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Jack Roush sets the record straight: slow down, yes; retire, no

Michigan International Speedway - Day 1

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 14: Team owner Jack Roush holds a press conference before practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 14, 2015 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images)

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A recent USA Today story suggested NASCAR team owner Jack Roush had a three-year retirement plan in place.

Not so, Roush told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Friday.

“I have no retirement plans whatever,” Roush said. “The article came from an ill-advised stream of consciousness I had at the end of last season.”

He then said: “People retire in order to go do things they’re passionate about. I already have a job that allows me to be passionate beyond my imagination as a youngster.”

Roush turns 75 on April 19.

“I’ve been in racing for 60 years, in NASCAR for 30 years,” he told SiriusXM. “I’ve had a great time in the automotive industry working for both Ford and Chrysler. If I couldn’t go to the racetrack or couldn’t be involved with my teams and helping them with their problems, I don’t know what I’d do with my time.

“I don’t golf, don’t play tennis, I don’t have a motorboat. I still have my airplanes, but I don’t fly as much as I used to, either.”

While he doesn’t see himself sitting on a beach for the rest of his life, Roush admits he likely will begin taking a step or two back.

“There’s no doubt that I had planned to slow down a little bit,” he said. “When NASCAR came out with their fuel injection rules, that put me on the sidelines because up until that time, I had tuned every carburetor before every race, and that put me out of that business.

“The engineering has gotten to be stronger all the time. The things I could do better than most has gotten to be a pretty small number. I can look back at historical things better than a lot of people that work for me because they weren’t there.

“But I’m still going to be around, I’m still heavily involved in what we do and intend to continue to participate at the greatest level I can. As long as they let me in the racetracks, don’t rescind my license and they let me in the shops, I’ll be good to go.”

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