Robbie Reiser looks around his office at Roush Fenway Racing and he can't help but marvel at how far he's come.

Roush Fenway boasts more employees than there are residents in Reiser's tiny hometown of Allenton, Wis. When he moved south, Reiser compiled what was at best a modest record as a driver before moving behind pit wall. Now, the budgets of his present organization and the family-owned team he once fielded in the Nationwide Series are separated by only $100 million or so.

Today, he's general manager in charge of Sprint Cup Series programs for an organization that gives definition to the term "mega-team." Owner Jack Roush was injured in a plane crash on July 27, and Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle won just five days later in Pocono. But when Roush issued a statement in the aftermath of both events saying that he was comforted by Reiser's presence at the helm, there was more to the story.

How did Robbie Reiser ever get to this point?

"I started out racing mini-stocks in Wisconsin," Reiser said. "I don't really have a real high-educated background. To just be a farmer from Wisconsin, to be here today is unbelievable. A lot of days, I just shake my head. It's sure been a great ride."

Before the accident, Roush and Reiser spent most of the day together on Mondays in various meetings. Tuesdays, Roush was typically immersed in engineering issues within his teams and on Wednesdays, Roush usually visited the shop before heading out to that weekend's race.

Yet while Roush is an ever-present force, he normally leaves the day-to-day operations of the organization to people like Reiser. Roush is the big-picture guy providing guidance and vision, while Reiser and an army of employees put the plans into motion. In that respect, not much changed in the days after Roush's plane crashed while landing in Oshkosh, Wis.

"The things we get from Jack are the experience and the know-how," Reiser said. "He's got a real strong technical side to him. He does pay attention to what we're doing, and he's always there for counsel if we need it."

When asked about his job description as general manager, Reiser paused and laughed. It's the kind of deal where it would be easier to mention the things the job doesn't include, as opposed to what it does. Reiser said that he's in charge of overseeing construction of cars, the teams themselves, pit stops -- pretty much anything having to do with Cup competition, from one end to the other.

Sixteen supervisors run various areas within the company and they all report to Reiser.

For all that, however, the 2010 Cup season had been a study in frustration for Roush Fenway Racing, even before its owner's mishap. Three of the team's four drivers -- Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Biffle -- were in position to make the Chase, but none were higher than eighth in the standings prior to Roush's crash. None had won a race. Biffle's Pocono victory was the first for a Ford since Jamie McMurray took the checkered flag at Talladega in November.

No one single factor was to blame, Reiser insisted. If there had been just one gremlin vexing Ford, in general, and Roush Fenway, in particular, it would've been a far easier fix.

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Robbie Reiser and Matt Kenseth reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2003.

"When you go through the struggles that we did the first part of the year, it's a combination of a lot of things," Reiser said. "If it was one thing, I'm sure we would've picked up on it a lot sooner. Being that we had to work on the overall program, it's taken a little bit of time. I would've never thought it would take us to July to win a race.

"[Winning requires] working on every end of the car, every end of the engine, every end of our teams. To win these races, you've got to have it all. We didn't have it all, and we went to work on every aspect [of the team] to try to fix it."

It was Reiser and his father, John, who picked Kenseth out of the Midwestern short-track racing scene, placing him in their car early in 1997. Together, they worked their way through the Nationwide Series, and when Kenseth signed with Roush to move to the Cup tour in 2000, Reiser went with him.

Only after the 2007 campaign did Reiser finally step off the pit box and into his current role. However, when the transition first went down, he hated every minute of it. For the first time in his career, Reiser's focus was not on just one car. He wasn't in charge of just his own little corner of the garage any more, but an entire multifaceted armada.

Reiser always had wanted to help make a difference within the organization, and here was his chance.

"The 17 team was pretty much branded in my skin," Reiser said. "It was hard to understand that you weren't doing that anymore. Not being in there every minute of the day working on trying to win that particular race with that particular team, it was really different for me. To this day, I probably still struggle with it a lot of times because I miss the competition side of it so much. But I understand my role today, and I'll help in any way I can."

As rock solid as Kenseth once was with Reiser, the 2003 Cup champion has gone through four crew chiefs in the past three seasons, including three this year. It led to speculation that Reiser would return as Kenseth's crew chief -- if not to fill in for the rest of 2010, certainly for next season.

Just don't ask Reiser about it. He won't confirm such talk, but he won't deny it, either. Every time he's tried to answer such questions, he says, his replies get spun out. "Whatever happens down the road happens," Reiser said. "I can't answer that question."

Still, the relationship between Reiser and Kenseth is as good today as it ever was. Although they don't see each other quite as much, they recently went on a trip together and Reiser still picks up the phone and talk to his longtime employee, co-worker and friend just like they always have.

They might even get along better.

"We probably don't get as mad at each other as we used to," Reiser said, then laughed. "We probably don't argue as much any more. I think all in all, our relationship's really good. On the competition part end of it, we were always trying to fight to win. Both of us wanted to win, so at times, it was a little tense. It probably ain't as tense as it used to be, but we've still got the same goals."