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Roush-Fenway Makes 2015 Driver Line-Up Official

Ricky Stenhouse will race in 2015 with new sponsorship.  [John Wiedemann Photo]

            Speedway, IN., July 27—Roush-Fenway Racing announced their 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver line-up, which includes Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne Sunday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Biffle will continue to drive the #16 Ford while Stenhouse Jr. will remain behind the wheel of the #17 Ford with sponsorship now coming from Fastenal. Trevor Bayne was earlier announced as the driver of the #6 Ford with a return to the car number first made famous by the organization with sponsorship from AdvoCare.

“Sponsors are still in a state of flux on all programs,” team owner Jack Roush stated, “But its Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led by Greg Biffle and Trevor Bayne for Sprint Cup for 2015.”

Noticeably absent from that list was current Roush-Fenway driver Carl Edwards who has long been rumored to leave the organization at the end of the season and with Sunday’s announcement now appears to be official.

“We made him an offer,” Roush continued, discussing the situation with Edwards, “NASCAR racing is a big-time sports entertainment thing today. Like football, baseball, and basketball athletes move around. We wish it wouldn’t happen, but there’s a curiosity about what another team’s situation would look like and I think that although I shouldn’t speculate, I think Carl wanted to try something different before he saw his career get in its middle term and its final years.”

“Carl has been a cornerstone of our success here in the last ten years, “Roush continued, “He’s one of the drivers who have come to our program initially. We’ve had 48 drivers in 27 and a half years that have driven our cars and he, along with Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle, have certainly left their mark. We’ve enjoyed the time with him and enjoyed his success and wish him and his family success going forward.”

Although strong rumors have placed Edwards with the Joe Gibbs Racing organization, it is still unknown where the Missouri native is headed in 2015 and Roush provided no insight into the situation.

“It was some time ago when Carl let us know he was in serious discussions with another team and he’s not indicated who that is and I’ve not been told by him or anybody else, “ Roush said, “It’s speculation where he’s going, but I don’t know for certain.”

Despite the loss of Edwards, Roush remained optimistic about the organization’s outlook for 2015.

“We’ve been in this business for 27 years and counting and we have made it our habit, our practice, our preference to bring drivers in, “Roush continued, “We’ve brought in 23 drivers that had never been a part of NASCAR before and 19 of them are still in this sport and 17 of them have won races, so we’re pretty much on time. We may have more rookies, but Ricky and Trevor and Greg are going to be great. I’m real excited about that for next year and not less excited than I’ve been at any time in the past.”

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