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Does anyone remember when the Oakland A's traded Jeremy Giambi and everyone thought they had just given up hope way back in 2002? Well I see something like that happening over at the struggling Roush Fenway Racing. Many people think Roush is done and will fold up his operations within the next few years but I don't see it. Roush Fenway Racing hasn't been the greatest team as of late but maybe that's because of some internal issues that I feel Jack Roush is really taking care of this season.
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Greg Biffle hasn't won a race since 2013 and hasn't been competitive for victories like he was in 2008. I am not saying Greg Biffle is a bad driver but maybe it is time for Biffle to hang it up and maybe coach a younger driver like Ryan Reed or Darrell Wallace Jr. keeping the veteran with Roush Fenway Racing in a sort. Biffle had great days as a driver but they have passed and honestly I could see Biffle being the David Justice for the Roush Fenway Racing organization. Put him in the #60 in the Xfinity Series like the team did with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Phoenix to help the younger Roush drivers. Their Xfinity Program has potential to be something big with two big story lines. Look at Ryan Reed, first driver to race in NASCAR with Type-1 Diabetes. Then you have Darrell Wallace Jr., who has been a show to watch on the track. He's the first African American to win a race in NASCAR since Wendell Scott. Those two story lines enough should be something Roush Fenway Racing should invest in in the near future.
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Roush Fenway Racing's last win came at Sonoma in 2014 with Carl Edwards
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Roush Fenway Racing's Cup drivers aren't anything to look past either. Trevor Bayne has gotten better over the last few years at Roush Fenway Racing and so has Ricky Stenhouse Jr.. Both have tracks they can win at in 2017 and I think if both could do so the organization could become the power house it once was in the series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. really has Bristol down and Trevor Bayne is great at the restrictor plate races. A 2nd Daytona 500 victory could be on the horizon for the Knoxville Tennessee native and it could come as soon as next season. Things are looking up at Roush Fenway Racing even if to you they may look done.
The team could also flop if the team isn't used in the right direction but really how much worse could it get then what the team has done since 2013. When Carl Edwards left, the average fan could say the RFR organization died like many say with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Childress Racing but I personally don't think that's the case. When you look at the 2016 Stats for the two drivers Roush Fenway Racing are keeping in Cup Rides you see potential at least I do. The two drivers had a combined 6 Top-5 finishes, 11 Top-10 finishes, and a total of 40 laps led. If these two can begin to put these individual stats into each race every weekend and look to some former teammates like Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, or if Greg Biffle remains in the Cup Series. These two drivers could become something big and something no one expected coming from an organization that looked like it had been shot and left for dead.
I'm not saying expect big things from Roush Fenway in 2017, I am saying don't be surprised if this team surprises you with a walk off home run in the end that could return Roush Fenway Racing to that hallowed Championship conversation. (Koelle.2016)
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