1on1: Jack Roush (cont'd)

Q: Ford's financial troubles right now are not as bad as those at General Motors, but they're still bad. How might that affect Roush Fenway Racing's future?

Roush: In a broader sense, I've got Roush Industries -- which is about three times the size of my racing organization. We're located in Detroit, and we're primarily a supplier to Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, all three. The health of the automobile industry worries me very much. I hope that the new [presidential] administration will come in and do some things beneficial to keep the industry vital and viable. I hope the American consumer realizes what the stakes are, and thinks about their fellow citizens that are working and building their cars, and respects that when they make their choices.

“

We've done everything that we've hoped to do. We've run better than in years when we've typically won championships. We've won more races and run better as an organization than in either 2003 or 2004.

”

-- JACK ROUSH

Q: What's the first thing you're looking forward to doing in the offseason? Are you going to go fly something somewhere?

Roush: Flying is not something I need to wait until the offseason to do. I've got some World II airplanes. I've got two P-51 Mustangs and a TP-6 trainer [used to train World War II-era pilots] that I've not given enough attention to this year. So I'm going to do some training flying, some development flying, test flights for those airplanes as I continue to develop the systems so they're safe and they're reliable in today's airspace environment.

So I'm anxious to get back. I've got a whole list of things I want to try to make the airplanes better and satisfy my own curiosity.

Q: Anything else you're planning?

Roush: There will probably be a trip or two that gets worked out. I may go to Branson, Missouri for New Year's. I may go to the Caribbean for New Year's. Last year I gave myself 12 days and I went off to Europe for New Year's. So there probably is a New Year's trip in there for me somewhere.

Other than that, the winter is banquets and training of various kinds that needs to be done, whether it's flight training or other things that I need to get caught up on. I'll try to get caught up on those things so that when February does come back around, I'll be ready to recommit myself to this NASCAR program that we've been involved with for the last 20-plus years.

Q: For the rest of us novices who have never flown in one, tell us what's so special about flying one of those P-51 Mustangs?

Roush: I guess it comes down to if you're a risk-taker, and most people are to some extent. I consider myself a risk-taker. But the challenge is to be able to mitigate the risk through the planning and preparation and that type of thing. I enjoy being in something that's a little out on the edge, has great performance, and is recognized as being as such.

Q: Anything else that comes to mind as we celebrate Veteran's Day?

Roush: I just remember what the preparation and design and development and construction of those airplanes meant in the 1940s for the war effort, and how that resulted in the prosperity that we had in the '50s and the '60s as the world kind of came out from under the cloud of destruction. The energies that were brought forth by all American industries to be able to meet the challenges of World War II were just amazing and astounding. It was one of America's proudest generations that did all that. I respect the people that were involved with the engineering and with the business management aspects of that; I respect the warriors who were involved being pilots for the airplanes; and all the people that were involved in the preparation and maintenance of the airplanes.

When I sit in the airplane, I enjoy vicariously the period of time when America stood so strong and so proud.