NASCAR limits Roush's No. 06 to one more race
HAMPTON, Ga. - Roush Racing can only enter the No. 06 in one more Nextel Cup race this year because of the team limitations imposed by NASCAR, team president Geoff Smith confirmed Saturday.
Roush already has its fifth full-time team grandfathered in on the four-team NASCAR Cup limit. Teams are also allowed to enter an extra team for a rookie to get ready for next season.
Smith said Roush Racing interpreted that limitation to mean seven races with any rookie, but NASCAR informed the team at Martinsville last week that it could run only one more race - the eighth Nextel Cup attempt overall for the No. 06 car this year.
The No. 06 has attempted to run six events (including one where the team failed to qualify) with Todd Kluever and two with David Ragan.
That final race for the No. 06 will be Phoenix with Kluever at the wheel. Smith said it is the team's plan to run Ragan in whatever races he is eligible for the rest of the year in the No. 60 No Fear Racing car, which has an affiliation with Roush.
Ragan originally was supposed to drive the No. 06 car at Atlanta this weekend. When Roush Racing found out last week it could only run that car one more time this year, it withdrew the car and planned to have No Fear enter Ragan in the No. 60. Before it could get the new entry filed, NASCAR ruled that Ragan was not approved to run the 1.5-mile Atlanta track in the Cup race because of struggles at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday.
Smith said the team is fine with the limitation imposed.
"There was a little bit of misinterpretation on our part in regards to what the rule was in the 06," Smith said. "Our translation was the 06 could run seven times with a rookie. We didn't think there was a limit on the rookies that could run in the car.
"It's not a problem."
HAMPTON, Ga. - Roush Racing can only enter the No. 06 in one more Nextel Cup race this year because of the team limitations imposed by NASCAR, team president Geoff Smith confirmed Saturday.
Roush already has its fifth full-time team grandfathered in on the four-team NASCAR Cup limit. Teams are also allowed to enter an extra team for a rookie to get ready for next season.
Smith said Roush Racing interpreted that limitation to mean seven races with any rookie, but NASCAR informed the team at Martinsville last week that it could run only one more race - the eighth Nextel Cup attempt overall for the No. 06 car this year.
The No. 06 has attempted to run six events (including one where the team failed to qualify) with Todd Kluever and two with David Ragan.
That final race for the No. 06 will be Phoenix with Kluever at the wheel. Smith said it is the team's plan to run Ragan in whatever races he is eligible for the rest of the year in the No. 60 No Fear Racing car, which has an affiliation with Roush.
Ragan originally was supposed to drive the No. 06 car at Atlanta this weekend. When Roush Racing found out last week it could only run that car one more time this year, it withdrew the car and planned to have No Fear enter Ragan in the No. 60. Before it could get the new entry filed, NASCAR ruled that Ragan was not approved to run the 1.5-mile Atlanta track in the Cup race because of struggles at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday.
Smith said the team is fine with the limitation imposed.
"There was a little bit of misinterpretation on our part in regards to what the rule was in the 06," Smith said. "Our translation was the 06 could run seven times with a rookie. We didn't think there was a limit on the rookies that could run in the car.
"It's not a problem."
