In the case of the Roush Fenway operation, the team's problems primarily were with its computer simulation software. When Richard Petty Motorsports switched over from Dodge to Ford prior to the start of the 2010 season, they used different simulation software than RFR did. Shockingly, it was actually better than what Roush had. Specifically, Roush's software was not providing accurate predictions of how tires would behave, which was causing the team to be off in its setups. The Roush cars would unload slow and run slow all weekend, making the first half of the season a nightmare for the organization. In the first 18 races of the 36-race 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, Biffle, Edwards, Kenseth and David Ragan combined for zero victories and just seven top-five finishes in a combined 72 starts.
At times the performance of the Roush Fenway Fords was embarrassing. In June, the teams traveled to Michigan International Speedway, a track where RFR Fords had dominated in recent years with 11 race victories overall. But it was Kasey Kahne who finished second in an RPM Ford, while Biffle's ninth-place run was the sole top-10 for Roush's outfit.
But once the Roush organization began to adopt what RPM learned about front-end suspension geometry, things quickly and dramatically turned around. In the second half of the year, which started with race No. 19 at Chicagoland, the Roush drivers collected four race victories and 17 top fives. Better yet, each of the four drivers improved his points position – some dramatically – in the second half of the season, with Edwards, Kenseth and Biffle finishing the year fourth through sixth, respectively, while Ragan lagged behind in 24th.
In the Chicagoland race, Edwards finished second, which was his best to that point of the season, and Biffle had a fast car before losing an engine. The following race, Biffle was third at the Brickyard 400, then won at Pocono right after that. From then on, it was all good, as Biffle would win again at Kansas Speedway and Edwards would close the season out in victory lane at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead.
“If you would have told me, 10 races into the season that this is how we were going to wrap this thing up, I would not have believed you,” said Edwards. “This is beyond the comeback that I expected and it's really beyond what I hoped for. This is a very good finish to the season.”