2010 Team Reviews: Roush Fenway Racing Charts Upward Trend

Roush Fenway Racing, coming off a 2009 season that started with a bang after Matt Kenseth's Daytona 500 win and ended with the thud of being largely uncompetitive, moved in the right direction again in 2010.

Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth all raced their way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup field this time around, a nice turnaround after the former champ Kenseth failed to secure a spot in last year's championship battle. David Ragan, however, continued down the same path of his dismal 2009 season.

The team reeled off three wins in the 2010 campaign, but most notably finished it on quite a high note with Edwards' end-of-the-season dominance as Jimmie Johnson strutted to the Sprint Cup title.

Outside of the stats, Edwards also made it an interesting year for the Roush-Fenway public relations department with his on-track actions, particularly with Brad Keselowski.

But no one was involved in more dramatics than team co-owner Jack Roush himself, who survived his second plane crash when he crash-landed his jet while trying to touch down at Oshkosh, Wis., in July. The crash cost Roush the sight in his left eye, among other non-permanent injuries.

4th - Carl Edwards [2 wins, 9 Top-5s, 19 Top-10s, 2 DNFs, 11.8 Avg. Finish]

The Carl Edwards roller coaster -- a ride that featured a loop around the 2007 Chase and a near-miss at dethroning Jimmie Johnson and then a steep drop into a mediocre 2009 season -- started back up the next hill in 2010, complete with some jaw-dropping bumps along the way.

The most obvious reflection on 2010 for Edwards was his late-season performance that netted him wins in the season's final two races. They were the culmination of the steady progress Edwards started to most noticeably show in mid-summer races. After his long drought, winning 2010's final two races had to leave Edwards and No. 99 team feeling good headed to Daytona Beach in February.

But there was another side to Edwards' season, and that began with the fifth race at Atlanta. There, Edwards delivered payback to Keselowski in the waning laps, turning Keselowski's Penske Racing Dodge and sending it tumbling roof-first into the catchfence. The stunning video footage of the intentional crash stirred the NASCAR season out of an early-season slumber into full-blown controversy mode.

Smartly, NASCAR warned the pair against future action and the issue seemed to blow over -- until Edwards dumped Keselowski again during a Nationwide Series race near St. Louis in July to set off another horrific crash for Keselowski.

Both times, Keselowski walked away unscathed while Edwards faced NASCAR scrutiny, but no serious punishment. The fiery side of Edwards is no longer a secret in the NASCAR world, and should he make another run towards the top in 2011, he'll be one of the most interesting persons to watch.

5th - Matt Kenseth [0 wins, 6 Top-5s, 15 Top-10s, 0 DNFs, 12.8 Avg. Finish]

Downtrodden, depressed and just plain out of it are adjectives to describe the mood Matt Kenseth was in during the middle of 2010. Always one of NASCAR's most consistent and calm drivers, Kenseth faced apparent issues with his crew chief and a race car that was good for 10th to 15th place , but not much more, on nearly every outing.

Those emotions, and Kenseth's lack of high-flying dominance during any point of 2010, made him easily the most surprising contestant not only in the Chase, but for a finish in the Sprint Cup's final top five.

Kenseth's season started in typical Kenseth fashion, ticking off five consecutive top-five finishes to start the year. His biggest slide came after May's Coca-Cola 600, when he finished outside the top-10 for the next nine races.

Kenseth, however, found his way into the Chase by making his worst finishes of the season -- at Infineon in June and Auto Club in October -- only 30th-place runs. Kenseth closed the 2010 year with three top-10s, including a runner-up finish at Texas.

6th - Greg Biffle [2 wins, 9 Top-5s, 19 Top-10s, 3 DNFs, 15.4 Avg. Finish]

When the Chase began, Greg Biffle looked to be Roush Fenway's best chance to bring home the 2010 trophy. A win at Pocono to start August showed the team was ready to mix it up with NASCAR's frontrunners.

A pair of finishes outside the top-15 to start the Chase (17th at Loudon, 19th at Dover) quickly undid most of those expectations before he rebounded with a commanding win the next week at Kansas.

Biffle, however, lost all Chase momentum again when he suffered his second engine failure of the season the next week at Fontana. Still, he managed to find a few more top-10s before the season closed.

The 2010 season represented an upswing for the veteran Biffle after a winless 2009 campaign, but for a driver who has placed in the Chase for the past three seasons, a championship would appear to be the only thing he's really looking for now.

24th - David Ragan [0 wins, 0 Top-5s, 3 Top-10s, 2 DNFs, 21.3 Avg. Finish]

Based on recent history, David Ragan would appear to be NASCAR's most confusing driver. Two years ago, the young Ragan strung together an admirable sophomore campaign with six Top-5s and 14 Top-10s.

Ragan was the best driver not in the Chase that season. Since then, Ragan has been on a disturbing slide at Roush Fenway after two complete seasons without a top five finish. Even during his rookie season, Ragan managed a pair of top-five runs.

Ragan showed slight improvement in one regard -- his average finish this season of 21.3 was up three spots from a year ago.

In an era of driver changes made on a whim when the next hot talent becomes available, it's certainly interesting that Ragan has never made it to hot seat status in NASCAR's rumor market. 2011 needs to be a return to 2007 form or better for Ragan, it would seem, if he's got much of a future with Roush Fenway.

Roush Fenway's Best of 2010: With his late-season success, Edwards looked like the Edwards of old from 2008's banner season.

Roush Fenway's Worst of 2010: Again, Edwards. This time, however, for his on-track antics with Keselowski. All in all -- despite NASCAR's bump-and-grind past -- he handled both situations with Brad Keselowski in a terrible manner.

What to watch at Roush Fenway in 2011: If Roush Fenway unloads at Daytona with the performance they had during the second half of 2010, they could easily have three championship contenders.