Roush hoping Dover the remedy to tough season

Roush Fenway Racing drivers can only hope the action is as good in Sunday's Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway as it was last fall -- when Roush driver Greg Biffle won the race, and teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards finished second and third, respectively.

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The second event in the 2008 Chase provided some of the best racing of the year, as Biffle, Kenseth and Edwards jockeyed for the top spot.

Since Kenseth captured the season-opening 2009 Daytona 500 and the second race of the year, the Auto Club 500 in California, the Roush cars haven't performed to their capabilities. Sunday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover gives them a chance to correct the situation at a track that has given owner Jack Roush one victory per year since 2004.

Kenseth remembers last fall's race wistfully.

"That was probably the best racing I've seen in a long time," he said. "I imagine it looked like it from the seats, three of us racing there. And, in a way, with Carl leading the points [the Cup championship standings at the time], there were two winners -- and I feel like the only loser in the crowd.

"You hate to get beat in those battles, but they're a lot of fun to be a part of. I think Greg had probably the best car there, and we were just all driving as hard as we could to try to hold him off as long as we could, and I just couldn't do it."

Even if the Roush Fords dominate the race, there's an added element of intrigue for Sunday's race. A crew chief change on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevrolet will focus considerable attention on his efforts. Hendrick Motorsports team manager Brian Whitesell will man the pit box on Sunday, to be succeeded a week later by interim crew chief Lance McGrew.

On Thursday, team owner Rick Hendrick announced that Tony Eury Jr. no longer would be crew chief on Earnhardt's car.

Ragan

FIVE TO WATCH

David Ragan, No. 6: Ragan has endured one disappointment after another, but the ultra-strength of teammates Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth at the Monster Mile give Ragan his best shot at breaking out of a season-long slump. Ragan finished 15th and 18th in the two Dover races last year, and if he's not in the top 15 by race's end Sunday, his team may need to be shaken up.

Jamie McMurray, No. 26: What's commendable about McMurray is that the tougher the track is, the better he is. Dover overly qualifies as a tough track, and if not for a wreck with Robby Gordon in the fall race last year, he could have been there with his teammates contending for the win. The trick will be to qualify well -- McMurray hasn't qualified better than 20th in the past seven races this season.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 1: Truex's four finishes leading up to Dover aren't spectacular (33rd at Talladega, 22nd at Richmond, sixth at Darlington and 23rd at Lowe's). But he has led a total of 107 laps in that span, which should give him plenty of optimism heading into Sunday. Truex won his only Cup race at Dover in 2007.

Juan Montoya, No. 42: Switching to Chevrolets this season has agreed with Montoya. His average finish in a Dodge last year was 23.9; this year in his Chevy, it's 16.1. Montoya has one top-10 finish in four prior Dover races, and teammate Truex's prior strength at this track should help the No. 42.

Joey Logano, No. 20: He's led laps in three of the last four races and finished ninth in those same three. Not bad for a 19-year-old.

TRACK CHATTER

Clint Bowyer: "Dover is one of those tracks where you want to win at. At some of these mile-and-a-half tracks, you're only as good as the equipment and you really don't have much of a say so. At places like Bristol, Dover, Daytona and Talladega, you have to make things happen. If the car isn't handing, you can pick up your end of the deal and make something happen. I won the Nationwide race at Dover a couple of years ago, and I want to get a Cup win as well."

Kurt Busch: "With the old car, it was pretty common for the teams to have one particular car -- call it their 'concrete car' -- that they would race exclusively at Dover and Bristol. With the [new car] model, it is irrelevant; at least it is with our team so far. Concrete is certainly more demanding on the driver and equipment. You and your car really take a pounding. A great example was during the last race at Dover when the car was under such strain that we actually broke the fuel-filler. I've never seen that happen before."

Tony Stewart: "There are seams in Dover's surface and places where they've cut the concrete for expansion. Those sections shift and change, and every year when you go there the bumps are a little bit different than they were the year before. Dover is a track that's constantly changing. But it's one of those places where you really can't change your driving style. You still have to do the same things you always do. It's just a matter of finding the package that's right for that race track."