Scott's Pit Box: My Take On Roush Fenway Reformat

I've been a long-time fan of Roush Fenway Racing, I can remember the first time that Mark Martin got behind the wheel of one of Jack Roush's Ford Thunderbirds in 1988 at Daytona.  There first race was a very rough one, and for the first 1 and 3/4 seasons at Roush, it was a struggle for the organization to find its way until they did in 1989 at Rockingham's North Carolina Speedway.

Jack Roush's teams still looking for right handle in 2015

There is a glare of those struggles going on again, Roush Fenway Racing has been struggling since 2012 and finally in the off-season there was some changes made to the organizations leadership roles in Sprint Cup and overall engineering.  Mark McArdle took on the position as the head engineer of the organization while Kevin Kidd took on the role of Sprint Cup Series director among the team.

Here's the variable in all this, changes made to an organization don't always mean an instant success.  It takes time to put all the pieces in place to become successful.  Roush will have a new car on the track from what I have been told around Texas, I don't expect them to be running with Hendrick Motorsports or Stewart Haas Racing anytime soon, but I do expect to see changes in the way the car is handling.

Roush is in a rebuilding stage.  I have some what compared it to coach Butch Jones at the University of Tennessee when he first took on the job with the Volunteers.  Tennessee was in a struggle with 3 head coaches in the matter of 5 years.  He has had the motto "Brick By Brick" since he came to being the head coach there.  At Roush I feel it's going to be very similar.  And there are going to be some fans that aren't happy with the slow process but this team will get back to where they want to be at, and it might take another year. 

The schematics of the organization have changed and it will take putting all the right formula's in to make sure the team gets back to where they want to be at.  Jack Roush isn't getting any younger and I've noticed more and more than he has realized a lot more of the leadership roles to Robbie Reiser, Steve Newmark and his two newest guys McArdle and Kidd.   Ricky Stenhouse showed some promise last weekend at Phoenix that things were beginning to turn around with a 13th place finish.  This weekend teams will go to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and it has in the past been one of the organizations strongest venues.  Each week will be a learning curve for the organization.

This is Bob Osborne's first season back since 2012

In amongst all the changes, veteran crew chief Bob Osborne has been working with Trevor Bayne in his first season full-time in the Sprint Cup Series.  Osborne apologized last weekend for the ill-handling car he brought Bayne to the track at Phoenix, and I have to put that into the equation as well.

Osborne has been out of the series as a crew chief since 2012, and the cars have had made changes to them that might be playing a big role in how he works the races.  So I believe with Osborne and his engineer team it will take a bit for the team to make a strong showing.  Those that keep doubting Bayne need to realize, he's not in top notch equipment just yet.  If you provide the Tennessee native with the right equipment, he can perform.  He showed that last season when he gave Kyle Busch a run for his money in several Xfinity Series races. 

Trevor Bayne Diehards: Keyscaper Product of the Month

Show your support for Trevor Bayne and the No. 6 Advocare Racing team with Keyscaper's new wireless USB keyboard.  The slick design will have people in your office asking where did it come from?

It comes with Bayne's new Ford Fusion printed on the keyboard, and the iconic #6 as well.   Just plug the usb receiver in to your windows or mac computer and you are ready to go to work typing on this keyboard from Keyscaper.   The keyboard has an instant sleep feature that helps save battery power in the keyboard for long-life of your batteries. 

We are a proud user of Keyscaper products at Trevor Bayne Diehards here's to spreading the word:  Trevor Bayne Wireless USB Keyboard Number 6 Advocare NASCAR

Bayne struggles with ill-handling car to finish 28th at Las Vegas

Trevor Bayne and crew chief Bob Osborne worked together for the third time this season and struggled to come away with a solid finish at Bayne's best track on the circuit.  The team fought an ill-handling race car all afternoon and came away with a 28th place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Early in the race it appeared that Bayne would make progress.   The more than they run the more of a four wheel slide the 6 got, he reported to Osborne that he never felt the side skirts hit.  Bob Osborne decided to take a shim out of the front end to help with the handling.

From that point on the team struggled to find any handle as the track began to get more rubber build up.  Bayne went down a lap by the 60th circuit around the 1.5 mile oval, he reported of being
extremely in the tight center off behind someone else.  A caution soon fell for debris, and the team would not be in contention for the lucky dog.  The team came in and took four tires, but found themselves 2 laps down to the race leaders.

The struggle continued throughout the race and Bayne could only make his way up to 28th by the time the checkered flag fell.  He leaves Vegas p24 in the driver standings and the No. 6 is p27 in owners points going to Phoenix next weekend as the points will be now go off 2015 standings.  Rumors going around are that Roush Fenway will debut a new chassis at Texas Motor Speedway in a few weeks.

Las Vegas Race Preview

This weekend will be the third race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule as NASCAR travels out west for the big west-swing the next few weekends.  Trevor Bayne will be making his fifth career start at the 1.5 mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it is the only intermediate track that Bayne has scored a top-ten finish on in his career.

Bayne's crew chief Bob Osborne has won two races at the 1.5 mile track, with 3 top-fives, and 4 top-tens in 8 starts at the track.  The two will be working together for the third time on the No. 6 Advocare Ford this weekend. 

During Bayne's venture in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Trevor Bayne ran five races, scoring 3 top-fives, and 5 top-tens and never missing a lap in the five events he ran at the track.  Bayne had an average start of 11.6 and an average finish of 5.4 at the venue. 

His four Sprint Cup Series starts at the track amounted to 1 top-ten finish, an average start of 27.8 and an average finish of 18.0 in the No. 21 Wood Brothers car while he was there.  This weekend marks his fifth try at the Las Vegas tri-oval venue.

Bayne gets top-20 in Atlanta

With the first race with NASCAR's new intermediate rules package Trevor Bayne and crew chief Bob Osborne were able to bring home a very hard fought 19th place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Bayne took the green flag from his 29th starting position and was able to find a few positions early in the race.  Fighting a problem early on in the race when the hose on his cool box came unattached he made his way up to 24th.  Bayne said he was losing the nose really bad in traffic, as crew chief Bob Osborne told him to use the in car track bar adjuster for the first time and take 1/4 round out.  The adjustment only made the car worse, as Osborne decided on the competition yellow that they would do a wedge adjustment, tape on the grille and right front tire pressure adjustment. 

After the pit stop Bayne came back out in 24th.  Osborne reported to Bayne that his tires looked the same as the 20 lap run in the practice session on Saturday afternoon so the team had no concern for tire wear.  Bayne would fight a loose off condition until a caution flag fell on lap 93, Osborne called Bayne down pit road for four tires, and a chassis adjustment on his No. 6 Advocare Ford Fusion. 

Bayne returned to the track in 21st.  He would work himself into the top-20 for the first time on lap 101, however, once the race progressed through and rubber began to lay down, Bayne's handling began to turn to a loose condition.  He would fall one lap down to the leaders soon thereafter. 

Osborne continued to adjust on the car throughout the race, and the team ended up falling another lap down to the leaders as the race continued to go green.  Then Bayne missed the big accident of the afternoon with less than 30 laps remaining in the race.  Bayne was called back to pit road for four tires, he returned to the track in 23rd, he would move up to 19th and hold off Justin Allgaier for the position. 

“The beginning of the race we were decent,” said Bayne after the race.  “It was just track position and all the cautions, and that was the biggest thing was track position at the beginning of the race, and in the middle of the race we freed up the car a lot and then about that time we had a long green flag run and the track took rubber and it loosened up even more, so we were just way too loose for the middle 100 laps – and then we got it tightened back up at the end and we could start making ground.  Overall, I thought we executed pretty well for this being our first time working together at a real race track.”

Crew Chief Bob Osborne has had the right ingredients at Atlanta

While it's already snowing in the South near Atlanta this weekend will be the first true test for teams with the new aero package on an intermediate speedway.  If any crew chief has had their hands on the right winning combination at the fast paced track it his Trevor Bayne's new crew chief Bob Osborne.

Osborne won 3 races with former driver Carl Edwards at the track, sweeping the track in 2005 and once again in 2008.  Osborne was on top of the pit box for 13 starts for Roush Fenway Racing from 2004-2012, with 3 wins, 8 top-fives, and 9 top-ten finishes, leading 331 laps, his average start with two drivers at the track is 11.4 and average finish is 13.9.

NASCAR will debut it's new engine package as well as the new aero package that teams will be using on the rest of the tracks on the schedule with the exception of Daytona and Talladega.  The one thing that could play into the hands of Bayne and Osborne is, the driver has ran the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule the last few years full-time and the combination is suppose to be very close to what the Sprint Cup Series teams will be moving to this season.

Last fall at Texas, it looked like Bayne had the fastest car on the track at Texas Motor Speedway until a tire blew out that sent him into the wall.  There is a concern about the tire combination that Goodyear will be bringing to the track as well.  With Atlanta being an older surface, it is one of the venues that seems to put a problem in the equation with crew chief's as they have to keep their driver in place on tire wear.

NASCAR tweaks qualifying rules for Xfinity, Truck Series after crash fest Sunday

Following Daytona's crash fest in qualifying on Sunday afternoon from it's Sprint Cup Series drivers, and replies from fans and drivers on the situation; officials have tweaked their qualifying procedure for restrictor plate qualifying.  At least for the two races this weekend in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Sunday's incident involving NASCAR Sprint Cup veteran veteran Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson after Sorenson blocked Bowyer, NASCAR announced that they have tweaked the package for the two lower divisions this weekend.

How it works:

• The field will be broken into four groups based on a random draw. NASCAR officials will stage each group at the exit of pit road with their left-side tires on the outside white line of the pit stalls. This will eliminate drivers from pulling out of their pit stall and then parking by the exit of pit road before attempting to make a qualifying run.
• When the car begin to roll, it cannot stop, with NASCAR mandating that drivers must proceed on to the track and make a qualifying run. It will be at the driver’s discretion if they want to draft with those in their group or attempt a single car effort.
• The sessions have been shortened from five minutes to two minutes and 30 seconds.
• Between each of the four groups in Round 1, there will be a three-minute break and then a 10-minute break between Rounds 1 and Round 2 with the fastest 24 still advancing into the second round.
• Round 2 will see the 12 odd-ranked vehicles (fastest to slowest) make up the first group with the 12 even-ranked vehicles taking time as the second group. The staging will remain the same as will the session time limit (2:30). Following a 10-minute break, Round 3 will begin.
• Round 3 will take the top-12 cars in the two minute and 30 second allotment to compete for the pole.
   
  “We continue to work in collaboration with the industry to implement the most exciting and competitive qualifying format, especially as it relates to Superspeedways,” said NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell.
  
  “As a result, we have made a few adjustments to the format for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR XFINITY Series events later this week at Daytona. We will continue to review the qualifying format for future Superspeedway events.”