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Sprint Cup
CUP: Kenseth - We Must Work ‘Extra Hard’
Matt Kenseth finished fourth in the points standings last season...
Matt Kenseth (Right) chats with team co-owner Jack Roush (Left) at Martinsville Speedway last October. (Photo: Getty Images)
Matt Kenseth isn't particularly worried about Roush Fenway Racing's decision to downsize from four to three full-time teams hurting the organization in the 2012 Sprint Cup season.
After all, losing a team means RFR will still field as many cars as every Sprint Cup organization except Hendrick Motorsports.
In fact, downsizing has historically even been to known to help certain organizations in certain cases (i.e. Richard Childress Racing).
So Kenseth sees no reason to sweat RFR's move to discontinue its No. 6 team after the 2011 season.
Well, make that almost no reason.
While Kenseth isn't too concerned about Roush Fenway having fewer people to lean on in 2012, he is a little uneasy knowing where some of its former people have landed.
You see, when Sprint Cup organizations downsize, displaced employees tend to find employment with rival organizations.
And the case of Roush Fenway, which laid off around 100 workers in November, is no different.
The most notable defection to land elsewhere is No. 6 crew chief Drew Blickenserfer, who spent last season with driver David Ragan.
Blickensderfer is now the crew chief for Jeff Burton at RCR while Ragan has landed a ride at Front Row Motorsports.
And there are plenty more ex-RFR employees, with key talents but names not so familiar, who have taken up residence elsewhere in the Sprint Cup garage.
Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup champion and a 2011 Chase driver, recognizes the implications of such movement.
"If there is anything to be concerned or to think about, it is the important people we have lost through the off-season," he said. "People in the organization that had access to everything and are now pretty much at every single different team in the garage. Anything you had that you maybe thought was an advantage last year with things, we learned have disappeared.
"That will make us work extra hard to find something that is better to get an edge on some of those guys again.”
Roush Fenway placed the cars of Kenseth and Carl Edwards in the 2011 Chase, with Kenseth finishing fourth in points and Edwards losing the championship to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker.
Like Kenseth, Edwards doesn't expect the downsizing to really hurt the organization itself, but he can't guarantee it won't have some impact.
“I think it makes all of us realize we have to do the best we can all the time, not just on the race track," Edwards said. "We have to be the best we can with our sponsors and teams and the fans and do everything we can to make the business of this sport work. ... It is sad at anytime to see someone lose their job or be laid off. Nobody enjoys that. As far as our performance, we have amazing support from Ford and the Fenway Sports Group and all of our sponsors and most importantly from (team co-owner) Jack Roush and (general manager) Robbie Reiser. Those guys have made sure that any changes we have made have not let us suffer any performance setbacks.
"Jack and Robbie are very smart racers and they have both raced with nothing. They both had to prioritize for a large portion of their careers and I would say that if it were a game of racing with the least amount of resources, those would be the guys you want. I feel good about that. Robbie and I talked about that a little bit. He feels confident and Jack feels confident and from a resources side, I don’t think we have lost anything with engineering. All our simulation programs and the support from Ford, all of it stayed almost intact and some of it has grown.”
Ragan and RFR teammate Greg Biffle both missed the 2011 Chase but Biffle will be back this year in the No. 16 Ford. The No. 6 team, which all but disbanded when UPS decided not to return as primary sponsor, will compete in only select races this season with reigning Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“The more rules they (NASCAR) make and the more people that leave and come and go and do all that stuff certainly makes it more even or gets information around the garage," Kenseth said. "It seems like there has been some downsizing and less teams. It will be different."
Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
After all, losing a team means RFR will still field as many cars as every Sprint Cup organization except Hendrick Motorsports.
In fact, downsizing has historically even been to known to help certain organizations in certain cases (i.e. Richard Childress Racing).
So Kenseth sees no reason to sweat RFR's move to discontinue its No. 6 team after the 2011 season.
Well, make that almost no reason.
While Kenseth isn't too concerned about Roush Fenway having fewer people to lean on in 2012, he is a little uneasy knowing where some of its former people have landed.
You see, when Sprint Cup organizations downsize, displaced employees tend to find employment with rival organizations.
And the case of Roush Fenway, which laid off around 100 workers in November, is no different.
The most notable defection to land elsewhere is No. 6 crew chief Drew Blickenserfer, who spent last season with driver David Ragan.
Blickensderfer is now the crew chief for Jeff Burton at RCR while Ragan has landed a ride at Front Row Motorsports.
And there are plenty more ex-RFR employees, with key talents but names not so familiar, who have taken up residence elsewhere in the Sprint Cup garage.
Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup champion and a 2011 Chase driver, recognizes the implications of such movement.
"If there is anything to be concerned or to think about, it is the important people we have lost through the off-season," he said. "People in the organization that had access to everything and are now pretty much at every single different team in the garage. Anything you had that you maybe thought was an advantage last year with things, we learned have disappeared.
"That will make us work extra hard to find something that is better to get an edge on some of those guys again.”
Roush Fenway placed the cars of Kenseth and Carl Edwards in the 2011 Chase, with Kenseth finishing fourth in points and Edwards losing the championship to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker.
Like Kenseth, Edwards doesn't expect the downsizing to really hurt the organization itself, but he can't guarantee it won't have some impact.
“I think it makes all of us realize we have to do the best we can all the time, not just on the race track," Edwards said. "We have to be the best we can with our sponsors and teams and the fans and do everything we can to make the business of this sport work. ... It is sad at anytime to see someone lose their job or be laid off. Nobody enjoys that. As far as our performance, we have amazing support from Ford and the Fenway Sports Group and all of our sponsors and most importantly from (team co-owner) Jack Roush and (general manager) Robbie Reiser. Those guys have made sure that any changes we have made have not let us suffer any performance setbacks.
"Jack and Robbie are very smart racers and they have both raced with nothing. They both had to prioritize for a large portion of their careers and I would say that if it were a game of racing with the least amount of resources, those would be the guys you want. I feel good about that. Robbie and I talked about that a little bit. He feels confident and Jack feels confident and from a resources side, I don’t think we have lost anything with engineering. All our simulation programs and the support from Ford, all of it stayed almost intact and some of it has grown.”
Ragan and RFR teammate Greg Biffle both missed the 2011 Chase but Biffle will be back this year in the No. 16 Ford. The No. 6 team, which all but disbanded when UPS decided not to return as primary sponsor, will compete in only select races this season with reigning Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“The more rules they (NASCAR) make and the more people that leave and come and go and do all that stuff certainly makes it more even or gets information around the garage," Kenseth said. "It seems like there has been some downsizing and less teams. It will be different."
Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
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