Category: XFINITY Series

Bittersweet Ford Championship Weekend for Roush Yates Engines’ Title Hopes

Mooresville, NC (November 21, 2011) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took a healthy 41-point lead into Homestead-Miami Speedway for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series finale, and proved to the racing world that he is the next great driving talent likely to earn NASCAR’s highest awards and recognition as he scored his first NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. Roush Yates’ Ford FR9 engines powered Stenhouse throughout 2011 that saw him hold the points lead for a near majority of the season (17 weeks), including the final 14. Stenhouse Jr, who earned the championship in just his second season in the Nationwide Series, also scored two victories in 2011, both coming at the Iowa Speedway.

Nearly as impressive was the fact that Roush Yates’ new partnership with JE Pistons had the JE’s pumping life and optimal horsepower through Roush Yates’ Ford FR9 Nationwide Series engines, allowing JE and its parent company, PMI, cause for celebration come Saturday evening. Since late July and through the Homestead-Miami Nationwide Series closer, Roush Yates’ Nationwide engines also were internally protected by Valvoline NextGen racing oil, marking this the first known NASCAR championship, at this level, that used a 50 percent recycled motor oil.

“We have been very pleased with the Ford FR9’s performance and reliability in all Ford Nationwide Series entries this season,” said Doug Yates, CEO of Roush Yates. “We were able to come to Homestead with a comfortable points lead with Ricky, we had won 13 Nationwide Series races with five different drivers, and a championship on Saturday would give us momentum in bringing Ford one more hopefully on Sunday. The season was just incredible and I am so proud of the way Ricky drove our engines to the title.”

Roush Yates’ last Nationwide Series championship was 2007 when Carl Edwards earned the crown.

Edwards, however, was unable to defend his mere three-point Sprint Cup Series lead over Tony Stewart in Sunday’s Ford 400 finale.

In what may go down as one of the most exciting sporting events of all time, Edwards and Stewart swapped leads and toyed with strategies as the two battled through 267 laps on Sunday. In the end, Stewart’s only hope to capture the title was to win the race – even if Edwards finished a close second. That scenario played out, and Stewart found victory lane. Stewart’s three-point bonus for the win erased Edwards’ three-point lead and saw the season points tally end in a tie (Edwards’ bonus point for leading the most laps was effectively negated by Stewart finishing one position ahead of Edwards). Unfortunately for Edwards, a tiebreaker went to Stewart by virtue of having amassed five wins in the final 10 events – to Edwards’ one.

Learn more about Roush Yates Engines at www.roushyates.com.

About Roush Yates

Roush Yates, of Mooresville, N.C., designs, engineers and crafts high performance racing engines with the power to perform and the horsepower and durability you’d expect from legendary NASCAR pioneers Jack Roush and Robert Yates. The partnership of power and precision has come from merging the knowledge and experience of two legendary engine builders, both with a passion for winning today and powering up for tomorrow. In 2009 Doug Yates purchased his father’s half of Roush Yates Engines to become a co-owner in the company.

As CEO, Doug Yates leads a staff of 180 engineers and technicians who design, assemble, test, and service racing engines at two separate state-of-the-art facilities in Mooresville, North Carolina. Here, the best minds and latest technology are hard at work producing over 1,000 racing engines each year for teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA, Grand-Am, FIA GT3, Dirt Late Model, Sprint cars, and NHRA Pro Stock. At Roush Yates Engines, the mission is Power Performance, which is achieved through innovation, design, precision engineering, and skillful craftsmanship. Building the best engines in racing today, providing service that’s second to none, and honoring a commitment to research and development are the heart of Roush Yates Engines.

In June 2011, Roush Yates’ Performance Products division expanded to a new 50,000 sq. ft. retail center in Mooresville to better serve the entire performance industry with mass-produced new parts, customized new parts, and used parts; racer consumables as well as chassis dynamometer testing services.

Homestead, Fla. (November 21, 2011) -Rusty Wallace Racing driver Michael Annett closed out his 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series campaign as the ninth place contender in the championship points standings. The 25-year-old Des Moines, Iowa native looks forward to continuing his partnership with both Rusty Wallace Racing and his sponsor, Pilot Flying J, in 2012.

Saturday night’s Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the last of 34 races on the 2011 circuit. With new partner Combos onboard with Pilot Flying J, Annett headed into the 200 lap event eighth in the championship point race with just six markers separating him from ninth place Brian Scott. After securing a 15th place start, Annett’s goal for the night was to stay ahead of Scott to finish out the season as the eighth place driver in points.

The No. 62 Rusty Wallace Racing pit crew made their first stop of the day under a competition caution on lap 36. Gaining three spots on pit road, Annett was placed in 11th for the restart on lap 39.

Struggling with a loose-to-tight handling racecar, Annett fought lap after lap for top-10 track position. As other cars began to pit around lap 90, crew chief Rick Viers had the No. 62 car stay out for a few more laps. The yellow flag came out on lap 92 and Annett was positioned third on the leaderboard. In for another four-tire stop, he restarted eighth on lap 97.

The caution was back out on lap 130. In order to gain an extra point, Viers kept Annett out on the track to lead lap 134. On lap 135, the No. 62 Pilot Flying J/Combos crew changed four tires, refueled and made a wedge adjustment to their Camry. Annett’s Toyota was back out on the track in 17th for the restart.

The field ran nine laps under green before the track returned to yellow flag conditions. While most cars pitted, Annett stayed out and restarted second with 47 laps to go. The caution was back out on lap 174, and 10th place Annett reported that although he was battling cars with four fresh tires, his last run was the most consistent that the car had been all night. Back in for four Goodyears and fuel, he restarted 11th with 21 laps remaining.

On lap 188, the No. 09 car spun across the track and caught the right front corner of the No. 62 Pilot Flying J/Combos Camry bringing out the last of nine cautions. Before the yellow, Annett was in position to hold onto his eighth place points position. He battled out the final laps with a damaged splitter and a right front tire going down, leaving a strong night to end with a disappointing 19th place finish that knocked him back to ninth in the standings, a mere three points behind eighth place Scott.

“It’s really unfortunate that we weren’t able to hold onto eighth in points, but there was nothing we could do in those last several laps. The damage we suffered from the No. 09 held us back like a parachute,” said Annett, “I’m really proud of the amount of effort and hard work Rick Viers and our whole team put forth this season. A huge thank you goes out to Combos and Mars Inc. for partnering with Pilot Flying J this weekend at Homestead. I really appreciate all of the continued support Pilot Flying J has given me throughout my racing career and look forward to teaming with them again next season. We’ve got some really exciting things coming up the pike for 2012, and I can’t wait to get back to Daytona in February.”

For the latest updates on Michael Annett, please visit www.michaelannett.com.

About Pilot Flying J:

Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 retail locations across North America. Pilot Flying J is also one of the Nation’s largest wholesale fuel providers, delivering over 500 million gallons of fuel to thousands of customers in 47 states and eight Canadian provinces. The company employs approximately 20,000 people and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.

About Mars, Incorporated:

Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned company founded in 1911 and employs 70,000 associates at 250 sites, including 151 factories, in 67 countries worldwide. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, U.S.A., Mars, Incorporated is one of the world’s largest food companies, generating global revenues of more than $30 billion annually and operating in six business segments: Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience. These segments produce some of the world’s leading brands: Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Petcare – PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, SHEBA®, CESAR® and ROYAL CANIN®; Wrigley – ORBIT®, EXTRA®, STARBURST®, DOUBLEMINT® and SKITTLES®; Food – UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS® and SEEDS OF CHANGE®; Drinks – KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – WISDOM PANEL™, SERAMIS®, and COCOAPRO™. For more information, please visit www.mars.com.

The Finish: Joey and the GameStop team put an exclamation point on the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After staring ninth, Joey and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team fought a loose racecar and multiple restarts where he was struggling to find grip, eventually coming home with a 10th-place finish.  The top 10 was Logano’s 15th top-10 run in 22 starts this season.  He also finished with one win, one pole and eight top-five finishes for the 2011 season.

The Race Recap: Logano and the GameStop team got limited practice Friday due to rain but we’re still able to qualify ninth Saturday afternoon in the Gamestop/PDP/Afterglow Toyota.  When the green flag flew on the final NASCAR Nationwide Series event of the season, Logano began a slow and steady charge to the front, picking off cars one at a time despite multiple early cautions, settling into a nice rhythm riding around sixth place.  Following the first round of pit stops it quickly became apparent that Logano’s No. 20 Toyota was too loose and the team would have to work on the handling, especially the few laps coming after restarts.

As the car continued to free up, Logano and Crew Chief Adam Stevens started making a plan on how to tighten the car up without affecting Logano’s middle.  Logano hit pit road under green just prior to halfway for his second stop when Stevens noticed a car spinning on the front stretch.  A great pit call by Stevens had Logano continue on through the pits without stopping, finding him one of just 10 cars still on the lead lap.  When he came back in to pit under caution Stevens called for “wholesale” changes including adding a spring rubber and making a shock adjustment among other changes.

For the remainder of the event, Logano continued to struggle on restarts, often losing several spots before the No. 20 Toyota came around. Logano found himself seventh late in the going and catching fifth and sixth, but several late-race cautions played against the GameStop team.  Logano spent the remainder of the event just trying to hold on, eventually coming home 10th as the checkers flew to end the 200-lap event and the 2011 Nationwide Series season.

Joey’s Quotes: “It wasn’t the way we wanted to end the season with the GameStop Toyota.  We were really hoping to go out here and compete and try and get GameStop a win before the year was out.  But we just really struggled tonight.  It was frustrating to say the least.  I felt like we had a good car, but just like what we’ve fought a lot of times this year and specifically with this tire, we were just junk on the first 10 laps or so after a restart.  Then the car would start to come around, but with the way these races go and with the way aero plays such a part in these races, you just fall behind and you can’t make up that much ground.  The guys up front have clean air and you are stuck in dirty air and by the time the car comes around, you are already a few seconds behind and that’s tough to make up even when you are faster.  I felt like we were on par with those front guys 10 or 15 laps into the run, but with all of the restarts that we had tonight, it just bit us.  We fell back and fell back and just couldn’t make up the ground.  I’m happy we were able to finish 10th, but that isn’t where we wanted to be or where we should be.

“All in all, it was a pretty good season.  There were a few races that I feel like we really should have won and left something on the table. We were able to win at Daytona which was huge for me and for the team.  It still stands as probably the biggest win of my career.  And we were in contention for a lot of races.  Two races that I’ll think about for sure was the first Dover race where we got together with Carl (Edwards) coming to the white flag while racing for the lead and ended up wrecked on the front stretch; and the Bristol night race, where we ran Kyle (Busch) down late in the race from a couple of seconds back and had that photo finish for the win.  It was a blast to get to work with Adam (Stevens) all season long and watch him and this No. 20 team mature.  All but one of those guys was new to the team this year, so it was a growing year for all of us.  It was also a lot of fun to work with Jason (Ratcliff) and the No. 18 guys for a couple of races.  The more you work with people, the more you can take away from it all.  And of course, it was great to work with GameStop again. They are just an awesome sponsor and they’ve been there from the start of my Nationwide Series career.  You don’t see that very often these days, so to have a sponsor there that keeps coming back and that has such a great relationship with a driver and team is pretty cool. I look forward to working with them well into the future and seeing more and more of their cool paint schemes.  Congrats to Ricky Stenhouse for winning the Nationwide Series Championship.  It’s been cool to get to know him a little more this year and he’s well deserving of the title, especially after the year he had last year. All-in-all, it was a good year and hopefully next year will be even better.”

Roush Fenway brings home two titles at Homestead NNS Finale

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 19, 2011) – Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished second in the season finale at Homestead-Miami and clinched the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. The championship is Roush Fenway’s sixth NASCAR title and its third Nationwide Series Championship. Stenhouse, who carried a 41-point lead into the race, clinched the championship on lap 27 of the race and won by 45 points.

“It was just a lot of hard work by all these guys – Jack Roush, Ford Racing, everybody at Blackwell Angus Beef and Cargill – this crew right here, they didn’t give up on me,” said Stenhouse. “They were with us all through last year and I’m just glad to be here.

“This is just awesome what this team has done, what Jack Roush has done and everybody at Ford Racing and Nationwide Insurance for giving us this great series to run in and all the fans that come out to watch every week. We really appreciate that, especially the ones that support us.”

Carl Edwards finished third and secured the 2011 Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship for Roush Fenway.

Roush Fenway won its first Nationwide Championship via Greg Biffle in 2002. Edwards won the team’s second driver NNS title in 2007.

RFR will look to make history tomorrow; becoming the first time in NASCAR history to win both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series title in the same season. Edwards leads the Sprint Cup points by three, and will start tomorrow’s Ford 400 finale from the pole.

·        Roush Fenway wins its sixth NASCAR drivers championship.

·        Roush Fenway wins its third NASCAR drivers Nationwide Series Championship.

·        Roush Fenway wins it second NASCAR owners Nationwide Series Championship.

·        Roush Fenway will look to become the first team in NASCAR history to win the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series titles in the same season.

·        Ricky Stenhouse Jr., led the Nationwide point standings for 17 weeks in 2011, including the final 14.

·        Stenhouse Jr,. won the first two races of his career sweeping both races at Iowa Speedway. He earned six top-five and nine top-10 finishes over the final nine races.

·        Carl Edwards won eight races in 2011 in the No. 60 Ford Mustang.

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series with drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. Celebrating 25 winning years in 2012, Roush Fenway is the leader in NASCAR marketing solutions with its exclusive Roush Fenway OnTrack sponsorship measurement services, motorsport’s only team-focused TV show, and its social marketing channel RickyvsTrevor.com bringing unmatched brand opportunities to sponsors. Visit www.RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries call John Younger at 704.720.4620.