Roush does not have a Bayne problem, they've got their own issues

Matt Kenseth's results on Saturday night ended much different
than many in the media and fans expected it to.
(May 11, 2018 - Source: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images North America

For two weeks now all we have heard is how Matt Kenseth was going to come in and make an instant change with the 6 car.  The media, along with leadership at Roush had been laying the results on Trevor Bayne, yet after last night the tides seem to be turning.

On lap 18, Kenseth complained of the car being "too tight."  Matt Kenseth never could get the 6 car passed the 25th position, he was put a lap down before the competition yellow at 32.  Kenseth complained much of the same about the handling of the car that Trevor Bayne has since early Summer 2017.  "Car is pretty much undriveable right now, no rear grip, ton of air in the tire"

By the mid-point of the event, Kenseth was three laps down and still struggling with the handling of the race car and the crew chief Matt Puccia who has been on the pit box since 2016 made very little headway for improvement.   The end result was when Kenseth was four laps down and involved in the late race wreck.  

“Freaking four laps down and we wreck, you’ve got to be (expletive) me,” Kenseth said on his radio.

It's not hard to analyze the problem here if you've been following Trevor Bayne for the past few years and really been listening to his radio since last May.  Bayne's radio transmission has been pretty much of the same reaction towards the car as Kenseth's was night, so when have listened to fans and the media bash him for the past two years you have to put the margins together and realize that this has been a major cause from 1-the crew chief and 2-the equipment.  

“I expected us to be a little more competitive than that, so it was a really tough weekend all around,” he said. “We obviously have some work to do. The good news is, it’s got to get better.”

Kenny Wallace this morning on twitter had an observation as well.  He put "Matt Kenseth has proven the 6 needs work, this makes Trevor Bayne look good."

I am really proud of Trevor Bayne for showing up to Kansas and being a "team player."  I wouldn't expect anything less of this young man.  If you really know him, you know, he has the determination and the will to want to compete and succeed as much as anyone else in this garage.  What Roush Fenway did to him was out of line and last night results are just a showing of just how far off this organization truly is.

Even the way Trevor Bayne is, deep down, in the back of his mind he probably was thinking "see Jack, Steve, Mark this wasn't me, it's your cars."  I think that so many people had those high hopes for Kenseth to jump right into this and see him run better than Trevor Bayne but didn't realize just how far off this team really is right now.  I know the person this young man is, he is going to take it in stride and go week to week and make the best of things.  However with the results that the team got last night it proved one thing.

So in other words, Roush does not have a Bayne problem; they've got a problem with equipment. 

It is something I've preached since Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won at Talladega last year, Bayne has been given the short end of the stick at RFR.  The equipment has been different, the setups just aren't up to par compared to the 17 car.  Those that want to compare Trevor and Ricky's accomplishments in the NASCAR Xfinity Series also need to remember, Trevor Bayne missed much of 2012 because of a sponsorship issue, and his issue with MS in 2011 cost him as well.  He came into the deal when the equipment began to fall off with the company.  

There is a margin to fall back on and Roush lost it around 2012.  No one knows where they did, I have my own theory but I will not go into it.  Yet this company began to struggle well before Bayne and Stenhouse were in their seats, it is the reason that drivers like Kenseth himself, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are no longer with the organization.  Biffle once called it a sinking ship.

You can fish around for the problem all you want but I've listened to this teams radio for the past 4 years since Bayne became a full-time driver and if you want to lay it on feed back to the team.  I have heard Bayne give the same feedback to the team and crew chief that Kenseth did.  It's the crew chief and the engineers that have to take what the driver gives them and make the car better.  simple air pressure adjustments don't fix ill-handling race cars.

So as I said before, Roush doesn't have a Bayne problem, they've got their own issues to fix.