Roush Fenway Racing Takes Over Fenway Park
Last night was Roush Fenway Night at Fenway Park in Boston with all of the drivers and car owner Jack Roush taking part in pre-game festivities, that included a huge checkered flag banner draped over the “Green Monster” in left field. Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Carl Edwards and Jack Roush spoke about their experience Saturday morning.
JACK ROUSH – Car Owner – Roush Fenway Ford Fusions – WAS IT FUN TO BE IN A BALLPARK ENVIRONMENT FOR A CHANGE, INSTEAD OF A RACE TRACK? “Yeah, it was amazing to be in Fenway Park with all of the mystique and all of the history and prestige that goes with that ballpark and the things that happened within those hallowed walls, to be there and be part of it was a memorable experience. I embarrassed myself by throwing out the first pitch, but it was just an awesome thing. I expected a number of opportunities to open up that would change the dimension of our race team and maybe the whole sport by having John (Henry) and his representation from Major League Baseball involved, but I really hadn’t thought it would get that personal and I wouldn’t be as moved as much as I was.”
HOW DID IT FEEL TO HAVE A RED SOX HAT ON INSTEAD OF YOUR STRAW HAT? “It was OK. The straw hat has been as much of a habit of convenience for me, based on the sun and the things that happen being outside all the time, so it wasn’t sunny enough yesterday to cause a problem. I wasn’t outside enough. Part of my personality and at least my public persona has been the hat and it was a little different last night. Of course, I was wearing the Red Sox jersey too. Johnny Pesky jumped on me because it turns out the number 6 had been his for a number of years when he played for the Red Sox, and here I had that number on my back as well. He was giving me a good-natured hard time about that, but, overall, it was a great evening.”
GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 Aflac Ford Fusion – “I had a great time. I love baseball and I just wish we could have stayed and enjoyed the whole game and not have to practice at nine in the morning. I wasn’t able to have any beer, which I think is part of a baseball game, but I had a Fenway Frank and sat and watched most of the game and enjoyed it.”
DID YOU GET TO TAKE BATTING PRACTICE? “No, we didn’t get their early enough because of qualifying, but we got to go down on the field and do some things and talked to some of the guys, so that was fun.”
JAMIE KIDDED YOU BACK IN FEBRUARY WHEN THE MERGER WAS ANNOUNCED ABOUT YOUR HITTING ABILITY, BUT DID YOU PLAY BASEBALL GROWING UP? “Oh yeah, absolutely. I’m a baseball fan and I played baseball some growing up. It’s funny that I didn’t do very well when we were messing around at the announcement because I took batting practice a few years ago on the field and I cracked the ball pretty good, so if I hope I get a chance to redeem myself some time.”
DID YOU FEEL LIKE A BIG SHOT WHEN THEY INTRODUCED YOU AND YOU GOT TO RUN OUT ONTO THE BASELINE LIKE BEFORE AN ALL-STAR GAME OR WORLD SERIES GAME? “Yeah, it was fun. I enjoyed that a lot and I look forward to going back to some more games. I don’t know if the Red Sox are home when we come here for the second time, but I look forward to going back.”
DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion – “I’m a big sports fan and to get to go to Fenway and a baseball game is cool, but to get to sit right beside the dugout and get to meet some of the players and see the inside makes it only better. Going to the game was enough and everything else was just a big bonus.”
WAS IT A THRILL TO RUN OUT AND BE INTRODUCED? “Yeah, that was cool. I know all of the guys had a great time because to be at such a legendary ballpark like Fenway was amazing. It’s great to just go and watch the game, but stuff like that was even better.”
WAS IT FUN TO BE A FAN FOR A NIGHT? “Yeah, and some of the people knew who we were. We had on our Boston jerseys that had our names on the back, so that added some extra excitement. I wish we could go and do a baseball game every weekend.”
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Boston Red Sox Ford Fusion, held his weekly Q&A session after happy hour on Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway. Among the topics was the fastball he threw as part of the ceremonial first pitch at Friday night’s Red Sox-Rangers game.
CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Boston Red Sox Ford Fusion – WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE BASEBALL GAME LAST NIGHT? “The baseball game was a blast. It’s so neat to go to Fenway Park and to be there on such a nice night. I guess we got to sit in John Henry’s seats, which were unbelievable. They said they were some of the best seats in baseball, so that was cool.”
AND YOU GOT TO THROW OUT THE FIRST PITCH? “Yeah, it was fun to get to throw the first pitch. I just threw as hard as I could. I’ve seen guys throw out the first pitch before and I always thought, ‘If I ever get the chance to do that, I’m just gonna throw it as hard as I can,’ so that’s what I did. It almost took out a cameraman, but, other than that, it was fun.”
DOES THIS MAKE YOU A RED SOX FAN NOW? “Oh yeah, for sure, I’m a Red Sox fan. The players are awesome, the management there is great, the fans are unbelievable and they’ve got an unreal park. It’s crazy.”
WHAT ADJUSTMENTS DID YOU MAKE IN HAPPY HOUR? “The biggest thing we tried to do during happy hour is just get the car to feel a little more secure. This Lumber Liquidators Fusion is fast if I can keep the throttle down and not slide the rear tires, but I’m coming off the corners sometimes and just sliding completely sideways. I’m having trouble getting the throttle down, so that’s what we’ve been working on.”
BRIAN VICKERS HAD HIS QUALIFYING TIME DISALLOWED AND HE WAS SENT HOME FOR HIS CAR BEING TOO LOW. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT AND SOME OF THE OTHER PENALTIES? “NASCAR has really taken a strong stance on manipulating the rules around the car of tomorrow. We’re fortunate to be seventh in points. We’ve got a great season going and qualifying is not so stressful for us. We don’t really have to push the envelope, so we’re lucky that we’re not in that situation.”
DO YOU THINK THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT NASCAR MIGHT START SUSPENDING DRIVERS? “Someone made a great point that sponsors and everyone puts so much money and effort into this – and so much planning – that when you keep drivers from driving on the race track, you might hurt the fabric of the sport a little bit. The points penalties are really the things that have an excrutiating effect on the teams – to lose 100 points. NASCAR is in a position right now with the last two penalties to the 24 and 48, they’ve just been able to make a point without ruining those guys’ season. They’re gonna be in the chase, most likely, no matter if they lose 100 points or not, but what NASCAR is doing right now, I feel, is making a statement before the chase starts that, ‘Look, this is what we’re gonna do. It’s gonna cost you 100 points.’ If that were to happen with eight or 10 races to go while we were in the chase, it would be devastating.”
WHAT DID JASON VARITEK SAY TO YOU AFTER THAT FIRST PITCH? “He told me he wanted to get me in line with the pitching coach. I don’t know if that’s because it was a good, fast throw, or if it was just so out of control that I needed some help. I think it was probably the latter.”
HOW DO THINGS LOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND? “I think it could be a great weekend and could be a great race tomorrow. There are some cars that are extremely fast. We’re getting ready to go have the team meeting and after seeing the passion of the Red Sox fans last night, I feel like I’m gonna do anything I can do to run well on Sunday. I owe it to them. It could be a good weekend, but it’s gonna be a really tough race because it’s hard to pass. My car is about a 10th-place car right now and it’s gonna be really tough to run better than that, so we need to work on it.”