Struggling Roush teams rue Hendrick advantage

LONG POND, Pa. -- Roush Fenway Racing drivers realize they've fallen behind the competition, particularly Hendrick Motorsports. But can they get up in time to make a serious run at the championship?

A year ago, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle combined for 11 Ford victories. However, since Matt Kenseth started off the 2009 season with back-to-back wins at Daytona and Fontana, the blue oval has looked more like a zero on the manufacturer scoreboard.

Pocono

Practice 1

Pos.	Driver	Make	Speed
1.	M. Martin	Chevy	169.354
2.	J. Johnson	Chevy	167.604
3.	Dale Jr.	Chevy	167.470
4.	J. Gordon	Chevy	166.799
5.	Ky. Busch	Toyota	166.257
6.	T. Stewart	Chevy	165.954
7.	R. Newman	Chevy	165.874
8.	G. Biffle	Ford	165.724
9.	D. Blaney	Toyota	165.426
10.	S. Hornish Jr.	Dodge	165.411

• Speeds | Lineup | Photos

Hendrick-built Chevrolets have won the past three races, including Jimmie Johnson's victory at the Brickyard last weekend, and Friday's rain-shortened practice at Pocono Raceway looked like more of the same, as all four Hendrick teammates and the satellite Stewart-Haas team taking up six of the top seven places on the lap charts.

So what is Roush Fenway doing to close the gap? Biffle said knowing why Hendrick has the advantage in the first place is of prime importance.

"We're looking at the films, we're looking at their cars, trying to pay attention," Biffle said. "They're a little bit ahead of the curve right now, I think, than most of the other teams. But it's so small of a change. It's 10- and 20-thousandths of this or that. It's not a big chunk. We feel like it's real small and we're trying to hone in on what that is."

Edwards, who has gone from nine wins in 2008 to none in 2009, wonders if perhaps some of the perceived advantage is psychological.

"I don't know if it's based on psychology and how people operate in competitive situations, when you gain an advantage, then you don't work on those things because you don't want to mess it up, and maybe during that time other people are working things and maybe they can surpass you," Edwards said. "I don't know how it ends up going in waves like that, but for me it definitely has.

"In 2005, the races that we won were easy to win. I say easy [because] it's relative. It wasn't like we backed into them, but we ran really well. And then last season, we won nine races and I really feel there was about 12 or 13 of them that we could've won, if things would've gone just a little bit better. I don't know. I feel like I'm doing a better job this year in a lot of ways than I did last year." (Continued)