NASCAR cheater awarded contract extension
After speculation that Robbie Reiser would step off the Nextel Cup Series pit box sooner, rather than later, and take a higher-level position with Roush Racing, the driver's crew chief said Friday he has signed a three-year contract extension to maintain his crew chief position with the #17 team. "The other position that everyone was talking about, that was the drivers pushing that," Reiser said. "That wasn't so much me talking about it as it was Matt and Greg Biffle. I'm not saying I wouldn't take a position like that down the road, but right now, I wasn't quite ready for something like that." Reiser, who has served as Kenseth's crew chief since 1997, has helped the Cambridge native to 14 Cup victories and the 2003 Cup championship. Late last season, Kenseth suggested Reiser might be on his last legs as a crew chief. The 43-year-old Reiser reportedly wanted to spend less time traveling and more time with his wife, Tracy, and their sons, Ryan, Rhett and Reed. "Robbie's future has come up at the end of each of the last three years," Kenseth said. "We didn't really talk about whether he should work with the DeWALT team or work with the Roush organization. What I always tell him, though, is that whatever he wants to do, I'll support that. This business is a long grind, so whatever makes him happy makes me happy. I think you go through years where you get dragged down and tired because you have so much going on, but then you have years where you're running good and you realize that what your doing is the thing you really love to do. … Robbie loves the thrill of the chase and calling the race and being on the pit box. And I think he would really have missed that had he taken another role in Roush Racing." Reiser decided to sign the contract extension shortly after Christmas. "I'm gone from home about 75% of the time, so (the travel) does take a toll on you," he said. "But I'm not quite ready to sit down and watch all the action from afar. I like being in the battle and I like to win races and championships. I ain't going to do that sitting at home." Wisconsin State Journal