website said Roush, 68, was released from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., on Wednesday.

Although speculation has abounded that Roush will return to the race track this weekend at Michigan, his 'home' track, the statement said, "It has not yet been determined when Roush will return to the race track."

"I would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and concern I have received the past two weeks," Roush was quoted as saying in the statement. "Our teams and drivers have not missed a beat in my absence, and I am proud of the effort they have put forth. I look forward to rejoining them at the track soon."

During Roush's hospitalization, Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle scored the team's first victory since November at Atlanta when he won at Pocono on August 1.

 

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Filed under: Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR

As new photos of Jack Roush's jet crash were published Monday, the team announced that Roush has been upgraded to fair condition as he recovers from facial injuries suffered in the accident last Tuesday at the Oshkosh, Wis., airport.

The team said the 68-year-old Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing in NASCAR, will continue to be treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "There has been no timetable set for his release from the hospital," said a statement posted on the Roush Fenway website.

As fate would have it, at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle won the first race Roush has missed in years, ending a long winless slump for both Roush Fenway and Ford.

In a statement released by the team, Roush was quoted as saying, "It's a proud day for Ford, Greg Biffle, Greg Erwin, 3M, the Pit Bulls, and all of the wonderful sponsors who have stood by us these last few months.

 

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Filed under: Greg Biffle, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

As far as happy endings go, it would be hard to top Jack Roush's week.

First, the 68-year old NASCAR team owner on Tuesday survived his second plane crash in the last seven years, and then his Sprint Cup Series team -- which had mustered only a single victory since February 2009 -- claimed its first win of 2010 on Sunday.

It's surely a pick-me-up for Roush, who remains hospitalized in the Mayo Clinic with facial injuries sustained when the jet plane he was piloting crashed on landing in Wisconsin.

But beyond the sentimental timing, Greg Biffle's win at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania is pragmatic, a sign that perhaps his Roush Fenway Racing team and the once-mighty Ford Motor Company have started to turn things around with five races remaining before NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Championship playoff run begins.

"When it got to be five (laps) to go, I started thinking. ... this race was meant to be,'' said Biffle, who drives the No. 16 3M Ford. "I started thinking, it's for Jack.

"And then, spending all that time I've spent with the Ford people, how desperate they are to prove they've got a good product -- they've got great cars and trucks -- but they want to prove it on the racetrack. They want to win.

"I just thought this is going to be a great day if I can complete this thing.''

 

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Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR

As Jack Roush continued to recover at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., from facial injuries he received after crash-landing his jet at Oshkosh, Wis., Tuesday, his Roush Fenway drivers said they doubt he'll miss many races.

"I guess he's doing a little bit better today" said Matt Kenseth Friday at Pocono Raceway. "I haven't really talked to anybody there directly, but it seems like he's doing a little bit better, so we'll see him back at the track soon."

Said Greg Biffle, "We're thankful that he's kind of out of the woods now. We know that he's got some surgeries to probably go through and it's gonna be a little bit of a road to recovery, but we know he's gonna be all right and back at it."

Roush was transferred to the Mayo Clinic Wednesday after undergoing surgery Tuesday night at a Neenah, Wisc., hospital.

Roush was able to walk out of the crumpled jet after crashing upon landing, but his face was bloodied from significant facial injuries. The NASCAR owner was attempting to land his Premier Beechcraft jet at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. An aviation buff, Roush was flying in to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture show.

"That's the greatest thing in the world to see him walk out of that airplane," said Carl Edwards. "It's like they say, any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, so we're just glad he's okay."

Said Kyle Busch, "A couple of people this week were mentioning that he needs to go to Vegas and try his luck there because he has some pretty good luck."

Edwards said the airfield Roush was landing at is quite cramped at the time of the show.

"I have flown into Oshkosh a couple of times in my jet and it's amazing. They get more planes in and out of there than anywhere I've ever seen, so it's very tight quarters and there are a lot of planes stacked up one behind the other, all at varying speeds, so it's a high-pressure situation for the guys controlling from the ground and for the pilots," Edwards said.

Asked what it was like not seeing Jack at the track Friday, Edwards laughed as he said, "I won't miss Jack yelling at me telling me what to do this weekend. I think he'll be back real soon. I don't see him missing too much time at the race track."

 

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Filed under: Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR

Jack Roush, co-owner of the Roush Fenway Racing team in NASCAR, was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., on Wednesday evening, the Roush Fenway website reported Thursday. Roush was transferred after undergoing surgery Tuesday night for the facial injuries he suffered after crashing his jet while attempting to land at an Oshkosh, Wis., airport.

Roush, who walked out of the crumpled jet after the crash, remains in serious but stable condition, the site said.

The NASCAR owner was attempting to land his Premier Beechcraft jet at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. An aviation buff, Roush was flying in to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., this week.

Roush's only passenger, Brenda Strickland of Plymouth, Mich., also walked out of the plane after the crash and was hospitalized overnight. She was released Wednesday.

Before being transferred to the famous Minnesota clinic for further treatment of his facial injuries, Roush underwent facial surgery Tuesday night at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisc., the site reported.

The nature of Roush's facial injuries has not yet been publicly detailed, but he was bleeding heavily around the nose and lower face when he emerged from his crashed plane after the accident -- the second plane crash Roush has survived.

Roush's jet was close to the runway when the right wing dipped, the nose veered and the plane belly flopped onto the ground. It cartwheeled nose to tail horizontally before coming to a stop on its belly, with the fuselage split.

 

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Filed under: Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR

As Jack Roush, co-owner of NASCAR's Roush Fenway Racing team, remained hospitalized Wednesday in serious but stable condition, under observation for facial injuries, photos of his airplane's crash landing Tuesday evening have emerged.

TMZ published a gallery of photos, including one showing Roush's jet veering horribly sideways just a few feet above the ground and another as the plane hits the ground and the fuselage begins to break.

Roush, 68, a longtime pilot, was attempting to land his Hawker Beechcraft Premier business jet at the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisc., for the AirVenture Fly-In when the plane crashed on the runway.

Roush and his only passenger, Brenda Strickland, were able to walk out of the badly damaged aircraft with assistance before being transported to a local hospital.

A statement from the Roush Fenway team Tuesday night said Roush was in stable condition, with Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith telling the Associated Press that "There are injuries. Possible surgery.'' Strickland was treated and released Wednesday afternoon.

Roush also survived an airplane crash in 2002 in Alabama and issued a release Wednesday thanking people for "the outpouring of support and well wishes.'' NASCAR and Ford Motor Company issued statements Wednesday offering their support for someone, Ford called, "an icon" in racing.

 

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Filed under: Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- NASCAR team owner Jack Roush is in serious but stable condition after walking away from a plane crash in a jet he was piloting in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

"There are injuries. Possible surgery," Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith said in a text message to The Associated Press. "But he walked out of the plane."

Video taken in the immediate aftermath of the crash shows a fireman spraying foam around the plane, then opening the forward door and peering in. A few moments later, Roush, his face bloodied and blood stains covering his shirt and pants, gingerly walks through the opening.

A backboard is brought up as Roush lies down next to the plane. Meanwhile, his lone passenger, identified as Brenda Strickland, also gingerly makes her way out of the plane on her feet, assisted by rescuers.

Roush, an aviation buff, was expected to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., this week.

 

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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.

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