Notes: Roush thinks his drivers match any team's

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Nextel Cup car owner Jack Roush of Roush Fenway Racing said he will stack up his lineup of drivers against anyone -- including the powerhouse lineup of drivers that will be fielded by Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2008.

"I'm relieved that there's not a big question, there's not a human outcry over whether the Roush organization has got a power balance in its favor," Roush joked.

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. announcing Wednesday that he will join Hendrick next season, it could be argued that Hendrick will now employ perhaps the three biggest superstars in the sport -- with the other two being Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. The fourth Hendrick driver is Casey Mears. But Roush said that he believes in his current crop of drivers, which includes Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and David Ragan.

"I'm very excited about our lineup of drivers. Greg is a championship-quality caliber driver. Matt Kenseth obviously is, and Carl is as well," Roush said. "The only thing that I lack in terms of making my program realize its fruition is just getting caught up on the testing lag that I got into when I accepted the bait and spooled down my testing for this year, believing that all that we were going to be able to test the Car of Tomorrow was a dedicated NASCAR test where they provided Goodyear tires. I got blindsided by that.

"So that's been the short side of my program -- my vision regarding what NASCAR was going to do and what they were going to allow us in testing. I didn't assess that correctly. But as far as the driver talent is concerned, I wouldn't trade my lineup of drivers for anything I see out there."

A grinning Roush even offered a challenge of sorts to Earnhardt and company.

"Junior does a nice job. He was going to be a factor with a major team wherever he landed," Roush said. "So I wasn't surprised, nor do I have any anxiety about what I see. Just bring it, you know."

More on testing

Roush has been complaining about NASCAR testing policies -- or lack thereof -- for some time. He was asked if he believes his complaining will lead to a change in that regard in the near future.

"I don't care. I'm going to tell you exactly what I told [NASCAR president] Mike Helton," he said with a touch of anger in his voice. "When NASCAR came back and told us we couldn't own our tires, it was with the expressed intention of making the playing field level so that everybody would take their Cars of Tomorrow and test them together on tracks under NASCAR supervision.

"I was confident that they were going to come back in tail with that and limit the number of tests. And I was wrong. Other teams have looked at it and said, well, if we can garner tires from other sources and go to tracks outside of NASCAR's supervision, we'll do it. ..."

Now Roush is doing it, too. He hired six new people and equipment that he is dedicating to nothing but the ramped-up testing program.

"We're on our way now," Roush said. "I don't care what they do now. If they limit the number of tests before we get caught up, I guess I would be upset with that."

BP's influence

Greg Biffle probably wouldn't be driving the No. 16 Ford if not for Benny Parsons, who lobbied Jack Roush to sign the driver.

NASCAR on TNT will honor Parsons, the 1973 Cup champ and long-time analyst, Sunday during its pre-race coverage. Parsons died in January.

• TNT to pay tribute to Parsons
• Weber: Remembering BP
• NASCAR on TNT

Remembering BP

Michigan International Speedway is where the late Benny Parsons once told Roush about Biffle, which ultimately led to Biffle driving for Roush. Biffle reminded everyone that Friday was the 27-year anniversary of Parsons' only driving victory at Michigan as well.

All of which had Parsons on Biffle's mind as Sunday's race approached. Parsons passed away in January after a battle with cancer.

"It's a personal thing for me. [Friday] night we usually would go to the casino here," Biffle said. "I like to gamble, it's not a secret. I've still got some chips in my pocket from the last time I was here. We used to go to the MGM or Motor City.''

Waltrip update

With all that was going on in and around the garage the past couple of days, the fact that Michael Waltrip finally made another race almost slipped under the radar. Needing to get his No. 55 Toyota in on speed, Waltrip did so rather easily, qualifying 18th for this Sunday's Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

During the Happy Hour practice Saturday at MIS, Waltrip was listed as 33rd-fastest on the speed charts. Not the greatest, but hey, after missing all but two of the season's 14 previous races, Waltrip was simply happy to be included in Sunday's show.

"From the first time I ran in practice [Friday] morning, the car just felt right," Waltrip said. "It ran well and it would go where I wanted it to. ... We are taking baby steps and this is a good step in the right direction. I would definitely rather be in than out, and now we need to focus on running good in the race."