2015 Team Spotlight Preview: Roush Fenway Racing

RFR 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

2014 Season Stats of Current 2015 Drivers (Bayne included/Edwards not included)

Races: 83

Wins: 0

Top 5: 4

Top 10: 16

Pole: 0

2014 Chase Drivers: 1

The statistics for returning (and joining) 2015 Roush Fenway Racing drivers is a bit underwhelming. Some of that can be credited to a bad 2014 by RFR, but also the fact that the best driver from 2014 left for JGR in 2015 (Carl Edwards).

About 14 or 15 drivers alone had stats as good or better than 0 wins, 4 top 5's, and 16 top 10's which say it all. In 2015 I can not see RFR having as bad of a year as they did in 2014, but then again they lost Edwards who was always good for a win or two. 

In 2015 they will rely on young guys who are unproven and a veteran who is on the back 9 of his racing career. So even if RFR puts a better product on the track they may not end up with better results.

That should still be RFR's key in 2015, better product on the track. That's because they have a ton of young talent that will be ready to make the jump to Cup in the next few years so getting to a point where those young guys have the best car to learn in will be a huge win for RFR in the future. 

Greg Biffle

• In my opinion RFR's 2015 Chase chances all hinge on how well Biffe runs. Biffle has a few years left in the tank to make a run, but I don't think he will ever get that elusive Championship. The nice thing is this new format gives him some new life. I think the goal is to make the Chase in 2015 and see where it can take him, anything less will be disapointing.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

• This past season was a rough year for Ricky. In many ways 2014 was a worse season than his rookie season in 2013. So, year three will be a big year in deciding which way he will go. We know Ricky can win, but can he win at this level? He had back to back Nationwide Championship's before moving up so maybe the pressure got to him last year? Either way, a bounce back season in 2015 will go a long way in his confidence.

Trevor Bayne

• So far in Bayne's Cup career he has run in the famed Wood Brothers #21 and he has also won the Daytona 500. Not a bad start to your career, yet he has not run a full time season or finished top 5 other than his win. Trevor has a lot of work to do but in 2015 he will get that shot in a full time ride with RFR. I don't expect big things from him in 2015 but the opportunity for success is there. RFR's goals for Bayne should be to continue to log some laps and find a way to get him some top 10 finishes.

2015 Driver Spotlight Preview: Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Ricky Stenhouse Jr 2015 Preview

By Richard Tix

Ricky Stenhouse Jr is in a prime spot to succeed at the Cup level. He will be now entering his third year with Roush Fenway Racing (3rd year at the Cup Level as well) which is now slouch of a NASCAR Cup team. 

2014 seemed like it was a down season for RFR and it showed in Stenhouse's performance, but sometimes not everything can be put on the team. On that same team Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle also had slow (or down) season's, but both made the Chase. In fact, Edwards still managed two wins on the season.

So, I still expected more of a second year step for Ricky. However, he still improved in top 10's from 3 to 5 total. He also notched a top 5 early in the season at Bristol. But in the big picture he wasn't near as consistent as he was in his first season (2013). His average finish dipped from a respectable 18.9 in his rookie year to 22.4 in 2014. 

I personally see year three in most young NASCAR drivers careers a big year. I think the first three years can say a lot about a driver and where his career will go. It's not that a driver even has to "break out" in those three years, but its more important to see some steady improvement. 

Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations:

• As I said before, 2015 will come down to "does Ricky Stenhouse Jr improve." Will he improve enough that we can see him becoming an every year top 15 driver? Or will he just end up hanging out most season's in the 15-20 range? I don't think it is too bold to say he will improve a bit on his stats from 2014, but I don't think he jumps too much. I think his top 10 finishes will be around 5-8 in 2015. The bolder prediction is that I think he doesn't make a big jump in a season where I think RFR finds a bit more speed. I expect another slow season at RFR win-wise with Edwards leaving. 

List of Previous Driver Spotlights

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

NASCAR Team Spotlight: Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

The biggest news of RFR in 2013 may not be what they did, but what one of there former drivers did. Matt Kenseth and RFR parted ways at the end of 2012 and it couldn't have gone better for Kenseth. For RFR, Ricky Stenhouse Jr tried to fill the big shoes left by Kenseth in 2013. Stenhouse has an average rookie season but will look to become a mainstay in 2014.

2013 Team Stats

• Wins: 3
• Top 5: 14
• Top 10: 32

Carl Edwards

• Carl's 2013 season started out promising when he broke his win less streak after race number two. He cruised most the season but then the Chase came and things fell apart. Carl struggles in the last 10 races ended up leaving him 13th in the standings. He finished with 2 wins, 9 top 10's, and 16 top 10's as RFR most consistent driver (maybe not during the Chase).

Greg Biffle

• The Biff finished 2013 higher in the standings than Carl Edwards but he also had his struggles. Biffle did find a win at Michigan in 2013 but really struggles to be a front runner. Maybe some of that was the lack of power from Ford, but one way or another, he wasn't great. He finished 2013 with 1 win, 4 top 5's, and 13 top 10's. 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

• I wouldn't call Ricky's first year in NASCAR a good one, but it wasn't horrible (Danica). If there is a positive for him heading into his second full season in Cup it is this, all 3 top 10 finishes of his came in the last 11 races.

Previous Team Spotlight: Team Penske