No rush for Roush
As the year 2006 comes to a close, NASCAR fans are speculating about who Jack Roush will field for his No. 6 Ford car. This is because Mark Martin, the driver for No. 6 for the past 19 seasons has said that he won't be driving the car next year. Reporters have made such a fanfare about the affair so much so that NASCAR fans are wondering what all that hoopla is about because Jack Roush is unperturbed by it at all. He, Jack Roush, said that he is in no rush to make a decision.
While Roush is in no hurry to make a decision on whom the replacement will be, his development drivers might feel a little bit of the heat as they are the primary candidates for replacement. His development drivers include talents like Todd Kluever, David Ragan, Erik Darnell and Danny O'Quinn. Even as reporters press on about the topic, Roush remains mum.
Surely, seeing the performance of his current group of drivers, Roush should have at least ONE favorite development driver who has an advantage over the others. Not so, says Roush. Apparently, he has no clear favorite at this point and he does not feel that there is a deadline to make a decision on the replacement for No.6. In fact, he sees winter as a time to take a good long look at his drivers and the following months will see him evaluating his drivers and making a very careful decision.
Among all the replacement drivers under Roush, many feel that Todd Kluever should have an advantage because he's made quite a bit of impression this year. Although he finished at 41 st and 43 rd in Chicagoland and Michigan , he made it to 22 nd Sunday's Banquet.
Even with that said, it is no conclusion. That's because O'Quinn and Raglan did pretty well too despite the fact that Ragan crashed out in California .
As Roush deliberates, the media speculates. It's a good thing that Roush's team thinks ahead of time and has a list of potential replacements in place. There are many young talented drivers waiting to be used. Roush sings praises about his development drivers and says that all of them have potential and unusual skills behind the wheel. Despite being in competition with each other, Roush says that he is impressed with the level of maturity, friendship and team-spirit that is so apparent among his development drivers. And they, he said, will be rewarded.