Roush dominance? Not so flat
Not so fast, I mean.
The Roush Mob must be looking forward to Sunday, when the Cup Series heads to Texas. Who can blame them? Greg Biffle won last spring's race, Jamie McMurray (the newest Roush-ette) was second, and the other four Roush drivers finished in the top 20.
The November race was even better for Roush: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth finished 1-2-3; Kurt Busch was 10th, and Biffle was 20th.
But at flat tracks, Roush has come up, well, flat.
Consider this from Dustin's story in today's paper:
Martinsville is a concern because Biffle and Edwards struggle there and it's one of the 10 tracks in the championship chase. Biffle and Edwards lost last year's title to Tony Stewart by 35 points. Stewart outscored Biffle by 91 points in both Martinsville races. Stewart outscored Edwards by 141 points.
Roush struggles, relatively speaking, at Phoenix and New Hampshire, which, like Martinsville, are on the chase schedule. Here's an expanded version of the chart that ran in today's paper.
It suggest a couple of things. One, Hendrick drivers as a group are better than the Roush drivers at the three flat tracks. And two, the Hendrick drivers appear to be getting better on the flat tracks. Scary thought, that.
ROUSH VS. HENDRICK
A look at how the sport's top two teams have fared at flat tracks since the start of last year's championship chase. This chart shows how the drivers on each team finished in the past four flat-track races.
New Hampshire, Sept. 2005
3. Matt Kenseth (Roush)
4. Greg Biffle (Roush)
7. Mark Martin (Roush)
8. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick)
13. Brian Vickers (Hendrick)
14. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick)
19. Carl Edwards (Roush)
27. Kyle Busch (Hendrick)
35. Kurt Busch (Roush)
Roush average: 13.6
Hendrick average: 15.5
Martinsville, Oct. 2005
1. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick)
3. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick)
6. Kurt Busch (Roush)
9. Kyle Busch (Hendrick)
12. Matt Kenseth (Roush)
20. Greg Biffle (Roush)
26. Carl Edwards (Roush)
34. Mark Martin (Roush)
36. Brian Vickers (Hendrick)
Roush average: 19.6
Hendrick average: 12.25
Phoenix, Nov. 2005
1. Kyle Busch (Hendrick)
2. Greg Biffle (Roush)
3. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick)
6. Carl Edwards (Roush)
7. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick)
14. Mark Martin (Roush)
16. Kenny Wallace (Roush)
26. Brian Vickers (Hendrick)
32. Matt Kenseth (Roush)
Roush average: 14
Hendrick average: 9.25
Martinsville, April 2006
2. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick)
3. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick)
5. Kyle Busch (Hendrick)
8. Brian Vickers (Hendrick)
9. Jamie McMurray (Roush)
13. Mark Martin (Roush)
16. Carl Edwards (Roush)
24. Matt Kenseth (Roush)
31. Greg Biffle (Roush)
Roush average: 18.6
Hendrick average: 4.5
Comments (1)
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I would certainly agree Hendrick is better on the flat tracks. They still aren't on the Roush level at the 1.5 mile and 2 mile tracks. Hendrick owns the advantage at the plate races. That said, New Hampshire, Martinsville, and Phoenix are in the Chase... but so are Kansas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Texas, and Homestead. You can't knock Roush too much a year after all 5 teams make the Chase. Hendrick will likely get 3 in this year along with Roush getting 3 in.
Posted on April 4, 2006 4:18 PM