Roush Fenway Racing Contract Talk

12 Races into 2014 and Edwards and Biffle are Still FA's

By Richard Tix

Coming into the 2014 season a few drivers were on the hot seat and remained free agents. We are now 12 races into the season and typically contract talks (or lack there of) start to pick up. Rumors start flying and everyone seems to have an idea of where a driver should go or stay.

Going into Kansas NASCAR fans learned of a new Clint Bowyer contract extension. He signed a new 3 year deal with MWR and also 5 Hour Energy. He also learned he and his wife will be expecting a child with a "dingy."

Aric Almirola was also a free agent off the board early this season as he also signed a new extension with RPM (separate rumors come with RPM and Toyota, but that's a different matter). So that leaves us with a couple of big names (check out the 2014 Contract Year: NASCAR Drivers article from the start of 2014)

Just this past weekend Roush Fenway Racing announced that Trevor Bayne will be driving for them full time. Trevor will be running the #6 car with a full sponsorship from Advocare. By bringing the number 6 back on the track it still seems as though RFR is looking at the very least being a 2 car team. But, bringing the 6 back and not filling in for the 99 or 16 still leaves the door open to having a four car team in 2015.

The news is still out on Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. With Bayne now in at RFR (and Stenhouse Jr still under contract) I will make an assumption that one driver is out the door.  In my opinion Carl has much more in the tank and is a better title contender than Biffle so he would be the easy choice for RFR to bring back.

But the question remains, does Edwards want to come back? True, he has been so close to winning a title with his current team, but after watching Matt Kenseth in 2013 and Kevin Harvick this year have success after leaving is it weighing on his mind?

The Biff has spent a long and successful career with Jack Roush, but he is at a cross roads in his career. I think a move for him could be in his best interest. Maybe that one last shot of fresh air would help prolong his career and finally give him another shot at a title?

Big rumors have been going around that he could be moving to Michael Waltrip Racing to join Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer. After seeing Truex Jr leave I think MWR has been wanting to get back to a three car operation. Biffle coming in would give MWR the sponsor ship (assuming 3M moves with him) to add that third car back into the mix.

I think a move to MWR would be good for Biffle and MWR as they would add another veteran driver. As for Carl, I can only see him moving if Joe Gibbs Racing opens up a fourth car for him. I think JGR has the operations to run four cars and could be a power closer to Hendrick with a fourth driver as good as Carl. In the end I do think Carl will stay put in the 99 at RFR though. As the weather heats up, so should the contract talks and eventually NASCAR fans will figure out where these guys will end up.


What do you think? Where should Edwards and Biffle go? Should they stay? Will RFR be a four car team in 2015? Will MWR open up a third spot? How about JGR? Let me know your thoughts!

Driver Spotlight: Greg Biffle

2014 Driver Spotlight on Greg Biffle

By Richard Tix

News broke Monday 5/5 this week that Clint Bowyer has reach a contract extension with Michael Waltrip racing and also with 5 Hour Energy. Bowyer got a multi, 3 year deal with both team and sponsor, so who did that leave in the contract spotlight?

The obvious answer is Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. Both Roush Fenway Racing drivers are in the last years of there contracts and could be moving after the season. Most would think that RFR would not want to lose both drivers in the same season, but so far in the 2014 season we have only heard rumors of the two side working on a new deal.

Biffle has been with the team his whole career and this could be a key season for him with the contract talks on the line. Should he look to see if another opportunity would open up that could give him one last shot at a title, or should he stay with the stable option that he knows?

One thing is for sure, his 2014 season has started to turn around after a slow start. Biffle left Daytona confident finishing 8th but for the next 5 races he rolled downhill, at one point finding himself 20th in points.  After hitting that low the Biff has turned his season around.

In his last 4 races he has 3 top 10's and two top 5's (2nd, 5th, and 6th) with Talladega being one of his best races. Biffle lead 58 laps on Sunday and looked like one of the cars to beat down the stretch. In the end, a late caution came out to end his chances and he finished 2nd. 

In that four race stretch his lone non top 10 was a 15th place finish at Richmond. After 10 races in the 2014 season Greg Biffle has climbed all the way back to 8th in the Cup Standings. A lot of this is due to just how much better he is running. 

In his last 5 races his average running position during races is 11.4 which is much better than the 20th average during his first 5 races. So he isn't just finishing better but as a whole he is running closer to the front for more of each race. More proof of this? During the last 5 races he has run 1,209 laps in the top 15 (of 1,802 total laps in those 5 races) compared to 611 laps in the first 5 races (1,472). This includes the Texas race where he ran all 340 laps in the top 15.

So, the next step for Biffle is getting a win in 2014 so he can know he will be in the Chase at least one more time with RFR. After that, it will be a waiting game while both sides decide if a deal can be done or if the two party's will move there separate ways.


More Articles

• 2014 Contract Year
• This Week in NASCAR: 5/5
• Driver Spotlight: Jeff Gordon
• Driver Spotlight Archive

2014 Contract Year: NASCAR Drivers

By Richard Tix

As in normal NASCAR fashion, the 2014 season will start and many drivers will not know where, or if, they will be driving in the Cup Series in 2015. NASCAR Behind the Wall will take a look at the top drivers that are not under contract for the 2015 season.

Clint Bowyer

Bowyer had a controversial 2013 season with Michael Waltrip Racing, in fact 2012 ended with the Gordon controversy too. With all of that said, Bowyer is also in the last year of his contract with MWR with no plans announced yet (rumors have been out there they're working on a deal). Bowyer has been a great fit with MWR in a marketing sense but he has also made the Chase the past two years. In 2014 Clint will be the lead dog at MWR with Martin Truex Jr out after NAPA left town. So, can MWR really afford to ship Bowyer out and look for a new top driver in the same season?

 **Update 5/5: Clint Bowyer and MWR reach a new 3 year extension. Also Clint, MWR and 5 Hour energy reach a 3 year extension. **

Carl Edwards

Carl enters the 2014 season with no idea where he will be in 2015. He and our next driver, Biffle, have both been with RFR their entire careers. Both have not had contract renewals yet for any season past 2014. So will Roush bring back Edwards if he has another stretch run where he struggles like in 2013? It will be interesting to see if one, none, or both drivers are brought back in 2015. **Update 4/16: NBC Sports link on contract talks**

**Update 7/28: On Sunday it was officially announced that Carl Edwards would not be coming back to RFR. There had been speculation, but this was the first official word to come from anyone. No word on the official landing point of Edwards, but most believe (I thought he would possible stay put back in RFR Contract Talks) it will be Joe Gibbs Racing where his fellow teammate Matt Kenseth left for a short time ago**


Greg Biffle

During the 2012 season Roush Fenway Racing announced it was parting ways with Matt Kenseth and he was heading to Joe Gibbs Racing leaving Greg Biffle the long standing team member. Could the same thing happen in 2014 with the Biff? Greg Biffles contract will be up after 2014, and while he has been consistent, he doesn't seem to win as much as some would hope. So, is the Biff on his way out at Roush? If so, where will he land? He is on the back half of his career so will he land another major ride before its all said and done? **Update 4/16: ESPN link on contract talks.**

Jamie McMurray

McMurray always seems to the guy that gets the boot off a team. Maybe this mary-go-round ride will have him back at Roush after this season? What is known, is that McMurray's contract is up after the 2014 season. He could be brought back, but with so many young guys on the rise and the fact that McMurray has been hovering around the top 20, I can imagine Ganassi Racing looking for new talent to fill his spot.



Marcus Ambrose

2014 is Ambrose's last season under Richard Petty Motorsports contract. I also believe that RPM will not bring him back in 2015. Marcus is a great guy, but he has not proven that he can win at any place but a road course. I can see them maybe working a deal to run the two road courses on the year but one has to think that RPM wants to put a guy who can win week after week out there. But, maybe Ambrose can find an early season win at an oval and change everything?


Aric Almirola **

Another RPM guy in the last year of his contract, Almirola has shown some promise in his young career. Is that promise going to be enough for RPM to bring him back for another shot, or will they look to start over with even younger guys? RPM has a few young guys in development that they could bring up (Ryan Truex and Corey Lajoie). With two guys having expiring contracts will RPM make the move towards youth now or hold over for a year or two?

 **Since originally writing this article Aric and Smithfield inked a 3 year deal. So it looks like some of the in season pressure will be off of him and the #43 team. I still included him in this article not only because he started the offseason under pressure but also so fans don't miss that he was resigned.**

Danica Patrick

Stewart-Haas Racing just brought in two new drivers so I can not see them making another big splash after the 2014 season, but the fact remains that Danica's contract is up after the season. Danica may not have proven anything yet on the track, but she is a cash cow off of it. Even when she isn't winning, the car is still bringing in money. Maybe with Smoke, Kurt, and Harvick bringing in the top 10's and Win's SHR will take the loss (or win) with Danica and all the money she can bring in and resign her. Who knows maybe Danica will want to jump ship? (All speculation because her contract isn't out in the media. Sounds like GoDaddy isn't resigned yet past 2014. Seems like they would want to bring back a cash cow even if she doesn't win)

Well that's it for 2014, these are the drivers on the line. Let me know what you think on Twitter! Who will be back with there same teams? Who will find a new team? Who will be out of NASCAR? Who will win a race in 2014?