Roush: No deal with Fenway group yet
By Mark Ashenfelter
Friday, September 22, 2006
DOVER, Del. - Team owner Jack Roush said there is not yet an offer on the table from John Henry's Fenway Sports Group as the entity discusses buying into Roush Racing with team President Geoff Smith. Roush said Friday that he's not sure when the sides will next talk but added that's not out of the ordinary.
"I don't do the money very well," Roush said with a smile at Dover International Speedway. "Right now, there are discussions going on. There's not a deal on the table. There may not be a deal that makes it to the table.
"What do I think the chances are that John Henry will become an investor in the Roush organization? On one day it looks like the glass is a little more than half full; on other days it looks like it's definitely [less] than half full. And I don't get a report every day on what's going on."
Roush said talks are sometimes conducted via email, but added that several members of FSG were at the team's North Carolina shops prior to the race at New Hampshire.
If an agreement is reached, Roush said he wouldn't sell more than 50 percent of the organization to Henry's FSG, which is a separate entity from the partnership that owns the Boston Red Sox. And he said this simply isn't a way to get around NASCAR's ownership rules, which will eventually limit him to fielding four full-time Nextel Cup Series teams.
If an agreement were reached, Henry would be an investor in Roush Racing, not fielding teams under the Fenway Sports Group umbrella as a separate entity.
"Our plan is to operate four NASCAR stock car racing teams past this decade," Roush said. "We think if I can spread my base and do an expanded marketing and sponsorship involvement program that would have a component of interest in the Northeast that we'd be stronger through that."
Anyone thinking this is Roush's way of preparing to retire is mistaken according to the owner.
"For anybody that thinks Jack is looking for a way to get off stage now, or in the foreseeable future or that retirement's my plan, just hide and watch [me]," he said. "I'm not going to retire. I'm not trying to back away from the races. I'm not trying to put somebody between me and the race teams.
"One of my challenges my managers have on the race teams is, 'How do we get Jack out of the way so we can do what we need to do.'"
