Jack Roush reflects on near-death 12 years later

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Nascar

Roush Fenway Racing owner reminded of plane crash with each visit to Talladega

A dozen years ago, Tony Stewart was battling for his first NASCAR championship. Jimmie Johnson was battling for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. And Jack Roush nearly died.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, site of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499, one of two annual stops for the circuit at the series’ largest track.

Stewart will be there. Johnson will be there. And fortunately, Roush will be there, too.

"Whenever I go to Alabama for the Talladega race, it comes to mind that I had a close encounter of the worst kind down there," the 72-year-old car owner said recently. "But it’s not on my mind daily."

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These days, Roush has other things to occupy his mind and his time. He’s co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, an organization that fields Cup teams for three drivers: Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway also fields a pair of NASCAR Nationwide Series entries for drivers Trevor Bayne and Ryan Reed.

Outside of the track, Roush oversees Roush Industries, Inc., an engineering management company that employs more than 1,800 people and provides support and services for a number of other industries unrelated to racing.

But it’s Talladega week, and for Roush, thoughts of a plane crash that nearly claimed his life 12 years ago no doubt come drifting back to the surface.

A birthday celebration gone awry left Roush unconscious and submerged in eight feet of water on that Friday, as the plane he was flying struck a power line in Troy, Ala., and crashed into a small lake.

As terrible as the incident was, Roush had two things in his favor: the plane landed in water, and a retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps, Larry Hicks, witnessed the crash.

Had the plane not plummeted into the lake, the impact with the ground likely would have killed Roush. Had Hicks not heard the crash, Roush likely would have drowned.

Hicks, who had underwater rescue training during his tenure with the Marines, rushed to the crash site where, after several attempts, he was able to remove Roush from the pilot’s seat. Once on the surface, he administered CPR to Roush, who was unconscious and not breathing.

Emergency personnel soon arrived, and Roush, who suffered a broken leg, collapsed lung, broken ribs and a head injury, spent the next several months recovering from his injuries.

"I talk to Larry three to four times a year," Roush said. "He’s a dear friend, based on what he did for me and the friendship we’ve had from that time.

"He was a game officer with the Alabama state agency there. He’s retired from that. He taught college for a while and he’s retired from that now.

"He’s kicked back and enjoying life, using his bass boat for something other than hauling somebody that fell out of the sky in an airplane in his backyard."

The 2002 crash wasn’t the only aircraft mishap for Roush. In 2010, he crash-landed in Oshkosh, Wisc., an incident that left him with a broken back and jaw and resulted in the loss of his left eye.

Today, Roush remains seemingly unfazed by the incidents, and he continues to fly his own planes — which include two P-51 Mustangs — at every opportunity.

"I enjoy telling people I don’t fly any more," Roush said, grinning. "But I don’t fly any less either.

"I’m closer to the end of my flying than I am the beginning. I still enjoy managing the airspace, managing the weather, managing the pilot’s physiology and managing all the regulations that go with flying and trying to stay out of trouble."

He will continue to fly, he said, "as long as my vision holds and I’m physically able.

"I enjoy getting up in the morning, opening the hangar door and pushing my airplane outside, flying to where I need to go, parking it and going about my business."

He knows he has been very fortunate. Why is a question he said he still ponders.

"I looked at some of the things that happen to people that they don’t deserve and I ask myself occasionally, ‘Why me?’ " Roush said. "Why did God decide that he would give me another look at things?

"It’s either that He wants to punish me or I’ve got some work I’ve yet to accomplish; I’m not sure which. Sometimes, it feels like both are going on at the same time."

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Posted on May 1, 2014 by Nascar

Harvick among a small handful of drivers capable of competing for wins at each track

CONCORD, N.C. — Two wins in nine starts haven’t altered the way Kevin Harvick races, but the Stewart-Haas Racing driver admits he finds himself in a "unique" position these days.

"Just because with the way things have gone," Harvick, 38, said Tuesday during an appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "You didn’t really know how they would go."

As competitive as he had been in the previous seasons, early success in a completely new environment with a new team has been a pleasant surprise. Now, he said, "you expect to go to the track and race for a win every week. That’s a unique mindset."

Racing for wins and championships isn’t exactly foreign to Harvick, who is in his 14th season at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series level. When he packed up and departed Richard Childress Racing at the close of the 2013 season, he left with 23 career victories, three third-place points finishes in the last four seasons and a healthy dose of respect from his peers in the garage.

"I didn’t change teams to get worse," he said. "I went in with the intention of being competitive.

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" … You put everything together with the intention of trying to improve upon your situation in the past. I think so far it’s gone really well. Every week it’s a constant evaluation of parts and pieces, people, (and) situations. We’re still gathering notes just like we were at Richmond this (past) weekend for the first time as a group … with the new rules.

"We’ve been fortunate to have fast cars pretty much every week. We missed it a little bit last week, but that’s probably the first time we’ve been off."

That he heads to Talladega Superspeedway, site of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499, 20th in points says more about the early growing pains of a new team than the team’s abilities. Sandwiched around four finishes outside the top 35 this year were wins at Phoenix and Darlington. Last week at Richmond, where Harvick said the team "missed it a little bit," he still managed an 11th-place finish.

Give Harvick a fast car and he’ll get it to the front. Give him one of the fastest and chances are he’ll keep it there.

NASCAR’s season is a long one, and it’s full of wild swings of fortune — this week’s winner can find himself first on the sidelines barely a week later. Some drivers struggle to find a measure of success when changing teams. Others catch lightning in a bottle much sooner — as was the case of Matt Kenseth, a seven-race winner in 2013 in his debut season with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Harvick has already shown that he and his No. 4 team can win. They have shown that they can be fast every week. And that’s the major difference this year for the Bakersfield, California native.

"In the past, (it was) ‘Well we hadn’t run good here,’ " he said. "Well, we haven’t been to most of these places (with SHR) as a team ever. We’re approaching all these race tracks for the first time and everywhere we’ve been they’ve done a great job in either bringing a fast car or making a slow car into a fast car by the end of the weekend. They’ve done a good job. I think we can go to any type of race track and be competitive and contend for wins."

It’s rare that a driver is considered a contender each week as the series moves through the diverse assortment of track layouts. Some shine on the mile-and-a-half tracks, others have stronger short-track or restrictor-plate programs. But only a few are seen as legitimate threats to contend for the win each and every week.

Jeff Gordon, the four-time champion, knows the feeling. So, too, does three-time champ Tony Stewart. And Jimmie Johnson? The Hendrick Motorsports driver, along with his No. 48 team, practically re-wrote the book on sustaining excellence while en route to six championships.

Harvick has visited the territory before. He appears ready to take up residence there now.

Can Harvick and his team maintain their early-season charge? Or will a fast start be forgotten months from now?

That’s yet to be determined. But to maintain something, you first have to achieve it. After nine races, Harvick has clearly accomplished that.

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