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NASCAR Cup Series: 5 easy predictions for the 2019 season

By William Richard

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – NOVEMBER 04: Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
FORT WORTH, TX – NOVEMBER 04: Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /

#2: Roush Fenway Racing continue to struggle

The 2019 season is a crossroads for many NASCAR Cup Series teams. One organization on the bubble is Roush Fenway Racing.

Once a prominent championship-contending team, Roush Fenway Racing has fallen on hard times as of late with just two combined wins in the last four seasons. Jack Roush’s team won the NASCAR Cup Series championships in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, but they have become a mid-tier team in a climate that lacks parity.

The “cat in the hat” has tried a variety of changes over the last few years to spark some sort of winning combination, but has failed to find a consistent solution. Fans have witnessed this team shrink from four cars to three and now to two.

Roush even dabbled in making his #6 Ford a split-ride between a struggling Trevor Bayne and veteran talent Matt Kenseth. The change didn’t yield many results, as Kenseth managed an average finish of only 19.9.

Roush’s next experiment includes placing yet another wily veteran, Ryan Newman, in the famed #6 Ford in hopes of finding the light at the end of the tunnel.

Looking into my crystal ball, I have bad news for Roush Fenway Racing fans.

Here is a fact for you. Roush Fenway Racing have become just an average organization in the Cup Series garage. They’ve fallen from mega-power to middle-of-the-road team over the last decade. Unfortunately, I don’t see a change in fate any time soon.

The team’s problems extend far beyond their driver talent. Newman, while he is a great veteran to put in a car, won’t be the solution to their woes. I can’t explain what has happened to Ford’s former powerhouse, but major changes will have to come in order for fans to see the #6 Ford and #17 Ford back toward the front on a consistent basis.

This is an easy prediction given the fact that nothing has truly changed for this veteran team during the offseason. Perhaps the new aero package will level the playing field for this team, but until I see major swings at the current system, you won’t sucker me into believing that they are back on the rise.

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