It appears the Sprint Cup championship quest of the No. 99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards for Roush Fenway Racing will fall short this season, but that doesn't mean it's been a lost season for long-time owner Jack Roush.

After struggling at times on the Cup side last season and finishing with a total of just seven wins between his five teams, Roush's teams have rebounded with a strong year overall this season as they head into the season's final race at Homestead, Fla.

Edwards sits second in points behind Jimmie Johnson and is tied with Kyle Busch for most Sprint Cup victories this season with eight. Greg Biffle won the first two races of the Chase and sits third in the points, while Kenseth is eighth, promising young driver David Ragan is 13th and hard-charging Jamie McMurray is up to 16th after riding a wave of stellar late-season finishes.

Q: What does it mean for Roush Fenway Racing to compete at Homestead during what is billed as Ford Championship Weekend?

Roush: The other racetracks for the most part are tied up with other manufacturers in terms of space and endorsements. To be able to have our manufacturer enjoy that bit of exposure at the last race of the year, on the championship weekend, is a really good thing for me.

We've had great luck at Homestead. We've won three or four or five times there. So we enjoy going there because we're used to winning there. We've won two championships that wound up there, and would like to have a third.

Q: No matter what happens regarding that, won't you look back on this season with great satisfaction in terms of what you've accomplished?

Roush: 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. And certainly as we look at the year, we won't say we missed [the championship] because we went the wrong direction on stuff -- strategies, or as far as engineering is concerned. Our engineering has been great; Ford support has been great for the engineering. Our teams performed well.

It just hasn't worked out for us on the racetrack [with a championship]. The result is something you cannot absolutely determine based on preparation and opportunity, or execution, and we've been on the bottom side of that this year. We've just been involved in wrecks and had some mechanical things happen that we could not anticipate, and that's put us where we are.

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.

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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.

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-- 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.