Roush Fenway Racing won’t expand, will remain a 2-car Cup Series team for 2018 season

The team, which downsized over the offseason, is unlikely to add a third full-time car for the 2018 season and will continue with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne as its drivers.

Roush Fenway Racing will likely continue as a two-car Monster Energy Cup Series organization in 2018 and not expand, president Steve Newmark told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday.

The team co-owned by Jack Roush and the Fenway Sports Group downsized from the three full-time Cup cars to two prior to the 2017 season, believing fewer cars would allow it to better streamline its resources and produce improved competitiveness on the track. This philosophy change included jettisoning longtime driver Greg Biffle, 47, and going with a lineup consisting of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 29, and Trevor Bayne, 26.

“We made a very painful decision to cut down to two this year, and we had the option to stay at three but decided that the most important thing is to put our cars in the best position to win,” Newmark said on Tradin’ Paint. “To do that, we thought that it was best to consolidate to two teams but maintain the same size engineering staff and R&D and laser focus that on the two cars.

“I think even if sponsorship came for the third team, I think right now we feel this process has worked.”

At its zenith, RFR once fielded as many as five full-time Cup teams — all of which made the then 10-driver playoff field in 2005 — however recent years have seen a performance decline where wins and playoff berths were hard to come by.

But the condensed version of RFR has been improved this season. Stenhouse scored his first career victory and the first for RFR since 2014 when he won at Talladega Superspeedway in May. He added a second win Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, which virtually solidifies him a first-ever spot in the postseason.

According to Newmark, a lineup featuring Stenhouse and Bayne will continue going forward as the team views each as linchpins to build around.

“Obviously, the way we’re structured right now Ricky and Trevor are the anchors of this organization,’’ Newmark said. “That’s going to be our focus. My hope is that five years from now those guys are the grizzly old veterans of the sport at that point.”

Newmark’s comments call into question Chris Buescher’s future with RFR. The second-year driver was loaned to JTG Daugherty Racing this season following RFR’s decision to consolidate, and the initial plan had Buescher returning to the organization in 2018.

But with RFR now staying with two Cup cars and with neither Stenhouse nor Bayne leaving, Buescher, 24, doesn’t seem to fit into RFR’s immediate plans. JTG, co-owned by Tad Geschickter, his wife Jodi, and former NBA player Brad Daugherty, accommodated Buescher by expanding to a two-car team.

“Chris has done a great job,” Newmark said. “We’re fortunate that he and Tad have struck up a great relationship and he’s getting some great experience there.”