SCC: Roush Jr. - Ford interview 2010-07-21

This Week in Ford Racing
July 21, 2010

Last weekend, Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson, co-drivers of the No. 61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang GT, led all but four laps during the Garden State 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. With only two races left in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and only 14 points out of first place, the team still has a chance to finish the season out on top.

Jack Roush Jr. - co-driver, No. 61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang GT

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WIN AT NEW JERSEY THIS PAST WEEKEND. YOUR TEAM WAS PRETTY DOMINANT LEADING ALL BUT FOUR LAPS DURING THE RACE. "It was actually a little challenging for me over the weekend. I only got 15 minutes of practice time before qualifying. Billy [Johnson] worked really hard to set up the car and because he was familiar with what the car was doing at each stage we didn't want to get me in the car and not realize the progression and lose time and development. Development at the track was especially hard because the grip level was really low so trying to balance the car was hard when the track gets like that. When a race track becomes low in grip you have to become extremely precise in hitting the balance, otherwise any imbalance will show itself. I qualified on the pole. As the race started, the No. 99 BMW was putting a lot of pressure on me, but because of the great set-up that the guys came up with, the car lasted really well. The lap times fell off less than any other car and as a result, even though their cars were right behind me at the beginning of the race, after a while they weren't able to keep up with me and I was able to gap them. About an hour and 15 minutes into the race, we went in for a pit stop. I got out of the car and Billy got into the car and he did an excellent job. I think there were only four laps where he wasn't in the lead. After four laps in the car, he made a pass for the first position and was able to maintain that through the end of the race."

YOU AND BILLY JUST SEEM TO CLICK WELL AS A TEAM. WOULD YOU SAY YOU TWO HAVE A GOOD TEAM CHEMISTRY? "Absolutely, we work great together. Billy has been a driving coach for a long time. He's 23 years old but I believe he's the youngest person to have ever been an instructor at Skip Barber. He started teaching there when he was 16. He's kind of a prodigy really. Working with him, I've learned a lot. He also doesn't have an ego going in any way. He learns from me as well. When we go to a track we constantly try to learn by looking over data, looking at the track, just meeting with our crew chief and trying to figure out any way that we can be better and we don't try to stop until the race is over."

YOU ONLY HAVE TWO RACES LEFT THIS SEASON. YOU'RE ONLY 14 POINTS BEHIND THE LEADER RIGHT NOW. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO THESE NEXT RACES TO GET TO FINISH THE SEASON ON TOP? "It won't be easy, but at this point the last two races are tracks that Billy and I are very strong at. We'll do all we can to win those races. Outside of that best case scenario, for our performances we could win those races and still not win the championship, but if the other teams have problems I believe that it is mathematically possible for us to win. One thing that really hurt us was the DNF that we had in Daytona."

-source: ford racing