It’s our philosophies are those that if you run consistently, have good pit stops and stay on your game each week—that you can be enshrined in history books. That means winning races, running in the top-10 and staying out of trouble. That’s our game plan—that’s our mantra.
However, sometimes there are things that pop up that are out of our control. That’s usually a mechanical problem. Such was the case this past weekend in the Shelby 427 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
To be totally honest, we really didn’t have a winning car. There was something that was missing during practice—and ultimately during qualifying. Our starting position was in the last 25 percent of the field. No matter what, we had some work to do.
Well, as soon as the green flag dropped Matt knew that we would have a short day. Something was amiss in the motor—something that was irreparable. Matt knew that we would not be a contender; let alone win our third race in a row.
Almost immediately, Matt said, “I’ll be on pit road in two laps. The motor is going to blow up.” Right then and there I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. So did our guys on pit road. After winning the first two races of the season, our third event would yield us an early departure from the racetrack.
I don’t know that I can accurately describe the feeling that the No. 17 Ford Fusion team felt. It was a feeling of very mixed emotions.
Look, when you go out and win the first two races on NASCAR’s top series and then finish last in the third it sends a jolt of reality through your system. It brings you back to Earth. It makes you human again. It is at that time when you need to adopt a sense of humility—know that you are not invincible; and forge ahead to the next race.
On the whole, our Roush-Yates motor program rivals anyone. In fact, the last time the 17-team had any kind of issue with the motors was two seasons ago. Our Ford power plants are pretty much bulletproof.
Here’s the good news: We won the first two races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. We are still third in the point standings. And we are going to one of the best tracks for all of the Roush-Fenway drivers, the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The ingredients for success are there. We’ll just pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and go as fast as we can!
Sure, we were really disappointed this week. I mean, really disappointed. But we are not discouraged. There is a big difference between the two.
I feel confident that our team will bounce back in a big way. I know that we can put a blown motor behind us and make some magic in Atlanta. And you can be sure of one thing: Regardless of whether or not we win this week … I’m not getting another tattoo!
