Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Roush Fenway Racing Texas Preview: Seven Wins Says Roush is a Contender This Week

Kenseth won at Texas in 2002
Matt Kenseth 
Team: No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig

KENSETH CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary: RK-741 (brand new chassis)

MATT KENSETH ON RACING AT TEXAS: "Texas is a place where Roush Fenway as an organization has had a lot of success at in the past, and I just really love going there. We’ll be racing under the lights Saturday night and I think that will just add to the excitement of the racing action at Texas. Texas is high-banked and really fast, but the straightaways are really flat, so it’s always a challenge trying to negotiate that. The track has started to wear out to where you can race multiple lines around the track and it’s made for some really exciting races lately allowing guys to run along the top or the bottom of the track. I really feel like the racing will be great this weekend like it always is, and I’m looking forward to Texas.”

KENSETH CREW CHIEF JIMMY FENNIG ON RACING AT TEXAS: “This will be the first time we’ve raced under the lights at Texas and I don’t think there will be a big difference, but we’ll just make sure that we adjust the car accordingly throughout the race. I’m looking forward to racing at an intermediate track since we’ve had a lot of great runs at these kinds of tracks as an organization. Matt has achieved a lot of success at Texas and our goal is to keep up with the adjustments we need, have fast pit stops, and get the best result we can this weekend.”

KENSETH FAST FACTS:
• In 17 Cup starts at Texas, Kenseth has completed 5,636 of 5,688 laps (99.1 percent) and led for 500 laps
• Kenseth has an average starting position of 18.4 and an average finishing position of 9.5 at Texas
• Kenseth has achieved one win, eight top-five, and 11 top-10 finishes at Texas in the Cup series
• Kenseth holds the record for the most top five (8) and the most top 10’s (11) in Cup action at Texas
• This weekend at Texas, Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford Fusion
• Entering the weekend at Texas, Kenseth is currently 9th in the NSCS driver point standings


Carl Edwards is a 3-time winner at Texas
Carl Edwards 
Team: No. 99 Scotts EZ Seed Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Bob Osborne

EDWARDS CHASSIS CHOICE: RK-748 New chassis

CARL EDWARDS ON RACING AT TEXAS: “I love racing at Texas and it’s been one of our best race tracks. I’ve got some great memories from that place. There’s nothing like standing in victory lane and shooting off those Berettas. That is a fun place to win a race. Martinsville was tough for us. We used up our point lead and now we are going to Texas to get it back.”

EDWARDS CREW CHIEF BOB OSBOURNE ON TEXAS: “Texas is a good track for Carl and we’re taking a new car there this weekend. We had a tough race in Martinsville last weekend, so an intermediate track where Roush Fenway has had a lot of success over the years should be good for us. It will be the first night race we’ve run at Texas so that will be different, but we’re looking forward to it.”

EDWARDS FAST FATS
Carl Edwards will make his 13th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend in the Samsung Mobile 500.
FOR THE RECORD… Edwards has accumulated three wins at the 1.5-mile Texas track, the most of any active Sprint Cup driver. Edwards’ average NSCS start at Texas is 16.1 and his average finish is 17.7. He is one of only two drivers to win both the spring & fall events in the same year at Texas.
IN THE LOOP… According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics, Edwards ranks third in laps led with 476 in the past 12 races. He has also turned 270 of the track’s fastest laps, which is third best. He has a driver rating of 96.9, seventh best among active drivers.
REWIND APRIL, 2010… It looked as though Edwards would get a top-10 finish, but instead got caught up in a multi-car accident in the closing laps of the race. He was 10th for the restart on lap 318, but Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon made contact ahead of him which spun Gordon right in front of Edwards resulting in a 33rd-place finish.


Greg Biffle won at Texas in 2005
Greg Biffle
Team: No. 16 3M Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Greg Erwin

GREG BIFFLE ON TEXAS: “I love racing at Texas. We had a couple of chances to win there last year and just had things go wrong. We led over 200 laps there in the fall and had a shifter problem that took us out of contention for the win. Based on how fast our car was at Las Vegas, I feel confident that we can go back to Texas this year and compete for a win if we don’t have anything go wrong.”

BIFFLE CREW CHIEF GREG ERWIN ON TEXAS: “We generally run well in Texas and I believe this weekend will be no exception. The track suits Greg’s driving style and that always helps. Texas allows for fast and exciting racing so it should be a good show for the fans down there. Greg led 224 laps there during the fall race last year and we had a problem with the shifter. He was able to drive back for a top-five finish though. If we can avoid any little problems like that, I don’t see why we can’t get this 3M Ford into victory lane.”

BIFFLE TEXAS NOTES
• Biffle is currently 20th in the Sprint Cup point standings following his 21st-place finish in Martinsville.
• Biffle has an average finish of 19th from an average starting position of 13.3 at Texas Motor Speedway.
• In 14 starts at Texas, Biffle has led a total of 612 laps.
• During the race last fall at Texas Biffle led 224 of 334 laps but a shifter issue that prevented him from being able to put the car in first or second gear late in the race. The shifting issue made it difficult to leave the pits and restart. He was, however, still able to race his way to a top-five finish.


David Ragan is bringing a brand new chassis this week 
David Ragan 
Team: No. 6 UPS Freight Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

RAGAN CHASSIS CHOICE: Primary: RK-750 Brand new chassis; Backup: RK-695 Last ran Phoenix in 2010 as the No. 99 – finished first

RAGAN ON RACING AT TEXAS: "It’s always fun to run a different paint scheme and I think the UPS Freight car is one of the best looking cars of the year. We had a strong run at Texas in the fall, so going back to a track we’ve had success at in the past is always a highlight. The Roush cars are pretty good on mile-and-a-half tracks so that definitely helps our chances. Plus, Saturday night racing is always fun and exciting. I can’t wait to get to the Lonestar state.”

RAGAN CREW CHIEF DREW BLICKENSDERFER ON TEXAS: “We are taking a brand new chassis to Texas this weekend to race the silver UPS Freight Ford under the lights Saturday night. We ran in the top 10 there in the fall and can build on the momentum from our top-10 finish in Martinsville to keep running where we should be. Our cars are getting better every week.”

RAGAN FAST FACTS
* Ragan will drive the UPS Freight Ford in Texas. It will be the first race this season that Freight has appeared on the No. 6.
* Ragan holds his best qualifying average of 14.5 at Texas Motor Speedway compared to any other track on the circuit.
* Ragan has competed seven times in the Nationwide Series at Texas Motor Speedway. He claimed the pole in the spring of 2007 and has three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
* Ragan also has three Camping World Truck Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Ragan has two top-10 finishes in just those three starts. His best finish was sixth in the fall of 2007.
* Bobby Brown, a UPS employee from Fort Worth, Texas will deliver the green flag for Saturday night’s race. Brown was selected for this honor for his outstanding customer service and community involvement, and will also have his name featured on the C-Post of David Ragan’s UPS Ford.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Releases

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