HAMPTON, Ga. — Sometimes a racing organization can get too big. Greg Biffle believes that somewhat explains the difficulties Roush Fenway Racing experienced the last two seasons.
Biffle, a 10-year veteran who ranks as Roush’s most experienced driver, sees one man as the difference between what was and what can be at the five-team operation that hasn’t won a NASCAR Cup title since 2003. A man who can bring the massive outfit together.
Robbie Reiser isn’t a new name to the organization, having led Matt Kenseth to that ’03 championship, but it’s in is new job as competition director that Biffle and the other Roush Fenway drivers believe he’ll put the organization back on top.
“He will be the single biggest benefit for Roush Fenway,” Biffle said. “We haven’t had a competition director. Never. All those other teams have them, that guy who brings all that technology together and makes it work. He bridges that gap for us. He understands these cars as well as any crew chief does. He knows what we need to be working on.”
Reiser is a self-proclaimed gearhead, a former racer who built his own cars in Wisconsin as a teenager. He came to Roush with Kenseth, who had been one of his rivals back home. Eight seasons produced six top-10 finishes, including the title and a runner-up finish in 2006.
Having accomplished his goals as a crew chief, Reiser went to Jack Roush and asked to become part of the organization’s management.
Roush, who was looking for a way to bring his teams together, knew he had found his man without having to go outside the family.
“We’ve morphed the organization into something that will allow us to accentuate Robbie’s strengths, which are many,” Roush said. “His main strength is in understanding how the manufacturing thing works and how to build teams. This is something the entire organization needs.”
Before the teams even hit the track for the first time in 2008, Reiser had already made a difference. Biffle recalls the first time he realized this year was going to be different.
“We all went to Daytona (for testing) complaining like crazy about these cars vibrating,” he said. “Robbie Reiser comes in at 5 o’clock in the morning and sits down in his office and creates a solution. He gets all the cars and parts together and sends a team to Nashville and tests it that quick. From the Daytona test to the vibration test, with all the data on the car already done, it was amazing.
“Now we think we’ve solved a five-year vibration problem on the car. Just like that. We’ve had it forever. That’s what we need to catch these guys down the road. That’s the difference.”
“These guys” would be Hendrick Motorsports, winners of the past two titles and the benchmark for how personnel should be used. Roush Fenway, by management’s own admission, has just as many top engineers and just as much financial backing as Hendrick.
The missing piece, team members say, is someone who could have the vision to work toward the future without sacrificing the present.
“I’ve seen us working on different things this year, and I know that’s all Robbie,” Kenseth said. “I’ve seen things changing around the shop — attitudes changing, people’s jobs changing. Robbie runs a pretty tight ship, so he’s going to be on top of things. We’ve got so many talented people here, and it’s just a matter of getting them to work to their potential and work together.”
So far, the results have been strong. A team that was woefully behind on the Car of Tomorrow last year and had only two of its drivers in the Chase is now at the head of the field. Even with Carl Edwards’ penalties at Las Vegas, that race showed a complete turnaround on the mile-and-a-half tracks from last year for the Roush Fenway cars. It reminds Edwards of the 2005 season when Roush had all its teams in the Chase.
“To be in the same position with teams like Hendrick, it only takes a small advantage or small change in luck,” said Edwards, who is still in the top 10 in points despite the 100-point penalty. “We had that in 2005, especially at the mile-and-a-halfs. To be in that position, though, it takes a lot of work back at the shop, and with Robbie and those guys, it’s working. It’s cool that we now have guys working on so many different things, because it’s the little things that will make a difference with this car this year.”
Like getting rid of an annoying vibration.
Lindsey Young is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who started work at the Chattanooga News-Free Press 24 years ago. He covers the Northwest Georgia prep beat and NASCAR. Lindsey’s hometown is Ringgold, Ga., and he graduated from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School. He received an associate’s degree from Dalton Junior College (now Dalton State) and a bachelor’s degree in communications from UTC. He has won several writing awards, including two Tennessee Sports ...
