On Wednesday, Claire B Lang interviewed crew chief Bob Osborne on his return to the top of the pit box for Roush Fenway Racing with Trevor Bayne. He said he always had the intention to return to the track from the time he stepped down in 2012.
"His technical skill is very high, uh the experience level isn't, um, isn't there yet." stated Osborne on Wednesday night. "He has some cup experience, and of course some Nationwide experience and shown potential at both levels. Just think that the skill level that he has and the potential that skill level has to grow yet is impressive to me."
Then Osborne said the one thing that comes to mind when you really think of Trevor Bayne outside of the race car. "On top of that his attitude is phenomenal to me, you won't find a happier fellow in the garage area."
Bayne always has a smile on his face, through the good and the bad. Lang even mentioned, every time he is interviewed he has that smile on his face. Osborne worked with Carl Edwards when he first came into the series and there was a lot of success with the two paired together. Osborne feels that that Bayne will have to adapt to the changes of the length of races, both mentally and physically.
There are some fans that question the pairing, as Edwards success faded away with Osborne in their final year together but this will be a fresh start, with another "Bright eyed, bushy tail" driver as Lang called Bayne.
There are several people from the media saying that Jack Roush will not give Bayne time to pull in the success that he has with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., however, with Bayne's experience already running for the Wood Brothers team the last few years, he knows some of the techniques needed to perform in the Sprint Cup Series cars. Also with the engine and aero package being changed in Sprint Cup, it might favor someone like Bayne who has been racing full-time in the Xfinity Series (then Nationwide) over the past few seasons.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Osborne to crew chief Bayne in 2015
Trevor Bayne will have a one of Roush Fenway's veteran crew chief's atop of his pit box in the 2015 season. Roush Fenway Racing announced this morning that Bob Osborne will be making his return to the pit box after a two-year hiatus from crew chiefing in the sport. Osborne was the crew chief at Charlotte when Bayne failed to make the field in the October event, the team likely will be falling back on the No. 99 team's points from 2014 in 2015 to start off the season.Osborne stepped down in mid-2012 because of medical issues, until stepping down he served as crew chief for Carl Edwards from 2004-2012, all but 27 races in his career. This will be Bayne's first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series after serving part-time with Wood Brothers Racing team for the past four seasons and becoming the youngest ever winner of the Daytona 500.
Bayne has worked with Mike Kelley and Chad Norris in the NASCAR Xfinity Series most of his career, so Osborne will be a different mix on top of the pit box. Osborne has nine years of experience as a crew chief with 297 starts, 18 wins, 86 top-fives, and 142 top-tens, along with 11 poles, mainly coming from Carl Edwards' performance. After New Hampshire in July of 2012, Osborne stepped down because of his illness and Chad Norris took over his position.
Bayne's former Sprint Cup crew chief Donnie Wingo at the Wood Brothers organization has moved on to work with David Gilliland at Front Row Motorsports.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
What Jack Roush bringing back the No. 6 to a long-time fan
If you have been a fan for a long period of time you know the history that Mark Martin had with Jack Roush's team in the No. 6 Fords. For the majority of Mark Martin's career he raced in Roush's Fords and was able to win 35 Sprint Cup Series events with the organization from 1988-2005.
I was a fan of the Batesville, Arkansas driver from the time he stepped into Roush's No. 6 Strohs Light Fords in 1988. Mark never raced anyone with hard aggression on the track, I liked how he could win races without the bumper like Earnhardt Sr., and Rusty Wallace. Mark was the gentleman's racer. To this day, I think Mark and Jack were robbed of at least two championships from NASCAR on stupid calls in 1990 and 2002.
When Mark left Roush I went for a different driver because I am a long-time Ford Racing fan. I had a lot of hard feelings when Mark departed. I knew he and Jack Roush still had a solid relationship with one another because they were a strong pair through the years. When the announcement was made last May that Trevor Bayne was to bring the No. 6 Advocare Ford Fusion up to the Sprint Cup Series its return, it made things clearer for myself that Carl Edwards was not going to be making his return. So I had a decision that I'd go with the car that I grew up rooting for as a fan.
In a lot of ways I feel Mark Martin and Trevor Bayne are a lot a like in their driving styles. Neither have a very aggressive style, which Trevor is criticized for a lot. Trevor carries himself off the track with a lot of respect just like Martin did in his career.
In November I asked Mark if he was ready for the 6 to make its return
Mark Martin ✔ @markmartin Follow
I was a fan of the Batesville, Arkansas driver from the time he stepped into Roush's No. 6 Strohs Light Fords in 1988. Mark never raced anyone with hard aggression on the track, I liked how he could win races without the bumper like Earnhardt Sr., and Rusty Wallace. Mark was the gentleman's racer. To this day, I think Mark and Jack were robbed of at least two championships from NASCAR on stupid calls in 1990 and 2002.
When Mark left Roush I went for a different driver because I am a long-time Ford Racing fan. I had a lot of hard feelings when Mark departed. I knew he and Jack Roush still had a solid relationship with one another because they were a strong pair through the years. When the announcement was made last May that Trevor Bayne was to bring the No. 6 Advocare Ford Fusion up to the Sprint Cup Series its return, it made things clearer for myself that Carl Edwards was not going to be making his return. So I had a decision that I'd go with the car that I grew up rooting for as a fan.
In a lot of ways I feel Mark Martin and Trevor Bayne are a lot a like in their driving styles. Neither have a very aggressive style, which Trevor is criticized for a lot. Trevor carries himself off the track with a lot of respect just like Martin did in his career.
In November I asked Mark if he was ready for the 6 to make its return
Mark Martin ✔ @markmartin Follow
RT
Roush's legacy began with the No. 6 Ford in 1988 in NASCAR, it will return to the track in just about 61 days. It has been a long-time coming for Bayne and the car number, as Bayne has been with Roush's organization since the fall of 2010 and Roush has not ran the car number since Ricky Stenhouse had the car on the track at Daytona in 2012 for the Daytona 500. Bayne attempted to make the field at Charlotte and did not have any points to fall back on when he did not have the speed.
There a lot of old No. 6 fans like myself looking forward to seeing what Bayne can do in Sprint Cup full-time in 2015. Just having the 6 car back on the track fills a void!
Monday, December 8, 2014
Roush could be expanding Xfinity program in 2015
It didn't take long for the news to break last night about Darrell Wallace Jr., wanting out of his deal at Joe Gibbs Racing and as soon as it did the first organization that popped up as the possible organization for the 21 year old driver to go to was Roush Fenway Racing.
The program had only plans to run Elliott Sadler, Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed in the series next season with a part-time program with Sprint Cup Series regular Ricky Stenhouse. Rumors however have changed those plans and have Wallace heading to what could possibly be a fifth car for Roush in the lower division. So what car number would that put Wallace in?
Stenhouse is already set to drive the No. 6 car in a few races next year, however, from what I have been told the organization still has the rights to the No. 17 that Tanner Berryhill has used. So there are possibilities that Roush could run five cars in the series if they needed to do so. A formal announcement to add Wallace to the lineup should come soon, as the expectations are that Trevor Bayne's former crew chief Chad Norris will be taking the role as Wallace's crew chief.
No one could have predicted this when the season ended last month at Homestead-Miami Speedway where Wallace won the season finale in the Camping World Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports. In 6 career starts in the Xfinity Series, Wallace has 4 top-tens and 1 pole, with an average start of 7.2 and average finish of 12.7.
He has made 44 starts in the Camping World Truck Series with 5 wins, 14 top-fives, and 26 top-tens with 3 poles, averaging a 9.9 start and 10.8 start.
The program had only plans to run Elliott Sadler, Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed in the series next season with a part-time program with Sprint Cup Series regular Ricky Stenhouse. Rumors however have changed those plans and have Wallace heading to what could possibly be a fifth car for Roush in the lower division. So what car number would that put Wallace in?
Stenhouse is already set to drive the No. 6 car in a few races next year, however, from what I have been told the organization still has the rights to the No. 17 that Tanner Berryhill has used. So there are possibilities that Roush could run five cars in the series if they needed to do so. A formal announcement to add Wallace to the lineup should come soon, as the expectations are that Trevor Bayne's former crew chief Chad Norris will be taking the role as Wallace's crew chief.
No one could have predicted this when the season ended last month at Homestead-Miami Speedway where Wallace won the season finale in the Camping World Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports. In 6 career starts in the Xfinity Series, Wallace has 4 top-tens and 1 pole, with an average start of 7.2 and average finish of 12.7.
He has made 44 starts in the Camping World Truck Series with 5 wins, 14 top-fives, and 26 top-tens with 3 poles, averaging a 9.9 start and 10.8 start.
Monday, September 1, 2014
With Fennig stepping down, Bayne's crew chief likely down to 3 guys
Jimmy Fennig told reporters this weekend that 2014 would be his last season on top of a pit box for Roush Fenway Racing and plans to retire at the end of the season. So now leaves the question about who will be the crew chief for the 6 car when Trevor Bayne moves up to the Sprint Cup level next season?
I have thought it over and there's likely two choices Roush has in the box to replace Fennig. Bayne's current crew chiefs from the No. 6 Nationwide Series team Chad Norris and Donnie Wingo who is crew chief of the No. 21 car for the Wood Brothers crew. Wingo is a very experienced crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series, while Norris has time in both divisions and has had success with Bayne in the Nationwide Series.
However, Roush might take another direction, possibly adding Scott Graves as the crew chief. Roush likes to have guys with an engineering background on top of the pit box. Graves has had success in the Nationwide Series this season working with Chris Buescher and they were able to score a win a few weekends ago at Mid-Ohio. I don't see a big shakeup with the 17 and 16 crew chiefs as this was Stenhouse and Kelley's first years back together in Sprint Cup.
So now it will be a guessing game until RFR makes the announcement for the 6 team, probably coming late October or early November.
I have thought it over and there's likely two choices Roush has in the box to replace Fennig. Bayne's current crew chiefs from the No. 6 Nationwide Series team Chad Norris and Donnie Wingo who is crew chief of the No. 21 car for the Wood Brothers crew. Wingo is a very experienced crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series, while Norris has time in both divisions and has had success with Bayne in the Nationwide Series.
However, Roush might take another direction, possibly adding Scott Graves as the crew chief. Roush likes to have guys with an engineering background on top of the pit box. Graves has had success in the Nationwide Series this season working with Chris Buescher and they were able to score a win a few weekends ago at Mid-Ohio. I don't see a big shakeup with the 17 and 16 crew chiefs as this was Stenhouse and Kelley's first years back together in Sprint Cup.
So now it will be a guessing game until RFR makes the announcement for the 6 team, probably coming late October or early November.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Did Carl Edwards admit he wasn't a team player for RFR?
Here's the most unethical comment I heard Carl Edwards say during the press conference for Joe Gibbs Racing on Tuesday
" “I have learned a lot about how to be a good teammate. Admittedly, I was not the best teammate at the beginning of my career.
“I felt I had a lot of the every man-for-himself attitude, and wanting to prove myself regardless of any damage to the relationships. I didn't think of it is a real team atmosphere.”
So did he admit that the last 10 years while being at Roush Fenway he hasn't been a good teammate and worked with the rest of the organization? All in all I think there has been a big cloud over this team since 2011 and it all came about when Edwards got that big multi-million dollar deal to stay with Ford Racing. You know that when that happened, Greg Biffle took a pay cut to stay on board the organization, Kenseth was hurting for sponsorship on the 17 car and there were a lot of rumors brewing about who Edwards' replacement was going to be if he left.
Now 3 years down the road, maybe some answers to the questions that fans have been having about Roush Fenway's problems are coming out of the closet. Sure, Roush is a different structured organization than the Gibbs guys are, but if you can't work together as a whole team there's going to be some problems amongst the drivers and the teams crews. I really think that there was a lot of animosity within the RFR organization because of Carl Edwards. I've heard different stories of crew members taking pay cuts, and it was because of Bob Osborne first getting a huge (worthless deal) to start it all off to try and sway Edwards into staying, and then the big contract signing.
Now I look at the different approach for 2015. People aren't seeing a lot of star power within Roush, however Jack Roush has said it numerous times, Ricky Stenhouse is as good of driver as anyone, he has just struggled to work himself into the cup level but when he does there will be success. Trevor Bayne will be moving up full-time and he has quite a bit of Sprint Cup Series experience from being behind the wheel of a Wood Brothers car the last 3 seasons. Bayne will be success, people just aren't giving the driver a chance to prove himself. Greg Biffle will be the lead man, and I think in the past few weeks we've seen a difference in Biffle for a major reason - the organization is taking what he says and putting it into the cars, instead of taking the info from Edwards.
Then the announcement that Mark Martin is back within Roush. He may not be driving for the organization but this is a soothing ointment to some wounds. Martin has raced for a few organizations since he left in 2007. He is going to be more than a drivers coach, he's going to be a team leader and they've not had that since he's been gone. I believe that he will be able to help the 3 drivers work as a group and find what they're missing on the track. Bayne and Stenhouse are a closer age group so they have a lot more in common and they worked well as a pair in the Nationwide Series, now they'll be able to do so on the Sprint Cup level.
Bayne will be racing the iconic number 6. It was the organizations premier car from 1989-2005, and it is great to finally have the number back on the track. Maybe, just maybe having Edwards leave will be a helping piece to fix some of the issues within Roush. They won't have to pay out that big contract fee and they'll be able to have teammates that really can work together..
Oh and the part about Gibbs. Four cars isn't always a great thing, there's usually someone that gets left out of the picture and I don't see nothing changing about Edwards way of doing thing because when he goes to JGR, Kyle Busch is the top man for Toyota and he's going to want that attention. There's going to be a rivalry within the organization, to me its too many BIG Roosters in little hen house.
" “I have learned a lot about how to be a good teammate. Admittedly, I was not the best teammate at the beginning of my career.
“I felt I had a lot of the every man-for-himself attitude, and wanting to prove myself regardless of any damage to the relationships. I didn't think of it is a real team atmosphere.”
So did he admit that the last 10 years while being at Roush Fenway he hasn't been a good teammate and worked with the rest of the organization? All in all I think there has been a big cloud over this team since 2011 and it all came about when Edwards got that big multi-million dollar deal to stay with Ford Racing. You know that when that happened, Greg Biffle took a pay cut to stay on board the organization, Kenseth was hurting for sponsorship on the 17 car and there were a lot of rumors brewing about who Edwards' replacement was going to be if he left.
Now 3 years down the road, maybe some answers to the questions that fans have been having about Roush Fenway's problems are coming out of the closet. Sure, Roush is a different structured organization than the Gibbs guys are, but if you can't work together as a whole team there's going to be some problems amongst the drivers and the teams crews. I really think that there was a lot of animosity within the RFR organization because of Carl Edwards. I've heard different stories of crew members taking pay cuts, and it was because of Bob Osborne first getting a huge (worthless deal) to start it all off to try and sway Edwards into staying, and then the big contract signing.
Now I look at the different approach for 2015. People aren't seeing a lot of star power within Roush, however Jack Roush has said it numerous times, Ricky Stenhouse is as good of driver as anyone, he has just struggled to work himself into the cup level but when he does there will be success. Trevor Bayne will be moving up full-time and he has quite a bit of Sprint Cup Series experience from being behind the wheel of a Wood Brothers car the last 3 seasons. Bayne will be success, people just aren't giving the driver a chance to prove himself. Greg Biffle will be the lead man, and I think in the past few weeks we've seen a difference in Biffle for a major reason - the organization is taking what he says and putting it into the cars, instead of taking the info from Edwards.
Then the announcement that Mark Martin is back within Roush. He may not be driving for the organization but this is a soothing ointment to some wounds. Martin has raced for a few organizations since he left in 2007. He is going to be more than a drivers coach, he's going to be a team leader and they've not had that since he's been gone. I believe that he will be able to help the 3 drivers work as a group and find what they're missing on the track. Bayne and Stenhouse are a closer age group so they have a lot more in common and they worked well as a pair in the Nationwide Series, now they'll be able to do so on the Sprint Cup level.
Bayne will be racing the iconic number 6. It was the organizations premier car from 1989-2005, and it is great to finally have the number back on the track. Maybe, just maybe having Edwards leave will be a helping piece to fix some of the issues within Roush. They won't have to pay out that big contract fee and they'll be able to have teammates that really can work together..
Oh and the part about Gibbs. Four cars isn't always a great thing, there's usually someone that gets left out of the picture and I don't see nothing changing about Edwards way of doing thing because when he goes to JGR, Kyle Busch is the top man for Toyota and he's going to want that attention. There's going to be a rivalry within the organization, to me its too many BIG Roosters in little hen house.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Martin coming back is a refreshing moment to Roush
It was almost a week ago, fans screaming bloody murder over Jack Roush and Fastenal's announcement, four days later there might been a soothing announcement in the Roush Fenway camp, long-time driver Mark Martin would be coming home to work as a driver development coach and possibly more.
I grew up watching Mark Martin as a driver. Say what you will, Mark Martin is the driver that helped make Roush what it is today, it wasn't Edwards, Kenseth or Biffle. The line of history that Mark Martin put into place at the company is far greater and when he left at the end of the 2006 season it was the start of Roush's troubles in my mind. They lost the company leader, the guy that could put all the right pieces into place.
Martin is someone that might be in Jack Roush's eyes the one that could step in and do part of his job since he has been wanting to step away in some form. Mark Martin will bring back a lot to the table, even though, he is not an engineering, he brings the pieces he gained from organizations like Hendrick, Michael Waltrip, and Stewart-Haas Racing. The company needed someone to come in from the outside and tell them where they are going wrong in places.
Mark Martin and Jack Roush shared one of the longest running deals in NASCAR, from 1988-2006; they were a winning combination on the track. Martin earned 35 of his 40 Sprint Cup Series victory behind the famed No. 6 that will be returning to the track next season with Trevor Bayne behind the wheel. I had a gut feeling back in May, when Martin did the video as part of Bayne coming to Cup, he in some form was returning to the company.
“I’m excited to return to Roush Fenway Racing, as it feels like I’m going home to where I belong,” Martin said in a news release. “I was fortunate to help build this team from the beginning and it’s very humbling to be a part of Jack’s team again. When Jack first hired me in 1988, we didn’t talk about salary or benefits or perks, we talked about testing, tires and putting the right personnel into place to win on the track.
“That commitment is what stood out to me then and it’s still what stands out to me today.”
I have said since he left the organization, it's been lacking a true "leader" form. Martin was the go-to guy for everyone when he was there, he gave advice, helped the teams with car data. He knows his way around the organization and can help fix some of its issues. Martin can help develop drivers like Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse, Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed for the companies future.
I grew up watching Mark Martin as a driver. Say what you will, Mark Martin is the driver that helped make Roush what it is today, it wasn't Edwards, Kenseth or Biffle. The line of history that Mark Martin put into place at the company is far greater and when he left at the end of the 2006 season it was the start of Roush's troubles in my mind. They lost the company leader, the guy that could put all the right pieces into place.
Martin is someone that might be in Jack Roush's eyes the one that could step in and do part of his job since he has been wanting to step away in some form. Mark Martin will bring back a lot to the table, even though, he is not an engineering, he brings the pieces he gained from organizations like Hendrick, Michael Waltrip, and Stewart-Haas Racing. The company needed someone to come in from the outside and tell them where they are going wrong in places.
Mark Martin and Jack Roush shared one of the longest running deals in NASCAR, from 1988-2006; they were a winning combination on the track. Martin earned 35 of his 40 Sprint Cup Series victory behind the famed No. 6 that will be returning to the track next season with Trevor Bayne behind the wheel. I had a gut feeling back in May, when Martin did the video as part of Bayne coming to Cup, he in some form was returning to the company.
“I’m excited to return to Roush Fenway Racing, as it feels like I’m going home to where I belong,” Martin said in a news release. “I was fortunate to help build this team from the beginning and it’s very humbling to be a part of Jack’s team again. When Jack first hired me in 1988, we didn’t talk about salary or benefits or perks, we talked about testing, tires and putting the right personnel into place to win on the track.
“That commitment is what stood out to me then and it’s still what stands out to me today.”
I have said since he left the organization, it's been lacking a true "leader" form. Martin was the go-to guy for everyone when he was there, he gave advice, helped the teams with car data. He knows his way around the organization and can help fix some of its issues. Martin can help develop drivers like Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse, Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed for the companies future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)