Roush Fenway Heads to Martinsville 1-2 in Chase
Roush Fenway not only survived 500 miles at Talladega Superspeedway, but left the race in first and second position in the 2011 Chase standings. This week the team will try to continue its performance on the half-mile short track of Martinsville Speedway.
Tums Fast Relief 500
Sun. 10.30.11, 1:30 p.m. EDT
ESPN, MRN, Sirius 90
David Ragan, No. 6 UPS Ford
Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M Filtrete Ford
Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Scotts Winterguard Ford
With Four to Go, Roush Fenway One-Two In Chase
With only four races remaining in the 2011 season, Roush Fenway holds the top-two positions in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Carl Edwards leads teammate Matt Kenseth by 14 points as the teams head down the final stretch of 2011. It marks the first time since April of 2005 that RFR has been first and second in the Sprint Cup points and the first time ever in the Chase.
The Leader
Headed down the final stretch of the season, Roush Fenway leads both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series point standings. Carl Edwards leads the Sprint Cup Chase by 14 points, while Matt Kenseth sits in second position. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., holds a 15-point lead in the Nationwide Series standings, and No. 60 NNS Ford trails the Nationwide owner’s points lead by only three points. There are four races remaining in the 2011 Sprint Cup season and just three in the NNS season.
Roush Fenway at Martinsville
In 166 Cup starts at the half-mile paper-clip shaped track, Roush Fenway has turned more laps at Martinsville Speedway than any other venue in the Sprint Cup Series, with 80,061 laps completed. During that span, Roush Fenway has collected four wins, four poles, 25 top-five and 59 top-10 finishes. All-in-all Roush Fenway carries a 17.0 average finish to Martinsville this weekend.
Winning Formula
Roush Fenway has won four Sprint Cup races at Martinsville, with three different drivers. However, the team has not visited victory lane at the track since the fall of 2002. Roush Fenway also boasts two truck wins in 46 starts at Martinsville (fall of ’03 and ’05).
RFR Martinsville Wins
1992-1 Martin Cup
1997-2 Burton Cup
2000-1 Martin Cup
2002-2 Busch Cup
2003-2 Wood Truck
2005-2 Craven Truck
Looking Back
Roush Fenway had its overall most successful outing at Martinsville in the spring of 2002 when it placed all four of its cars inside the top 10. In addition, RFR posted a one-two finish at the track in the spring of 2000. Ironically, Roush Fenway has not placed more than one car inside the top five at Martinsville since that finish in 2000.
298 and Counting
Roush Fenway Racing enters the weekend just two NASCAR wins shy of its milestone 300th NASCAR victory. The team will look for win number 299 this weekend at Martinsville.