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: Greg Biffle

Greg Biffle 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

The 2014 season didn't go how Greg Biffle planned I am sure. He ended the season without a win, barely made the Chase, and overall just wasn't fast from week to week. As I have mentioned before on this blog, Roush Fenway Racing might take some of the blame for its drivers lack of speed in 2014.

Was it the engines? Was it RFR adapting to the new package NASCAR offered slowly? Was it the drivers? Or was it a combination of all of them?

It's easy to say it was a combination, because almost everything isn't laid 100% on one thing. I do think a big part of it was between the engines being a bit off compared to normal and RFR adapting slowly to the new package.

However, I don't think Greg Biffle gets a complete pass here. Carl Edwards had the same equipment and resources and still found a way to win two races in 2014. Where was Greg? His average finish of 16.4 was the second worst mark he has had in his last 7 seasons. He also tied a career low in top 5's with 3 total (full time seasons only). 

In 2015 Biffle will head into the season with RFR as the veteran on the three car team after Carl Edwards bolted to JGR. Biffle could step into the role and help Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr out in developing during the 2015 season. 2015 will be a big season for Biffle after struggling in 2014.

The Biff isn't getting any younger and his window of opportunity for a NASCAR Cup Title is slowly closing. Not only that bad he is quickly passing his prime years in the sport at the age of 44 (will be 45 in 2015).

Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations:

• Expectations will once again be to make the Chase in 2015. A driver with his experience and amount of wins should be looking at nothing less than that. Realistically he also needs to help groom two young drivers for RFR. Biffle has been a pretty stand up guy in NASCAR so it should come natural. I really think his peak is past him in NASCAR and it will start to show. That doesn't mean his days of notching top 10's and a win here of there are done, but it may start to be a bit more time in between each. He is still a force at tracks like Michigan as long as RFR figures out there 2014 struggles, but when RFR struggles the Biff wont have enough to overcome. 2015 will be the first time he has back to back win-less seasons in his career, but expect 4-5 top 5's and 12-14 top 10's.

List of Previous Driver Spotlights

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

2014 Team Spotlight Review: Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

Season Preview

2014 Team Stats

Wins: 2

Top 5: 11

Top 10: 30

Pole: 0

In 2013 RFR had to watch former RFR driver Matt Kenseth dominate most of the year racking up 7 wins. In 2014 they had to think all season long about who was coming back in 2015. Was that a factor in why the team didn't quite perform up to expectations? We may never truly know, but in 2014 Roush Fenway just didn't have the speed that other teams did have (including another Ford team, Penske). 

In the end it may have also helped lose another one of RFR top drivers for the 2015 season, Carl Edwards. But lets stick to the season in review, 2014.

In 2014 all the major stats were down from 2013. All together RFR only had two wins (both Carl Edwards), 11 top 5's, and 30 top 10's. Most concerning is not one of the three drivers found a pole award in 2014, which is explained because of there lack of power. 

Still, in a disappointing season RFR manage to get two drivers into the 2014 Sprint Cup Chase (Edwards and Biffle). 

Carl Edwards

• 2014 marked Carl's last season with RFR, but lets focus on the season itself. Not many times during the season did I think to myself that Carl was one of the fastest cars on the track. Actually, it seemed like most of the year he hung out from 8-15th each race. Yet, he was still the best RFR driver in 2014 (statistically speaking). Carl ended up with his third straight season of 13+ average finish position (15.1). He had 2 wins, 7 top 5's, and 14 top 10's while finishing 9th in points (which was actually his highest finish since 2011).  

Greg Biffle

• 2014 was Biffle's worst season since his down year in 2011 when he also came up win-less. Even at tracks he normally runs well at he seemed to lack the speed he needed to run up front. He finished the 2014 season with 0 wins, 3 top 5's, and 11 top 10's while finishing the season 14th in points. However, he did make the Chase since it was expanded this season to 16 drivers.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

• Was it the lack of RFR speed? Or was it a huge driver regression? Not sure what happened but the promise of Ricky's Rookie 2013 run is all but forgotten after 2014. He again didn't have a win, he had the same amount of top 5's (1), and 5 top 10's (up from 3), yet his average finish ended up being 22.4 (down from 18.9). 2015 will be a big season for Ricky and RFR.

Previous Team Spotlight Review: Michael Waltrip Racing

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.


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