Buescher to replace Stenhouse at Roush Fenway for 2020

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By: RACER Staff | 4 hours ago


Chris Buescher will replace Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Roush Fenway Racing’s No.17 Ford at the end of the 2019 season.

“We can’t say enough about Ricky and his contributions to Roush Fenway Racing,” said team co-owner Jack Roush. “We’re proud to have been a part of Ricky’s development from ARCA to Xfinity and ultimately the Cup Series. He has served as a great representative to our partners, while helping to accumulate numerous accolades, wins and multiple championships on the racetrack. We wish him well as he enters the next chapter of his career.”

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Buescher returns to the team that he led to a NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) title in 2015. He first joined the team as a development driver in 2009, and won the 2012 ARCA Series title in tandem with Roulo Brothers Racing. His Xfinity debut with the team came a year earlier, but had to wait until 2014 to make a full-time move into NASCAR’s second-tier national series – a move that resulted in a championship the following season. His return to Roush Fenway comes after a three year Cup stint with JTG Daugherty Racing.

“We are certainly excited to have Chris back in the fold at Roush Fenway Racing,” said Roush. “He has a long history with our organization and we’ve always been a big fan of Chris and his racing style. We have watched his progress with great interest over the last couple of seasons and we are looking forward to having him in the No. 17 as we continue to grow our program next season.”

Stenhouse has piloted the No. 17 car for the past seven seasons after taking over for Matt Kenseth in 2013.

Buescher drove the No. 34 Ford during his Cup rookie season in 2016, racing his way into the playoffs via a victory at Pocono. He is currently 20th in the NASCAR Cup point standings.


Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing, Monster Energy Cup, NASCAR

 

Post #1 has to do with Roush....

Stenhouse blindsided by Roush/Buescher deal

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By: Kelly Crandall | 17 hours ago


Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said he was “pretty blindsided” this week when Roush Fenway Racing informed him he wasn’t going to return to the organization next season.

“Obviously, eight races left is pretty late in the game,” said Stenhouse. “Halfway through the season would have been a little nicer to be able to go look for something else to do, but it’s their business, and I got to go with it.

“No hard feelings. I’ve been angry at times, but for the most part I look back on all it and super thankful.”

Stenhouse appeared to get choked up when addressing his release from the team. He has driven for Roush Fenway Racing since 2013 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, where he’s won Rookie of the Year and two races. All of Stenhouse’s 108 starts in the Xfinity Series, eight wins and back-to-back championships in 2011-12 were also with Roush.

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“It was unfortunate for sure; definitely tough timing for myself and my group to try and find another option,” he said. “But all in all, I got to look back on the 11 years I had with Jack and winning races and championships, and getting my first Cup win, and being competitive. Not as consistent as what we wanted. But the end of it all I’m very thankful that Jack took a chance on a dirt racer from Mississippi to come drive his car. So, it was fun.

“Little emotional with the relationship Jack and I have – only team I’ve ever been at. Look forward to see what’s next. Like I said, there’s a lot of work to do on that, but all in all, I’m definitely looking forward to these last eight with the great partners we have, everybody on this 17 team.”

Roush Fenway announced that it has signed Chris Buescher on Wednesday afternoon after informing Stenhouse that morning. Stenhouse said he received a phone call on Tuesday night to visit the shop at 11 a.m. the next morning, which he thought nothing of. At 7:30 a.m. the following day, as he was having coffee and getting ready to go work out, Stenhouse’s agent called and said he had also been summoned to the shop, and that’s when Stenhouse realized it probably wasn’t good news.

“That’s part of it,” said Stenhouse, who admitted he didn’t ask many questions but listened to what had to be said and then left the campus. “I know people get fired every day from their jobs, and I can’t feel sorry for myself. I got to make sure we look forward to these eight races and what can we land to showcase what I got for 2020.”

Stenhouse did speak with team owner Jack Roush Thursday night, which he described as a “good conversation”, but one he had purposely waited to have.

“Having it Wednesday probably wouldn’t have been a good idea,” he said. “Jack and I, we’ve had some knockout drag-outs in our days, in the 11 years we’ve had together. It was a good conversation. I thanked him for all the good times and fun times that we’ve had.”

“Over the past two days I’d say I went angry, sad, optimistic. Sometimes change is good. Like they said, it just didn’t work; it hadn’t been working over the last couple of years. We’ve had speed, we just haven’t had consistent finishes, so I think that’s what sucks for myself. I feel like we’ve had plenty of speed to get the job done, it’s just a lot of things came down to us not getting those results.

“Ultimately that’s what we’re here for is results, and they weren’t coming.”

While teammate Ryan Newman qualified for the playoffs, Stenhouse has had a very inconsistent season with just two top-10 finishes. He is 23rd in points. But whether this year or more broadly across his career, Stenhouse acknowledged there have been times when the issues were either caused by him or outside his control.

“I feel like I can still get the job done,” said Stenhouse. “I look back at my Nationwide Series career, and how well we did there against a lot of Cup drivers that were in the field each and every week – they’re the ones winning championships and races over here.

“My Cup career hasn’t been great, but I still think you look at other people’s Cup careers and it took a while for them to get going. I look at that as an opportunity to still turn my Cup Series career around.”

Stenhouse said he has not yet talked to other teams about his future, and while remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series is always a driver’s preference he is also open to other options.


Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing, Monster Energy Cup, NASCAR

 

Roush now ready to "build behind" Buescher

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By: Kelly Crandall | September 27, 2019 1:37 PM


Jack Roush is getting a chance to make right what he once felt he did wrong.

Roush is bringing Chris Buescher back into his fold to take over the No. 17 Ford from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. beginning in 2020. As team president Steve Newmark described it, this is a bit of a homecoming since Buescher was once a development driver for Roush and also competed for the organization in the Xfinity Series, where he won the 2015 championship.

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However, after that championship season the Hall of Fame team owner admitted he didn’t have the courage to stress the organization and its resources to make room for him, not wanting to take away from the existing NASCAR Cup Series teams by graduating Buescher into the series. Buescher wound up loaned out to another Ford team when he took a full-time Cup Series ride with Front Row Motorsports. For the last three seasons, he has been with JTG Daugherty Racing.

“And I wish I had done that differently,” said Roush, “and we’ve got a chance now to build behind him.”

The deal came together both quickly and unexpectedly.




Buescher had not been lying about working through the details of a deal with JTG Daugherty Racing. However, there was a residual option in his contract that Roush Fenway had retained many years ago that made Buescher obligated to tell Roush officials when he might become available.

“This wasn’t something we’d been planning for quite some time,” Newmark said. “We’d been focused primarily for the last however months on trying to get the 17 into the playoffs, and that was our focus, we weren’t looking at other things, and unfortunately, and it’s on the shoulders of Jack and the competition folks and myself, that we weren’t able to accomplish that goal and extract the potential from that program.

“Around the same time, we were alerted from something from Chris and his representative about a residual option… and through some circumstances that arose from JTG and Chris, that option that came about and that was kind of put back on our plate. We talked to our board and Jack and John Henry at the Red Sox. They had a lot of discussions about what the right direction was, and ultimately decided that it would be best for our organization and exercise that with Chris. So that, literally, did come together this week and next morning we sat down and talked with Ricky and then I called Tad (Geschickter of JTG).”

At the end of the day, the decision to return to Roush was up to Buescher.

“First of all, JTG has come so far, and we’ve had a terrific year,” Buescher said. “There’s nothing against anybody there. It’s been a terrific time, we’ve definitely been able to elevate from where we’ve been in the past couple of seasons, and I believe that program will continue to elevate.”




Roush said it was “a really tough question” about whether Stenhouse would still be with the team had Buescher not been available.

“First of all let me say about Ricky – his chapter of involvement with Roush Fenway will be remembered very fondly,” Roush said. “He was certainly a great representative, he brought a level of intensity that’s required that very few drivers [have], and he was true to himself in terms of reaching for his own race car for the things he thought would be best for him, and that’s a good fight. We certainly respect that. we respect him and will remember fondly and very positively the time he spent with us

“But the fact is over the last couple of years we weren’t realizing the improvements that we need to do, and I had to look at myself and the organization and say, are we just not doing what we need to do or is it time for Ricky to step off and seek better accommodations, a better package for himself with another program.

"He didn't get better fast enough, so screw him! " "we need to make some money here."
"We are kicking his butt out, so now he can look for a better deal if he can find it."

It’s hard to say if I would have made that change. Certainly, I was thinking about what would be best for Ricky and what would be best for us, and it was on my mind.”

Chris Buescher, Jack Roush, NASCAR, Roush Fenway Racing, Monster Energy Cup, NASCAR

 

Penske tweaks pit crews

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By: Kelly Crandall | October 26, 2019 9:15 AM


Team Penske has shuffled some of its pit crew members ahead of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Joey Logano has been reunited with jackman Graham Stoddard, who was on the No. 22 Ford team when they won the championship last year. Stoddard along with tire carrier Wade Moore have both moved over to Logano’s team from pitting the No. 12 Ford of Ryan Blaney.

“It doesn’t concern me,” said Logano of disrupting the team’s flow. “We had a rookie jackman this year who has made a lot of good gains over this season, but I feel the opportunity to put basically the same team together that won the championship last year for the next few years, I think was a smart play.

“We definitely needed some speed from the pit crew side of things and putting the band back together from where it was last year when we won the championship makes sense, so I was on board with that.”

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Blaney is now working with what had been Brad Keselowski’s pit crew. Both Blaney and Logano are still championship eligible, and these changes will remain intact for the remainder of the playoffs.

The pit crew for Keselowski is made up of the jackman and tire carrier that were moved off Logano’s team, Nathan Ricketts (jackman) and Dylan Dowell (carrier) as well as what had been the rest of Blaney’s team. Keselowski was eliminated from the playoffs last weekend.

Logano is also the defending race winner at Martinsville Speedway.


Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Monster Energy Cup, NASCAR

 

Logano is still championship eligible, and these changes will remain intact for the remainder of the playoffs.
------------------------

 

Arrow McLaren SP, Hinchcliffe end driving relationship

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By: Marshall Pruett | 16 hours ago


James Hinchcliffe’s five-year tenure as a driver for Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson has come to an end. As first revealed by RACER on Monday and confirmed today, Arrow McLaren SP will move forward without the Canadian in 2020 as Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew, the 2018 and 2019 Indy Lights champions, respectively, comprise a new youth-oriented lineup.

“James has been a great ambassador for our team, and for the sport, over the last five years,” Schmidt said. “Our history dates back to his early days in Indy Lights and we’ve been on a tremendous journey together. Most impressive was James’s determination to come back after his accident in 2015. I have the utmost respect for James and would like to thank him for his hard work and accomplishments during that period and wish him well in his future endeavors.

“We recognize that James is a fiercely motivated and determined competitor, and we won’t hesitate to release him unconditionally to secure another drive, whether in IndyCar or another series.”

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Of interest, the team has chosen to honor the final year of Hinchcliffe’s contract, noting that while he remains a member of the team, it won’t stand in the way of any efforts to find new opportunities elsewhere in the paddock.

“James’ passion for the team has been crucial in our development since he joined us in 2015,” added Peterson. “His perseverance and teamwork led us to three wins and an Indianapolis 500 pole position. James has been a big part of our growth over the last five years and I’d like to personally thank him for everything. On behalf of the entire team, we wish him all the best moving forward.”


Arrow SPM, James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar

 

PRUETT: What next for James Hinchcliffe?

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By: Marshall Pruett | 22 hours ago


Finding a new full-time home next season in the NTT IndyCar Series will prove challenging for James Hinchcliffe.

The story might be different for the Canadian star, who was blindsided by Arrow McLaren SP’s change of employment plans Sunday night, if the team’s decision had been made at the start of IndyCar’s long off-season. Based on how the scenario unfolded, however, it wasn’t an anticipated part of AMSP’s most recent driver strategy.

With deep ties to Honda Canada and American Honda, whose engines have been replaced by AMSP in favor of Chevrolets, a few Honda-powered teams in the paddock held options for the 32-year-old to explore in the days following the September 22 championship finale in Monterey. More than a month later, almost every Honda door has been closed. Only money – large sums of it – will change that reality.

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Honda’s Chip Ganassi Racing was in the final stages of negotiations for its third car over the Monterey weekend. It ultimately went to Hinchcliffe’s Arrow SPM teammate Marcus Ericsson in early October. The second seat at Dale Coyne Racing was also open as Santino Ferrucci, who starred for the outfit as a rookie in 2019, met with a number of DCR’s rivals while considering new pastures. Facing fresh competition for the Coyne ride, he’s expected to sign a new contract with haste.

Elsewhere in Honda’s camp, Andretti Autosport is full and Michael Shank Racing has no plans to expand beyond its one-car program for Jack Harvey, whose grip on the seat is watertight due to both his pace and his AutoNation backing. It leaves Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as the only team with a stated intent to create a new entry. Unfortunately, the need to deliver upwards of $6 million to fund the ride appears to be more than double the sum the Canadian’s loyal backers are able to provide.

Barring an infusion of cash from new sponsors, or one of the aforementioned Honda-powered teams taking it upon themselves to meet Hinchcliffe halfway on funding and put a new car in motion, the pathways to full-time seats are hard to find. In order for the wildly popular driver to embark upon his 10th season in IndyCar, extraordinary changes to his present situation will be necessary.

Hinchcliffe had potential options as late as the season finale at Laguna Seca, but at the time he expected to see out the final year of his contract with Arrow SPM. Image by IndyCar


Sadly, this outcome for Hinchcliffe has also been subject to varying degrees of inevitability.

When the formation of AMSP and its move from Honda to Chevy was announced in early August, questions regarding the team’s intent to keep Hinchcliffe for the third and final year on his contract immediately surfaced when his name was oddly absent from the press release.

Despite his five-year tenure with the team, a new lead driver was sought in Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s Colton Herta, who opted to stay with HSR as part of a merger with Andretti Autosport.

Behind the scenes, Hinchcliffe quietly searched for ways to remain within Honda’s stable. In addition to efforts of his own, Honda Performance Development is said to have pursued Hinchcliffe’s release from AMSP in exchange for a reduced buyout figure from its engine supply contract that ran through 2020.

Obviously, those talks, which carried into Monterey, did not result in a positive outcome.

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In the post-Monterey plans that were forged, Hinchcliffe would be the team’s veteran while new Indy Lights champion, 22-year-old Floridian Oliver Askew, played the role of rookie and understudy to the six-time race winner. Assured of his place, the stage for Hinchcliffe and Askew was set for 2020.

Sticking with AMSP appeared to be Hinchcliffe’s best short-term option, and with a few high-profile drivers reaching the end of their contracts entering 2021, Hinchcliffe and AMSP had what felt like a marriage of convenience with an amicable divorce penciled on the calendar after next year’s season finale.

And then Patricio O’Ward, the 2018 Indy Lights champion coveted by McLaren, became a free agent.

Arrow McLaren SP’s driver plans were upended when Pato O’Ward was released from his Red Bull Junior deal. Image by Red Bull Content Pool


Having beaten Herta to the Lights title, the Mexican’s newfound freedom from his Red Bull Junior Driver contract gave AMSP exactly what it was looking for with Herta over the summer. In recent weeks, it wasn’t clear whether O’Ward, who completed seven IndyCar rounds with Carlin Racing, would slot into Askew’s seat, or whether he’d displace Hinchcliffe. From the outside, it was feared Askew would be sacrificed.

Despite O’Ward’s emergence, Hinchcliffe and AMSP continued working towards the future where, in a matter of days, he was meant to drive the No. 5 AMSP entry fitted with its new Chevy powerplant.

As we now know, the 20-year-old O’Ward has been chosen to complete the team’s driver rotation while its former driver has AMSP’s blessing to either step aside and receive a paycheck, or forfeit the income and leave.

There are, of course, some Chevy-powered teams that would welcome a driver of Hinchcliffe’s caliber, but their lack of competitiveness, lack of full-time opportunities, or need for money, which would no longer be available from Honda, is far from optimal.

Combined, it means the series, its Canadian fans, and the promoter of the Honda Indy Toronto event, in particular, are anxious to learn if and where he might appear next year.

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Should Hinchcliffe have seen the writing on the wall? Possibly. But somewhere within the AMSP organization, the seeds of continuity, highlighted by next week’s test, were recently planted within its star driver who never expected Sunday night’s call to be received. In the end, the press release from August that omitted Hinchcliffe’s name was rather prophetic.

Always a class act, the crestfallen Mayor of Hinchtown has chosen to remain silent in the wake of this perplexing outcome. Whether it’s painted as a messy screw job among his loyal supporters, or a wise maneuver by AMSP from his detractors, the result is the same: James Hinchcliffe is out of a drive.

In whatever form it might be, IndyCar, its broadcast partners in Canada, and the Mayor have a few months to find solutions to the significant issue on their hands. Know this: the folks at 16th and Georgetown do not want to deal with the ramifications of his loss from the IndyCar grid.




Arrow McLaren SP, James Hinchcliffe, IndyCar, Insights & Analysis

 

Brown explains Hinchcliffe u-turn

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By: Chris Medland 23 hours ago


McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has spoken out about Arrow McLaren SP’s decision to drop James Hinchcliffe from its 2020 IndyCar team, but says the Canadian would be under consideration for an Indy 500 ride.

Hinchcliffe was originally named as one of Arrow McLaren SP’s drivers for 2020 but then lost his seat last week when the newly rebranded team opted for the young pairing of Pato O’Ward and Oliver Askew. Following significant backlash from fans on social media, Brown says he understands the frustration but was excited by the long-term prospects of the past two Indy Lights champions.

“I’m well aware of the lack of popularity of the decision from James’ fanbase,” Brown said. “I totally get it. I think when I look through what are some of the comments, we commented that he was going to be in the car in 2020 and at the time we made those comments, he was going to be in the car in 2020.

“In business and racing things change. Business environments change, there are lots of stakeholders involved, and when Pato O’Ward came on the market — because we didn’t know what Red Bull were going to do with him and we tend to like drivers that Red Bull drops because we think they’re really good! — we decided in consultation with the stakeholders to take a long-range view on what we thought was best for the team.

“So to get Pato and Oliver, two drivers we think have superstar potential, we thought it was a tough decision but the right decision for the team. While we’re taking James out of the seat we’re honoring the balance of his contract, i.e. we’re going to continue to pay him. Obviously race car drivers like to race, so I understand his disappointment.

“There’s lots of sponsors out there, he’s hugely popular, he’s been backed by Honda for some time, so hopefully between Honda, the teams that have voiced some interest and sponsors he’ll be on the grid. We certainly hope to race him, but it was a decision based on what we thought was best for our race team long-term.”

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Brown says the decision was made in full knowledge that it was likely to lead to criticism from fans.

“We understand how popular he is. We took the decision knowing that there were going to be some unhappy James fans and there certainly have been, but we also know that there’s a lot of people who are very excited to see the last two Indy Lights champions, the youngest driver lineup. I think a lot of people are going to be very excited to see how we perform in St. Pete and in the season.

“At the end of the day we’ve got to do what’s best for the team — and that isn’t necessarily always going to be what’s the most popular decision. For me what’s most important is I hope everyone embraces Oliver and Pato, and from what I’ve seen from fan reaction there are lots of disappointed fans but there is equally lots of excitement around that driver lineup.”

Arrow McLaren SP is expected to field a third car at Indianapolis, and Brown confirmed to RACER that if Hinchcliffe does not secure a full-time ride elsewhere, he would “absolutely be under consideration” for the additional seat.


Arrow McLaren SP, James Hinchcliffe, Zak Brown, IndyCar

 

Pigot out at ECR

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By: Marshall Pruett | 2 hours ago


Ed Carpenter Racing will move forward without Spencer Pigot as its lead driver. The 2015 Indy Lights champion, who joined the team in 2016 and went full-time in 2018, will not return to the No. 21 Chevy.

“I’m appreciative of the opportunity ECR gave me,” the Floridian, who finished fifth on two occasions last season, told RACER. “I understand the reasons they had to go in a different direction, and wish them all the best.”

Holland’s Rinus VeeKay, who finished second in the Indy Lights championship and has tested on two occasions for ECR, is tipped to replace Pigot. Carrying loyal support from Dutch sponsors, it’s believed the change was made based on a need for increased funding.

A call to Carpenter was not immediately returned.

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Barring its owner/driver, ECR could field a line-up with no carryovers from the previous season for the first time since 2015.

The two-car program ended the 2019 season with Pigot as its full-time driver, Carpenter in the No. 20 car on ovals, and Ed Jones piloting the No. 20 on road and street courses as part of a co-entry between ECR and the Scuderia Corsa sports car team.

Turning to 2020, Jones is not expected to return, Scuderia Corsa’s ongoing participation is unclear, Pigot is searching for a new home, Conor Daly is believed to be the frame, and Formula 1 journeyman Nico Hulkenberg has been inserted into the conversation.

“No drivers, other than Ed, are currently under contract for next year,” a team representative told RACER.

The change with Pigot comes as a surprise. RACER’s Robin Miller spoke with Carpenter at the IndyCar season finale in Monterey, who said the promising 26-year-old would likely be returning for his third full season with the team.

Over the last week, multiple sources have said Pigot’s place at ECR was no longer guaranteed, which appears to indicate VeeKay’s role has been solidified.

Daly, whose support from the Air Force would be a perfect fit for Carpenter’s all-American outfit, has been mentioned as a candidate for the road and street course opportunity, and Hulkenberg has been added to the roster of hypothetical candidates for the No. 20 Chevy.

Despite a recent report stating Hulkenberg was headed to ECR, it’s believed the 10-year F1 veteran, who is unsigned for 2020, is not among the team’s primary options.


Ed Carpenter Racing, Spencer Pigot, IndyCar

 

SCRAMP to be replaced as manager of Laguna Seca

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By: Marshall Pruett 4 hours ago


Monterey County will not extend a new contract to the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, bringing an end to SCRAMP’s management of the park that contains WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Assistant county administrative officer (ACAO) Dewayne Woods, who controls the bidding process for the Monterey-owned property, informed SCRAMP of its decision via email, stating “the county is now in negotiations with another proposer for management services at Laguna Seca Recreational Area.”

SCRAMP CEO Tim McGrane was not expecting the end of a 62-year-old relationship between the organization and its oversight of the circuit.

“This news comes as a surprise to the SCRAMP organization,” he said. “We were starting to make real progress on getting the facility and the raceway operations turned around and poised for the future, but it appears at this time we may not have the opportunity to see these plans through.

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“As the existing facility operator, we were stunned by the fact that we were not provided the opportunity to discuss our proposal with the ACAO. The entire process has been unconventional, ranging from the bypassing of the County’s usual Request For Proposal (RFP) process, the announcement in mid-October requesting proposals from any interested parties with only two weeks’ notice, and complaints that SCRAMP had not met deadlines to submit a proposal when in fact a submission date had been agreed upon in May, and subsequently met, has been challenging.”

Although no leading candidates to replace SCRAMP have been named, the ACAO is known to have met or interviewed with a number of parties and individuals to lead Laguna Seca under his direction. Former bidders from the most recent contract cycle in 2017 to former Laguna Seca CEOs have been involved as the mounting effort to part ways with SCRAMP have led to the latest outcome.


Laguna Seca, SCRAMP, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Industry