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Written by Jay W Pennell
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Sunday, 11 November 2007 19:00 |
 By: Jay W. Pennell
In a season dominated by Hendrick Motorsports, don’t expect Jack Roush and his Roush Fenway teams to lie down and give up. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have showed they are not going to simply let the No. 24 and No. 48 drive away without a fight.
Matt Kenseth has had extremely strong cars the past few weeks, battling Johnson for the lead in the late stages of the last two events. The No. 17 DeWalt Ford led the most laps (93) in Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, but again came up short. \"We\'ve had four really great races in a row,\" Kenseth told NASCAR.com, \"It\'s hard to run in the top 10 and it\'s really hard to run in the top five and if you can keep clicking off top-five finishes, that\'s really good.” The only hurdle Kenseth has faced in recent weeks has been the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson. After struggling early in the Chase – earning only one top-ten finish in the first five races – Kenseth has moved his was up to sixth in the Nextel Cup standings after four straight top-five finishes
Greg Biffle has been trying to make something out of his disappointing 2007 season as of late. After earning his first victory of the year at Kansas, Biffle and his No. 16 team have struggled to produce the finishes they want. Making the proper adjustments late in the race, Biffle’s Ford Fusion seemed to be the best car in the closing laps of Sunday’s event. Biffle was able to move past teammate Matt Kenseth for second and appeared to be catching Johnson, however there were simply not enough laps left. Biffle told NASCAR.com, “I thank Matt Kenseth for pulling over. He pulled over and let me have a crack at him. We just needed Jimmie to make a little mistake and we would have been on him, but those guys are pretty good at not making mistakes.\"
Carl Edwards started Sunday’s event from the top of the charts, earning his first pole of the year. Edwards was able to power his No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion to the front early, with little challenge from behind. However engine problems on lap 106 brought the car to the attention of his crew. The team worked on diagnosing the problem and sent Edwards back on the track on lap 145, only to come back to the garage seventeen laps later. Edwards ended the day in 42nd and fell four spots in the Chase to ninth.
The Roush Fenway Racing team heads into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with promise. Strong runs for Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards have proved they are always a threat for the win, and Greg Biffle heads to Homestead as the defending champion of the race, hoping to extend his win streak at the track to four in a row. This team is continuing to overcome internal struggles and will definitely fight until the end. ![](\"/images/stories/hcrflogo.jpg\")
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