Jack Roush Disappointed and Denied Despite High Hopes

Jack Roush had reason to smile heading into NASCAR's Chase with three drivers, especially having recently survived a devastating plane crash that injured him badly including the loss of an eye.

Roush had a new vision though with Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards potentially having a shot at capturing the series title.

Certainly one of his gallant warriors could wage battle against Jimmie Johnson, but it appears to be a vision that will remain unfulfilled.

Kenseth in the Crown Royal Ford unloaded fast and qualified third for the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway.  As the race began, he was scored as a lap leader despite battling loose conditions that continued to worsen.

The No. 17 Ford continued to drop back with crew chief Jimmy Fennig unable to make the car competitive.  Kenseth finished 30th and is ranked 11th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings.

Kenseth said, "I felt like we ran really well before the track got rubbered up, but we just lost the handle there in the middle later in the race."

Carl Edwards started 20th at Auto Club Speedway.  He fell back to 25th and a caution came out when his teammate, Greg Biffle, had engine problems.

Edwards remained on the track and restarted 10th on lap 46.  Eight laps later, a caution flag came out and the driver of the Aflac Ford brought the car to pit road.  Following a routine pit stop, Edwards radioed his crew chief, Bob Osborne, that he lost power.

The ignition box was not the issue and the car had to be pushed back to pit road by a tow truck.  The crew then pushed the car to the garage and discovered a broken rotor button in the distributor.

Edwards returned to the track and finished 13 laps down in 34th place.  Currently, he is ranked seventh in the point standings.

The driver of the Aflac Fusion tried to remain optimistic saying, " There are so many moving parts in a race car.  You've got to to run well enough to absorb these days.  We've run real well. 

"We've got six races left and we're 162 points back, so over six races that's not a lot of points per race, so I think we can do it.  We just have to keep digging."

Edward's optimistic attitude is the only way to be, but realistically it is doubtful they have a shovel big enough to dig their way to a championship.

David Ragan, a non-Chase driver, put his UPS Ford in 18th place to start the Pepsi Max 400.  Ragan found his car free into the turns and tight off in the hot, windy conditions during the race.

With seven laps remaining, Ragan was racing for a top-10 finish when he made contact with Chase contender Kurt Busch.

Ragan said, "Late in the race, I was just going as hard as I could, not cutting anyone any slack, and just misjudged by a foot or two and it cost us. 

"Fifty laps into the race I wouldn't have made that decision, but on the last run of the day with less than 10 laps to go, the little bit of give and take goes out the window."

The week before the Pepsi Max 400 in Fontana, Greg Biffle snagged a win in Kansas.  With hopes of a strong run, Biffle qualified seventh.  Engine failure took him out of the race after 41 laps.

Biffle said, "It's disappointing, but what can you do?"  The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford dropped to 10th in the point standings after finishing 41st.

So Jack Roush faced disappointment with all four of his Cup drivers failing to finish well despite some of the best performance from Roush Fenway Racing the prior week.

The three Chase drivers want nothing more than to seriously contend for the championship and bring the title to their owner, the "Cat in the Hat."

Roush survived his July 27 plane crash and fought to get back to his teams making an appearance Aug. 13 at Michigan International Speedway.

Despite the optimism of Carl Edwards who is 162 points behind the Chase leader, Jimmie Johnson, it is highly unlikely he could make a comeback to win the title for his boss.  Biffle and Kenseth are no longer contenders for the title.

The biggest point deficit to be overcome in the Chase format was 156 and none other than Chase pro, Jimmie Johnson, was able to do it.

If wishes could make it happen, Jack Roush would see one of his drivers bring the NASCAR Sprint Cup title to Roush Fenway Racing in 2010.

Unfortunately, Roush will be denied that championship this year unless some highly unlikely intervention comes to play, but his drivers are giving it their best shot.