Notes: Roush thinks his drivers match any team's

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Nextel Cup car owner Jack Roush of Roush Fenway Racing said he will stack up his lineup of drivers against anyone -- including the powerhouse lineup of drivers that will be fielded by Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2008.

"I'm relieved that there's not a big question, there's not a human outcry over whether the Roush organization has got a power balance in its favor," Roush joked.

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. announcing Wednesday that he will join Hendrick next season, it could be argued that Hendrick will now employ perhaps the three biggest superstars in the sport -- with the other two being Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. The fourth Hendrick driver is Casey Mears. But Roush said that he believes in his current crop of drivers, which includes Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and David Ragan.

"I'm very excited about our lineup of drivers. Greg is a championship-quality caliber driver. Matt Kenseth obviously is, and Carl is as well," Roush said. "The only thing that I lack in terms of making my program realize its fruition is just getting caught up on the testing lag that I got into when I accepted the bait and spooled down my testing for this year, believing that all that we were going to be able to test the Car of Tomorrow was a dedicated NASCAR test where they provided Goodyear tires. I got blindsided by that.

"So that's been the short side of my program -- my vision regarding what NASCAR was going to do and what they were going to allow us in testing. I didn't assess that correctly. But as far as the driver talent is concerned, I wouldn't trade my lineup of drivers for anything I see out there."

A grinning Roush even offered a challenge of sorts to Earnhardt and company.

"Junior does a nice job. He was going to be a factor with a major team wherever he landed," Roush said. "So I wasn't surprised, nor do I have any anxiety about what I see. Just bring it, you know."

More on testing

Roush has been complaining about NASCAR testing policies -- or lack thereof -- for some time. He was asked if he believes his complaining will lead to a change in that regard in the near future.

"I don't care. I'm going to tell you exactly what I told [NASCAR president] Mike Helton," he said with a touch of anger in his voice. "When NASCAR came back and told us we couldn't own our tires, it was with the expressed intention of making the playing field level so that everybody would take their Cars of Tomorrow and test them together on tracks under NASCAR supervision. (Continued)