Steve Wilson, The Examiner
2008-03-04 08:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

If Jack Roush decides to give up NASCAR racing, he could always make a living in Las Vegas.

With all the poise of a championship poker player, Roush refused to tip off to how much his Car of Tomorrow program had improved since last year, instead waiting until just the right moment to lay down a pair of wins from Carl Edwards and take the top spot in the standings. At least until NASCAR decides how to penalize Edwards for a missing oil-reservoir cap in post-race inspection after winning the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas.

Roush was not trying to hide his winning hand, though; it was just that nobody paid him much attention.

With all of the talk of Hendrick Motorsports, Toyota and Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming into the season, combined with Roush’s slow start with the Car of Tomorrow last year, Roush-Fenway and the other Ford teams largely were forgotten when the green flag dropped at Daytona.

Any concerns about the blue-oval contingent, however, were completely erased by Carl Edwards’ performances the past two weeks at California and Las Vegas.

“We are, I think, close to the form that we were in 2005, where it seemed like a Roush-Fenway car would win every week,” Edwards said. “That’s what I am really excited about.”

And for good reason. Just look at where the organization was a year ago, when Roush struggled with the COT in 2007, and it was apparent when the new car made its debut at Bristol that something needed to be done.

“When we went to Bristol, it was clear that we were way behind,” Roush said. “We hired people. We had a test team…by the time we finished up in the Chase, I felt and the guys felt that we had pretty much caught up.”

Roush, known for regularly juggling team lineups, made a controversial move by taking Matt Kenseth’s long-time crew chief, Robbie Reiser, away from the No. 17 team, and moving him into a managerial role to improve the COT program this season.

“Robbie Reiser made the biggest difference probably at our company, getting us turned around,” Greg Biffle, a driver for Roush, said. “It’s a reflection of all his hard work, the engineering department, everybody — just starting to pay off.”

Roush’s resurgence is not just a credit to its hard work and dedication, but also to how competitive NASCAR’s COT concept has made the sport. Despite all the attention placed on Toyota and Hendrick to start the season, a Dodge won the Daytona 500 and Ford already has two wins, but Roush knows his work is far from done.

“I certainly don’t feel that we have an advantage,” Roush said. “I think on any given Sunday, you know, there are probably 20 cars that could win the race.”

Roush may be understating his organization’s strengths, but one thing is certain: So far, the COT has been a success when it comes to leveling the NASCAR playing field.

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