Roush Racing will announce its plans for current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers #50-Jon Wood and #99-Carl Edwards on Tuesday, July 15. Roush Racing has been a part of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since the series inception in 1995. The truck series has been a great place for us to develop sponsors and drivers, said Roush Racing president, Geoff Smith. But we have to be mindful that the changing economic dynamic of the series is making it very difficult for us to justify continuing. We are the last of the major teams fielding trucks, which illustrates the difficulty that championship driven teams have making the business model work. And, the series is in the middle of a turbulent sponsorship environment created mainly by the increased spending levels brought into the series by Dodge and which we expect to be matched or exceeded by Toyota. Our priority will be to preserve and develop the talent we have with Jon Wood and Carl Edwards, and our decision will be based on whether our economic model to develop these outstanding drivers can be better realized in the Craftsmen Truck or Busch Series. For sponsorship inquiries, contact John Miller, Roush Racing, (704) 720-4600.(Roush Racing PR)(7-9-2003)
UPDATE: many sites are reporting that this may be an announcement of Roush leaving the Truck Series and moving the teams to Busch.(7-10-2003)
UPDATE 2: Some published reports say that Roush Racing may announce next Tuesday that they are leaving the Craftsman Truck Series due to poor economic dynamics they see in the series. But Jack Roush told Krista Voda at Chicago that his trucks driven Jon Wood and Carl Edwards, who have won the last two series races, will be at St. Louis for the July 19 race. Roush has fielded at least one truck since 1995. Wood and Edwards are both currently in the top 10 in points and are competing without primary sponsors.(FoxSports Totally NASCAR)(7-14-2003)
UPDATE 3 – staying in the series: Roush Racing announced today that it will continue to field Jon Wood and Carl Edwards in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the remainder of 2003. We have two winners in Jon and Carl, a program with momentum and confidence, and a very real chance to win another championship. With the additional attention that the series is attracting through its excellent broadcast coverage, and the increased fan attendance that has been augmented by tying into more Winston Cup events, we think that the best way to highlight the talents of Jon and Carl, and capture the interest of corporate America and the NASCAR fan base is to keep them in the Craftsman Truck Series for the remainder of the year. Besides, the racer in all of us at Roush Racing cannot turn its back on the very real possibility that one of our guys could emerge the winner in this very tight championship race, says Geoff Smith, Roush Racing president.
We particularly thank Senator Bob Graham for stepping up to extend his sponsorship of the Jon Wood truck for the remainder of the year. His participation made a significant impact on our decision to continue, said Smith. We will continue our search for additional sponsorship for the remainder of the year.
This is great news for everyone on the team, says Edwards. We just won our first race last weekend in Kentucky and I couldnt imagine having to stop now. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me and Im glad we can go on to St. Louis this weekend and only have to worry about winning.
With this decision behind us, now we can keep the team focused on winning and set out sights on the championship, said Wood. Weve had an incredible season so far with two poles and my first win in the last month. Weve got so much momentum going right now. I cant wait to see how this season plays out. My hats off to everyone at Roush for keeping our team together.
Both of these young men are extremely talented. Our organization believes that their career development, and the development of the sponsors that are needed to support them, can be equally achieved through participation in the Craftsman Truck or Busch series. We have proved that with Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle. Accordingly, as we look to 2004 we will race them in the environment where the combination of manufacturers and sponsor support makes the best business sense for Roush Racing, said Jack Roush.(Roush Racing PR)(7-14-2003)
