Roush happy with NASCAR's decision on Toyota's Nationwide engines

INDIANAPOLIS - Team owner Jack Roush applauded NASCAR's decision to limit Toyota's engine horsepower in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, saying that the move is the first step toward controlling runaway engine costs in the garage. He says the concept guiding the rule will also impact the Cup programs and future engines, such as the new model that Ford is submitting for approval later this season.

Roush thinks that in controlling the testing of cars and engines, NASCAR is curbing costs to owners and creating a more equal playing field. He doesn't deny Toyota's claims that the manufacturer's teams tested and did more work on the Nationwide program, arguing instead that other manufacturers don't have the money to match similar programs. Roush says that the new Cup car, one that he admittedly argued against in the beginning, is helping level the playing field because things like wind-tunnel testing no longer offers a huge advantage. He sees a day when more funding will not give one manufacturer an advantage over another.

NASCAR implemented a new rule this week that requires certain engine types to use a tapered spacer with openings smaller than others, an engine type used only by Toyota. Roush says that will result in a reduction of about five to 10 horsepower in those engines. More importantly, he says it signals an end to trying new concepts in the engines and shows that NASCAR will more tightly control engine components in the future. He says that Ford has a baseline for engines that debuted several years ago and that NASCAR respected that in making the change.

The impact, he says, goes well beyond the actual Nationwide engines being used this season.

"Ford and, to an extent, Chevrolet and Chrysler, are not doing as much testing in the Nationwide and truck series as the unnamed brand is, and that has also tended to upset and change the balance," Roush said. "NASCAR has not been, in the past, against making a change that will balance competition. Their first priority, as seen by me, is to have contentious competition that is exciting for the fans and when, through the expenditure of resources or the advancement of technology, one manufacturer is able to outstrip the others, then it really is not healthy for the sport. NASCAR, as it should have, has the primary interest in the health of the sport. I certainly applaud what they've done.

"In today's environment the domestic automobile manufacturers cannot afford to spend what Toyota has spent and is able to spend in trying to wrest an advantage from everybody else."

Roush bristled at the concept that Toyota could be working harder than other manufacturers, though he did admit that his team and others have not focused on the Nationwide and truck series in the same way Toyota has.

He says that Toyota has gained a technological advantage based on "expenditure of sums of money in testing and sums of money in advancing technology in the architecture of the engine."

Toyota officials and Joe Gibbs Racing team members said recently that Toyota teams have simply worked harder than other teams to gain an advantage. In response, Roush says: "You bring the person and put him in front of me that works harder than me and my guys, and I want to shake their hand. They're not out there."

Others argue that the whole point of racing is to do more research and development in an effort to gain an edge. But Roush says: "That's what Formula One said. How's it worked for them over the years?"

Roush says that Ford and other manufacturers have focused most of their resources and effort on the Sprint Cup Series.

"If you looked and said why haven't we tested our Nationwide cars more, why haven't we tested our Craftsman trucks more? Well the fact is that for the limited resources we've got, we've been expending them primarily toward the Sprint Cup Series," he said. "If we cannot match what our contemporary or what our competitor manufacturers are spending for our Sprint Cup guys, we won't be able to hold our drivers, we won't be able to hold our crew chiefs, we won't be able to hold our key technical people, and we're on the slippery slope. That is where we draw the line. We've got to be able to match resources expended, and NASCAR's done a great job of limiting what you can do."

Roush said Ford should submit a new engine model this fall. The rules change will impact that engine as well.

"When they finally get the engine architectures all defined to NASCAR's new specifications, that will also limit the amount of engine development benefits you can get from spending untold sums of money for engine development," he said. "That is one of the reasons we've got disparity in the Nationwide and the truck series is because those architectural limitations have not been implemented. Ford hasn't caught up, I haven't caught up with what NASCAR has let the other manufacturers do. Until we do that, then there's a disparity that reflects itself on the race track."

He added that while the engine will be submitted, it may not be brought into the series full time right away. Replacing all his Cup engines in preparation for 2010, Roush said, would be an $8 million investment, something he says no group could afford. He's prefers the engine being phased in to limit the amount of parts that would become obsolete by an immediate change.

"In today's stringent economy for the automobile companies, we want to not have to burden ourselves by replacing things that have got life left in them," he said. "And NASCAR recognizes that, too."

Roush said that he doesn't believe the horsepower difference in the Nationwide Series will lead to that many changes at the front of the pack. He does, however, think it was a step in the right direction.

"First of all, five or 10 horsepower will very seldom make a difference in who can win or not win a race," he said. "But it's a tweak, it's a little bit. If you look at who's been driving the Nationwide cars for Toyota, they've been doing a great job. The quality, the program behind them, from the appearance of it on the outside, it certainly looks like there's been Sprint Cup kind of resources expended. I don't expect that things are going to flip-flop. I hope that we can be in the position for – and I think NASCAR wants there to be – a contentious fight for a championship and for winning these races."