Roush Racing – Bristol Advance

ROUSH RACING – BRISTOL ADVANCE

Bristol Motor Speedway, Mar. 24-26

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Food City 500

NASCAR Busch Series:            Sharpie Mini 300

Roush Racing Fast Facts

“¢              Mark Martin has two victories at Bristol (8/98 and 9/93), both coming in the fall race.

“¢              Martin’s seven poles at Bristol tie for the most ever.

“¢              Martin won four consecutive poles at Bristol in 1995-96.

“¢              Martin has posted 20 top-10 and 15 top-five finishes in 38 races at Bristol.

“¢              From ’95-2000 Martin scored 10 straight top 10’s at Bristol. He has not finished top 10 there since.

“¢              Crew chief Pat Tryson scored his first career Cup win at Bristol in 2001. His pit strategy was vital in the victory by the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

“¢              Greg Biffle is currently 21st in the point standings, a gain of four positions from the previous week.

“¢              Biffle and the National Guard team are currently 296 points out of the lead but are only 77 points out of a top-10 position.

“¢              Biffle has completed all but one lap in six Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“¢              This weekend the No. 16 National Guard team will again run the 2006 Subway paint scheme.  This paint scheme will run a total of 11 times this season.

“¢              For the first of three times in 2006, Matt Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford Fusion.  USG Sheetrock will also be the primary sponsor for the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in July and the November race at Phoenix International Raceway.

“¢              Kenseth led 415 of 500 laps at Bristol last fall and won from the pole, turning in one of the more dominating performances at the "World’s Fastest Half Mile" in recent memory.  The 415 laps led in the event were the most in a race at Bristol since Rusty Wallace in April of 1999.

“¢              Kenseth’s average finish of 12.2 is fifth among active drivers at Bristol.

“¢              In Jamie McMurray’s six Cup starts at the Bristol Motor Speedway, he has one top-five and three top-ten finishes.

“¢              McMurray will be running car number 66 this weekend in Bristol.  This car finished 10th last fall at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

“¢              This weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway marks the first of five races for McMurray behind the wheel of the black and red No. 26 Sharpie Ford Fusion.

“¢              McMurray will join the FOX broadcast team in the Hollywood Hotel on Saturday for a portion of the Sharpie Mini 300 Busch Series race.

“¢              Carl Edwards’ last win at Bristol came in August of 2004 while racing in the Craftsman Truck Series.

“¢              Edwards currently sits only 144 points out of 10th place in the points standing

“¢              In Edwards’ last 10 Nextel Cup starts, four have resulted in top five’s and six have resulted in top 10’s.

“¢              Chassis RK-320 was last run at Homestead-Miami Speedway where Edwards finished fourth in November of 2005.

“¢              Carl Edwards will be a guest on Speed Channel’s "Trackside Live" this Friday, March 24th at 7:00pm

“¢              Danny O’Quinn Jr. has run three races at the Bristol Motor Speedway but has had bad luck in each of those races. In two of his three starts there a blown tire would keep him from a solid finish, and in his other start, getting caught up in a 10-car wreck not of his own making ended his day early.

“¢              O’Quinn Jr. was born in Bristol, Tenn., and grew up about an hour north in Coeburn, Va., so the Bristol Motor Speedway is truly his home track.

“¢              Bristol is one of a few racetracks on the NASCAR Busch Series circuit that O’Quinn Jr. has raced on before, so he has more of an advantage going into this weekend’s Sharpie Mini 300 than he’s had in previous weeks.

“¢              The No. 50 Barr-Nunn team is bringing chassis RK-177 as a primary to Bristol this weekend, which is a former No. 60 Carl Edward’s Busch car.

Roush Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway

Current Roush Racing Drivers in the NEXTEL Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway

Driver                     Starts         Wins        Top-5’s    Top-10’s  Poles

Mark Martin             38           2             15           20           7

Greg Biffle                6             0             2             3             0

Matt Kenseth           12           1             5             7             1

Jamie McMurray      6             0             1             3             0

Carl Edwards           3             0             0             0             0

Totals                      65            3             23           33           8

Current Roush Racing Drivers in the Busch Series at Bristol Motor Speedway

Driver                      Starts        Wins        Top-5’s    Top-10’s  Poles

Todd Kluever           0             0             0             0              0

Greg Biffle                8             0             3             4             1

Matt Kenseth           10            2              5              5              0

Danny O’Quinn Jr.   0             0             0             0             0

Carl Edwards           3              0              0              1              1

Totals                     21             2             8              10            2

All-time Nextel Cup Series Records for Roush Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway

Starts       Poles       Wins        Top-5’s    Top-10’s

113          8              7              31            46

Roush Racing Current Point Standings

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series

Driver                     Points        Behind     Starts       Poles       Wins        Top-5’s    Top-10’s

3. Matt Kenseth       612          -78           4              0              1              2              2

4 Mark Martin          600          -90           4              0              0              0              3             

16. Jamie McMurray422          -268         4              0              0              0              1

21. Greg Biffle          394          -296         4              1              0              0              1             

30. Carl Edwards     327          -363         4              0              0              1              1

NASCAR Busch Series

Driver                      Points       Behind     Starts       Poles       Wins        Top-5’s    Top-10’s

7. Carl Edwards       614          -158         5              1              0              2              3

10. Greg Biffle          595          -177         4              0              1              3              3

15. Todd Kluever     549          -223         5              0              0              0              1

19. Matt Kenseth     470          -302         3              1              0              2              3

22. Danny O’Quinn Jr.             440          -332         5              0              0              0              0

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Driver                       Points      Behind     Starts       Poles       Wins        Top-5’s    Top-10’s

1. Mark Martin         560          –               3              1              2              3              3

8. Erik Darnell          422          -138         3              0              0              0              2

43. David Ragan     0              -560         1              0              0              0              0

Mark Martin

Team:   No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Pat Tryson

Chassis:     RK-274  Last used to run to a 16th-place finish at Bristol last fall.

                                Also ran the car at both Martinsville races, including a third-place finish in the spring.

Martin, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

                             Races            Wins          Top 5  Top 10     Poles       Money Won

Spring                      19                   0                  6       10           4              $905,785

Fall                           19                   2                  9       10           3               $995,311

Cumulative               38                   2                  15     20           7          $1,903,096

Martin on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol can be crazy. I’ve always said it is like flying a jet fighter around the inside of a basketball arena, and try that with 42 other jets doing it at the same time. It can get really intense and it takes a great deal of patience by everyone. You just have to hope that you run well and that you can stay out of all the trouble, which isn’t always easy to do. Over the years Bristol has been the source of some real highs and lows for me.

"I’ve had some of the most memorable races I can remember there and some pretty tough times there as well. We’ve had a lot of trouble staying out of the wrecks lately there. In fact our luck has been so bad there as of late that we are definitely due and hopefully we’ll see that there this weekend."

Crew Chief Pat Tryson on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol has been a pretty tough place for us the last few years. We’ve had some good runs, but some really bad luck and we’ve seemed to get caught up in a lot of wrecks. We know that Mark can get the job done and I think that we’ll have a good car, so if we can just stay out of all the wrecks and keep our nose clean then I think that we should be able to get a good finish and maybe even be there at the end again."

Greg Biffle

Team:   No. 16 National Guard/Subway Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Doug Richert

Chassis:   RK-268 (Car the team won with at Dover and Darlington in 2005)

Biffle, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Totals                    Races        Wins        Top 5s     Top 10s   Poles       Money

Spring                      3              0              1              2              0              $266,650

Fall                           3              0              1              1              0              $330,000                

Cumulative              6               0             2              3              0              $596,650                

Biffle on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is the highest banked and most intense track we go to.  You don’t have time to breath and it is super competitive. It is extremely difficult to pass at Bristol, so track position is crucial.  It also makes pit strategy really important because if you get on the wrong pit cycle, it can cost you the race.  For the fans, I think Bristol may be one of the best tracks we go to because there is not a bad seat in the house."

Crew Chief Doug Richert on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"We’re taking a car that we won with last year at Dover and Darlington.  We also tested it this year at Las Vegas but decided not to take it back there for the race.  We think it will be a good car for Bristol this weekend because of the success we had with it at Dover and Darlington.  A good run this weekend would be a big boost for us in the points.  Right now we’re only 77 points out of the top 10 and that’s our current target.  Qualifying will be important, so we can get good pit selection.  Pit strategy will be important this weekend."

Matt Kenseth

Team:   No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Robbie Reiser

Chassis:   Primary:    RK – 089; Won last NNCS race at Bristol leading 415 laps.

                                                Oldest car in the No. 17 team’s stable.

                Backup:   RK – 280; Last ran at Atlanta in March of ’05.

Kenseth, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

TOTALS                  Races      Wins        Top-5s     Top-10s   Poles       Money    

Spring                      6              0              2              3              0              $557,544

Fall                           6              1              3              4              1              $802,854

Cumulative               12            1              5              7              1              $1,360,398

Kenseth on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is a fun place to run if you can get your car to handle good.  It’s really like any other track when it comes to passing.  When people say ‘the track layout causes the wrecks,’ that’s not true.  The drivers still have control of the racecars and if you can get your car to handle good, then you can pass cleanly.  Anybody can pass by running into the car in front of them, but the good ones are able to work on their racecar and improve the handling to where they can pass cleanly.  If you aren’t fast enough or handling good enough to pass the guy in front of you, then, for most drivers, just slamming into the back of the car in front of you to get them out of the way isn’t an option.  It’s like any other track; you have to be good enough to beat the other guys into the corner to gain the position, not just good enough to reach their bumper."

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"If you have a well balanced racecar and can really turn through the center of the corner, then you’re in business at Bristol.  It’s really all about who can pick up the accelerator faster than the other guy.  That will determine who’s better than the other guys; like pretty much every where else we run.  We’re bringing the oldest car in our stable which has run at Bristol the past three or four years and won there last fall.  If we can stay clean and have no mistakes, we’ll be in good shape on Sunday."

Jamie McMurray

Team:   No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Jimmy Fennig

Car Number:  66, finished 10th last fall at Bristol.

McMurray, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Totals                                 Races              Wins           Top 5’s              Top 10’s  Poles

Cumulative                               6                    0                  1                         3           0

Jamie McMurray on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Racing at Bristol is a lot of fun.  I’m looking forward to it – it’s our first race at a short track this year.  It will be an intense 500 laps – that’s for sure.  I’ve finished in the top-ten at Bristol three times, and I would definitely like to match that this weekend.  We’ve struggled some in the last couple of weeks and our team needs a solid finish."

Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"This team has had a lot of success at this track [Bristol].  We’ve won here four times in the last eight races.  It’s a matter of staying out of trouble and not getting your car torn up too bad before the end.  We’ll be missing our rear tire changer, Joe Kruschek, who injured his hand in Atlanta.  He’ll be sorely missed and the rest of the guys will certainly be thinking of him as they rally together."

Carl Edwards

Team:  No.99 Office Depot Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:  Bob Osborne

Chassis Number: RK-320

Edwards at Bristol Motor Speedway:

                                             Races      Wins           Top 5       Top 10     Poles       Winnings

Nextel Cup Totals                    3              0              0              0              0              $301,552

Busch Series Totals                 3              0              0              1              1              $58,400

Craftsman Truck Series Totals 2              1              1              1              0              $55,560

Edwards on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol isn’t a track I have run well at in the past.  I think a lot of it has been because of bad luck or we get caught up in a wreck.  I am looking forward to going there this coming weekend and finally bringing home a good finish for the Office Depot team.  It is a lot of fun racing in Bristol; I always have a blast there."  

Crew Chief Bob Osborne on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol isn’t a track the Office Depot team has seen much success at over the last year.  It is one of the more challenging tracks we visit throughout the year.   We have a great race car heading into next weekend, but with short track racing, it’s always a toss up.  Our focus is to come out of Bristol with a top-10 finish and hopefully move up in the points a little.  The Office Depot team is taking it one week at a time, not focusing on the short run, but the entire season."

Todd Kluever

Team:   No. 06 3M Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Mike Kelley

Chassis:   #1104 – former Matt Kenseth car with new body and clip

Todd Kluever at Bristol:

                                    Races  Wins        Top 5s     Top 10s   Poles

Cumulative     NCTS         1       0            0              0              0

Todd Kluever on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is a pretty cool track.  I’ve only raced there once in a truck but it was a lot of fun.  It reminds me of Slinger Super Speedway back in Wisconsin.  I’ve raced at Slinger several times and have had some pretty good runs there so hopefully some of that experience will transfer over to Bristol.

     "This weekend we have a little less pressure on us since we are now locked in the race since we are going off 2006 points.  Having to qualify for this race on time would have been really tough since there are so many cars separated by only hundredths of seconds.  Now we can spend more time working on our race set-ups during practice and not have to be as concerned about making sure we get in the race.  A huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders having those first five races behind us."

Mike Kelley on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is always an exciting race, no matter what series is there.  Todd got some experience there in the truck last year and he’s learned a lot over these first five Busch races.  The car we are bringing does not have one of our Roush chassis, but we did put a new clip and body on it for this race.  Hopefully it comes back to the shop with the clip and body somewhat intact.  You just never know when trouble might find you at Bristol."

Greg Biffle

Team:  No.16 FreeCreditReport Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:  Eddie Pardue

Chassis Number: RK- 296

Biffle, NBS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Series                                     Races     Wins    Top 5s  Top 10s      Poles              Money

Busch Series Totals                 8              0              3              4         1                   $177,800

Biffle on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"I just love Bristol.  The FreeCreditReport Team is very excited about racing on the .5-mile oval.  Bristol is always exciting for the driver and fans.  We have had really good runs so far this season and plan on having a great run this weekend." 

Crew Chief Eddie Pardue on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"This is our first race with FreeCreditReport.com and we are really looking forward to Bristol.  We are taking chassis RK-296, which was last driven by Mark Martin at Homestead last year.  It’s also the car we tested with in Las Vegas and it tested very well.  We are coming together as a team and we are really looking forward to this weekend."

Matt Kenseth

Team:   No. 17 AmeriQuest Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Chad Norris

Chassis:   RK-295

Matt Kenseth, NBS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

                                Races      Wins        Top-5s     Top-10s   Poles       Money    

Cumulative             10                2               5            5                0           $222,810

Matt Kenseth on racing in the Busch Series at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"I enjoy racing at Bristol, as do a lot of drivers.  They’re adding 50 laps to the Busch race and that’s fine; I don’t think it will matter that much.  You can look at it two ways.  One, it could give you more of an opportunity to run down someone, or two, it could give you 50 more laps to wreck or have someone wreck you.  Either way it should be entertaining as Bristol always is."

Crew Chief Chad Norris on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"We are taking the car we ran at Fontana this week it is RK-295. It is a really good car. Matt ran this same car at Bristol last year and ran really well. The team is really pumped up right now we have been running well just have come up a little short, but we’ll get it. Matt ran really well at the Bristol race last year in the Cup car, so we are really looking forward to going there."

Danny O’Quinn, Jr.

Team: No. 50 Barr-Nunn Transportation Inc. Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:              Drew Blickensderfer

Chassis:  RK-177

O’Quinn Jr. at Bristol Motor Speedway:

                -No previous starts. 

O’Quinn Jr. on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"This is definitely going to be one of the biggest races for me all year. I was born in Bristol, Tenn. and I grew up about an hour north in Coeburn, Va. so this is my home track and I’m going to have a lot of friends and family here cheering me on. I’ve run here a couple of times before and haven’t had the luck  but I definitely enjoy this racetrack. It is probably my favorite race track on the circuit, and it being here in my home town, I don’t know if there would be a better place for me to run well."

Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is a very exciting, very fast and very short racetrack, so to be successful you have to survive all the mayhem that goes on there. To be competitive, it takes luck and car. You have to be able to stay on the bottom of the track and stay out of other people’s trouble.  We expect to run well at Bristol. "

Carl Edwards 

Chassis Number: No.60 Soaring Dreams Ford Fusion

Crew Chief:  Pierre Kuettel

Chassis Number: RK- 165

Edwards, NBS at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Series                                       Races     Wins    Top 5s  Top 10s      Poles                           Money

Busch Series Totals                 3              0              0              1                    1                        $58,400

Edwards on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is one of my favorite tracks and I always have a blast there.  We are sporting a new Soaring Dreams paint scheme this weekend.  I need to get focused and put he Soaring Dreams Ford Fusion in the top-five Saturday.  Bristol is always exciting.  I can’t wait!" 

Crew Chief Pierre Kuettel on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:

"Bristol is a race track we would really like to run strong at.  It has a lot of history behind it and it’s a great place to win at.  We are running a special Soaring Dreams paint scheme this weekend and hope to do well."