RFK Racing

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ran teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, Trans-Am Series and IMSA Camel GT. The team currently fields the No. 6 Ford Mustang GT full-time for driver/co-owner Brad Keselowski and the No. 17 Mustang full-time for Chris Buescher.

RFK Racing

Owner(s)	Jack Roush John W. Henry (Fenway Sports Group) Brad Keselowski
Base	Concord, North Carolina
Series	NASCAR Cup Series
Race drivers	6. Brad Keselowski 17. Chris Buescher
Sponsors	6. Esperion Therapeutics, Castrol, Fastenal, King's Hawaiian, Wyndham Rewards, Violet Defense, Solomon Plumbing, Socios.com, RoushParts.com 17. Fastenal, Pala Casino Resort and Spa, Esperion Therapeutics, Socios.com, Violet Defense, Fifth Third Bank, Wyndham Rewards, ITsavvy, Castrol, Acronis
Manufacturer	Ford
Opened	1988
Career
Debut	Cup Series: 1988 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Xfinity Series: 1992 Goody's 300 (Daytona) Camping World Truck Series: 1995 Heartland Tailgate 175 (Topeka) ARCA Re/Max Series: 2005 Advance Discount Auto Parts 200 (Daytona)
Latest race	Cup Series: 2023 Ambetter Health 400 (Atlanta) Xfinity Series: 2018 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead) Camping World Truck Series: 2009 Ford 200 (Homestead) ARCA Re/Max Series: 2008 Hantz Group 200 (Toledo)
Races competed	Total: 2,306 Cup Series: 1,197 Xfinity Series: 726 Camping World Truck Series: 353 ARCA Re/Max Series: 30
Drivers' Championships	Total: 8 Cup Series: 2 2003, 2004 Xfinity Series: 5 2002, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015 Camping World Truck Series: 1 2000 ARCA Re/Max Series: 0
Race victories	Total: 329 Cup Series: 138 Xfinity Series: 137 Camping World Truck Series: 50 ARCA Re/Max Series: 4
Pole positions	Total: 235 Cup Series: 91 Xfinity Series: 96 Camping World Truck Series: 45 ARCA Re/Max Series: 3

The team was originally Roush Racing and was renamed Roush Fenway Racing in 2007 when John W. Henry and the Fenway Sports Group became co-owners and RFK Racing in 2022 when Brad Keselowski became a co-owner.

Since its inception, Roush has competed exclusively in Ford brand automobiles. The team also operates Roush-Yates Engines, which provides engines for most Ford teams in NASCAR and ARCA.^[1][2]

History

Roush Racing was founded by Jack Roush, former employee of the Ford Motor Company and founder of Roush Performance . Prior to entering NASCAR competition, Roush had competed and won championships in various drag racing and sports car racing series since the mid-1960s, including the NHRA, SCCA Trans-Am Series, IMSA GT Championship, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. The racing business was originally a small branch of co-owner Jack Roush's successful automotive engineering and road-racing equipment business based in Livonia, Michigan. Early Roush drivers included Tommy Kendall, Scott Pruett and Willy T. Ribbs.^[1][3]

The NASCAR operation, founded in 1988 and based in Concord, North Carolina, has since become the cornerstone and centerpiece of the company.^[1] The team won back to back Championships in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2003 and 2004; the final Winston Cup championship with driver Matt Kenseth, and the first Nextel Cup championship with driver Kurt Busch. The team also has amassed many wins and championships in the Nationwide/Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series competition.^[4][5]

In 2007, sports investor John W. Henry, owner of the Fenway Sports Group which operates the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool F.C., and the New England Sports Network bought a 50% stake in the team, renamed Roush Fenway Racing. Jack Roush continues to head day-to-day operations of the team.^[6]

Roush restarted its road racing program in 2006, called Roush Road Racing (previously Roush Performance Racing or Roush Performance). The team fielded the No. 61 Ford Mustang in the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and Rolex Sports Car Series for Billy Johnson and Jack Roush's son, Jack Roush Jr., and since 2014 fields the No. 60 Mustang in the Pirelli World Challenge sponsored by Roush Performance and driven by Roush, Jr. Since 2015, the team has been fielded in a partnership with Capaldi Racing, moving from the Roush Fenway shops in North Carolina to Michigan near Roush Performance headquarters.^{[7][8][9][10]}

After several months of speculation, Roush-Fenway announced on July 20, 2021, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that the 2010 Nationwide Series and 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski would depart from Team Penske after the 2021 season to join the organization as a driver (replacing Ryan Newman in the No. 6) and co-owner.

Cup Series

Main article: RFK Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series

 

Logo of Roush Racing used from 1999 to 2006

Founded in 1988, the NASCAR program is built around having multiple cars and providing engine, engineering, and race car build services to other NASCAR teams fielding Ford-branded vehicles. The multi-team aspect of the company allows for information and resources to be shared across the enterprise, improving the performance of all of the teams. Since the 2004 season, engines for the cars have been provided by Roush-Yates Engines, a partnership between Roush Fenway Racing and now-closed rival Yates Racing, with Doug Yates as a head engine builder. Roush-Yates also provides engines, cars and parts to other Cup teams, including Wood Brothers Racing, Team Penske, Rick Ware Racing, Stewart Haas Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and Live Fast Motorsports.^[2][11]

Between 1998 and 2000^[12][13] and 2003–2009,^[14] Roush Racing operated five full-time Cup teams (6, 16, 17, 26/97, 99), more than any other organization including Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, which have both operated as many as four full-time teams. Beginning in 2001, after years of operating in separate facilities, the teams were moved into a single shop in Concord, North Carolina to improve performance and communication.^[13] Roush Racing set a NASCAR record by putting all five of its race teams in the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2005.^[15] Following the 2009 season, Roush Fenway was ordered by NASCAR to shrink its operation to four Sprint Cup Series teams, ceding the No. 26 team.^[15] The team would later shrink to three teams after the 2011 season,^[16] and would shrink again to two teams after the 2016 season.

Xfinity Series

Main article: RFK Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

The Xfinity Series operation began in 1992 with the No. 60 driven by Mark Martin. The No. 60 team has been dominant throughout its history, amassing many wins with Martin; three driver's championships with Greg Biffle in 2002, Carl Edwards in 2007, and Chris Buescher in 2015; and an owner's championship with Edwards in 2011. The No. 6 team won back-to-back driver's championships in 2011 & 2012 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.^[5][9] Following the departures of Ryan Reed, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric, Roush's Xfinity program was closed following the 2018 season.

Camping World Truck Series

From 1995 until 2009 Roush fielded teams in the NASCAR Truck Series, fielding trucks for drivers such as Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Ricky Craven, David Ragan, Mark Martin, Travis Kvapil, and various others. Many of these drivers went on to drive for the team at the Cup level.^[4][17] Roush's trucks won fifty races and the 2000 series championship (Biffle).^[5]

Truck No. 09 history

Chuck Hossfeld drove the final race of 2000 at California Speedway in the No. 49 as a third Roush entry in preparation to take over the No. 50 from Greg Biffle in the 2001 season. He finished 31st after losing an engine during the event.

The No. 33 truck began running in 2005 as a research and development entry for Ford. Bobby East attempted three races in the truck but failed to qualify for two of them. He crashed out of his only start at Phoenix, finishing 30th. Mark Martin ran the Ford 200, where he started 14th and finished 8th with sponsorship from Stonebridge Life Insurance.

Joey Clanton began the 2008 season driving the No. 09 full-time in 2008 with Zaxby's sponsoring, but after the season-opening race, he was released. Travis Kvapil returned to Roush and shared this ride with Bobby East and John Wes Townley for the rest of the season. Jamie McMurray piloted the truck at the fall Martinsville race. Kvapil managed two top-five finishes at Dover and New Hampshire during the season. Roush shut down the No. 09 team after the 2008 season.

Truck No. 09 results

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	Owners	Pts
2000	Chuck Hossfeld	49	Ford	DAY	HOM	PHO	MMR	MAR	PIR	GTY	MEM	PPR	EVG	TEX	KEN	GLN	MLW	NHA	NZH	MCH	IRP	NSV	CIC	RCH	DOV	TEX	CAL 31		106th	70
2005	Bobby East	33		DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	GTY	MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	KAN	KEN	MEM	IRP DNQ	NSH	BRI	RCH DNQ	NHA	LVS	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO 30		—	—
	Mark Martin																											HOM 8
2008	Joey Clanton	09		DAY 32																									—	2845
	Travis Kvapil				CAL 7	ATL 18	MAR 7		CLT 18		DOV 4										NHA 3				ATL 11	TEX 7		HOM 6
	Bobby East							KAN 24				TEX 8	MCH 18		MEM 8		IRP 19			GTW 25		LVS 25
	John Wes Townley									MFD 27				MLW 18		KEN 21		NSH 30	BRI 35				TAL 18				PHO 24
	Jamie McMurray																							MAR 18

Truck No. 6 history

Multiple drivers (2006)

 

Travis Kvapil in 2007.

The truck switched to No. 6 and was shared by Nextel Cup veteran Mark Martin and rookie David Ragan. The No. 6 truck's new sponsor was Scotts, and the truck, piloted by Martin, won the first two races of the 2006 season. Martin then decided to race more races than he originally intended, and he only skipped races without a corresponding Nextel Cup event. Auggie Vidovich II drove for the Mansfield race after Ragan crashed the truck in practice, finishing 19th. Ragan shared the truck with Martin for the balance of the season and had six top-tens and one pole in the 6 truck. Martin had the most success in the truck, winning five races. Overall, the team finished 2nd in the owner's points.

Travis Kvapil (2007)

In 2007, Mark Martin moved on to a new role with another team. In his place, Roush-Fenway hired 2003 NCTS Champion Travis Kvapil. Kvapil, after two years of struggling to launch his Cup Series career, returned to the Truck Series in 2007. During the season, Kvapil almost won the opening race at Daytona, and won four races en route to a sixth-place finish in points.

Colin Braun (2008–2009)

 

Colin Braun in 2008.

As Kvapil heads back to the Sprint Cup Series with Yates Racing, former Rolex Sports Car Series driver Colin Braun took Kvapil's place in the No. 6 truck with sponsorship from Con-way. In his rookie season, Braun had three top-fives and finished 13th in points, winning Rookie of the Year. In 2009, he won at Michigan and finished 5th in points. With moving Braun to the Nationwide Series for the 2010 season, Roush shut down this team and ended its Truck Series program. He later sold the remaining trucks to Cup Series driver Kyle Busch for him to start his own truck team.

Truck No. 6 results

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	Owners	Pts
2006	Mark Martin	6	Ford	DAY 1^*	CAL 1^*	ATL 2^*	MAR 4		CLT 13		DOV 1^*		MCH 2^*							BRI 1^*	NHA 10		TAL 1^*	MAR 4	ATL 36		PHO 2^*	HOM 1^*			—	—
	David Ragan							GTY 28				TEX 8		MLW 30	KAN 6	KEN 5	MEM 6	IRP 9	NSH 34							TEX 6
	Auggie Vidovich									MFD 19
	Peter Shepherd																					LVS 18
2007	Travis Kvapil			DAY 3	CAL 16	ATL 15	MAR 14	KAN 13	CLT 13	MFD 7	DOV 3	TEX 6	MCH 1	MLW 8	MEM 1^*	KEN 2	IRP 3	NSH 1	BRI 11^*	GTW 6	NHA 15	LVS 1	TAL 26	MAR 13	ATL 11	TEX 26	PHO 23	HOM 21			6th	3511
2008	Colin Braun			DAY 31	CAL 9	ATL 28	MAR 14	KAN 3	CLT 15	MFD 16	DOV 8	TEX 22	MCH 6	MLW 31	MEM 29	KEN 16	IRP 15	NSH 6	BRI 32	GTW 9	NHA 28	LVS 12	TAL 4	MAR 25	ATL 20	TEX 5	PHO 28	HOM 14			13th	2856
2009				DAY 9	CAL 20	ATL 26	MAR 35	KAN 6	CLT 26	DOV 22	TEX 3	MCH 1	MLW 8	MEM 9	KEN 20	IRP 5	NSH 3	BRI 12	CHI 3	IOW 3	GTW 19	NHA 9	LVS 17	MAR 3	TAL 12	TEX 5	PHO 28	HOM 3			5th	3338

Truck No. 50 history

Early Years (1995–1997)

The original truck in Roush's stable debuted in 1995 at the Heartland Park Topeka road course. It was No. 61 and driven to a fourth-place finish by Todd Bodine. Bodine had four more top ten runs before Ted Musgrave drove to a fourth-place finish at Phoenix. In 1996, the car switched to No. 80, and Joe Ruttman was at the wheel, nailing down sixteen top-10s and finishing 4th in points. In 1997, with sponsorship from LCI, Ruttman won five times and finished 3rd in points.

Greg Biffle (1998–2000)

For the first race in 1998 at Walt Disney World Speedway, Ruttman piloted the No. 50, rookie Greg Biffle drove the No. 80, and Chuck Bown ran the No. 99. After Bown departed the team, Ruttman took over the No. 99, and Biffle moved from the No. 80, which was discontinued, to the No. 50. Biffle had been hired by Roush under the recommendation of Benny Parsons, and he would be sponsored by W. W. Grainger.^[18] Although he failed to win a race, Biffle won four poles and finished eighth in points.

Biffle would go on a tear in 1999 when he won nine times and was in contention for the championship for much of the season before finally losing to Jack Sprague. His 2000 season was less dominant with only five wins, but he was able to win the championship by 230 points over teammate Kurt Busch.^[18]

Chuck Hossfield (2001)

 

Jon Wood's No. 50 truck in 2002.

With Biffle moving up to the Busch Series, in 2001, Roush hired Winston Modified Tour driver Chuck Hossfeld to drive the truck after he won 2000 Roush "Gong Show" competition.^[19][20][21] Hossfeld struggled in his rookie year, and soon he was released, with Jon Wood driving the truck for the remainder of the season.^[19][20]

Jon Wood (2001–2004)

Wood's audition was impressive enough to earn him a full-time run in 2002, and he posted twelve top-ten finishes in the U.S. Navy sponsored truck and finished 12th in points in his first full year. Wood had two wins the next year and finished 15th in points in 2004 before moving on to JTG Racing in the Busch Series.

Todd Kluever (2005)

In 2005, Todd Kluever, another "Gong Show" winner, piloted the truck sponsored by Shell Rotella T and World Financial Group. Kluever earned six top five and twelve top ten finishes in his rookie season, winning the Rookie of the Year award.^[17][22][23]

Multiple drivers (2006–2007)

 

The 50 truck in 2007 driven by Danny O’Quinn Jr.

After Martin's strong start to the 2006 season, his original limited schedule in the No. 6 was expanded. Roush decided to run another part-time team for rookie David Ragan to fill out his original schedule. Ragan took the No. 50 to a 22nd-place finish at Atlanta, but struggled in his next few starts in both the No. 50 and the No. 6. Carl Edwards ran the No. 50 at the Dover race, achieving the team's only top five of the season, and Ragan returned at the Michigan race. Ragan's best finish in the No. 50 came at Atlanta where he finished sixth. Peter Shepherd and Michel Jourdain Jr. also drove the No. 50 on a part-time basis during the season with sponsorship from PurposeMoney.com. Edwards drove the truck for the first two races of the 2007 season unsponsored, scoring the team's only top five of the season at California Speedway. It was then announced that T. J. Bell would drive the truck for sixteen races, bringing sponsorship from Heathcliff's Cat Litter. Development drivers Peter Shepherd, Danny O'Quinn Jr., and Colin Braun also drove the No. 50 truck, with sponsorship from Northern Tool and Equipment.

Truck No. 50 results

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	Owners	Pts
1995	Todd Bodine	61	Ford	PHO	TUS	SGS	MMR	POR	EVG	I70	LVL	BRI	MLW	CNS	HPT 4	IRP	FLM	RCH 6	MAR 6	NWS 7	SON	MMR 8									32nd	748
	Ted Musgrave																						PHO 4
1996	Joe Ruttman	80		HOM 19	PHO 7	POR 9	EVG 8	TUS 15	CNS 6	HPT 23	BRI 6	NZH 7	MLW 17	LVL 5	I70 20	IRP 22	FLM 27	GLN 6	NSV 13	RCH 4	NHA 8	MAR 6	NWS 5	SON 4	MMR 3	PHO 3	LVS 3				4th	3275
1997				WDW 1	TUS 28	HOM 26	PHO 2	POR 13	EVG 4	I70 6	NHA 9	TEX 9	BRI 5	NZH 2	MLW 9	LVL 2	CNS 12	HPT 1	IRP 4	FLM 2	NSV 19	GLN 4	RCH 12	MAR 12	SON 1	MMR 19	CAL 29	PHO 1	LVS 1		3rd	3736
1998		50		WDW 2																											—	—
	Greg Biffle	80		WDW 5																											8th	3872
		50			HOM 4	PHO 36	POR 26	EVG 17	I70 21	GLN 27	TEX 22	BRI 29	MLW 5	NZH 30	CAL 7	PPR 17	IRP 7	NHA 2	FLM 24	NSV 4	HPT 21	LVL 8	RCH 3	MEM 22	GTY 19	MAR 8	SON 20	MMR 14	PHO 2	LVS 5
1999				HOM 11	PHO 11	EVG 10	MMR 24	MAR 5	MEM 1	PPR 14	I70 10	BRI 9	TEX 3	PIR 1	GLN 4	MLW 1	NSV 22	NZH 1	MCH 1	NHA 4	IRP 1	GTY 1	HPT 8	RCH 1	LVS 1	LVL 14	TEX 2	CAL 7			2nd	3739
2000				DAY 11	HOM 5	PHO 5	MMR 12	MAR 14	PIR 13	GTY 4	MEM 2	PPR 1	EVG 4	TEX 1	KEN 1	GLN 1	MLW 3	NHA 4	NZH 3	MCH 1	IRP 5	NSV 14	CIC 2	RCH 2	DOV 2	TEX 25	CAL 5				1st	3826
2001	Chuck Hossfeld			DAY 19	HOM 20	MMR 20	MAR 18	GTY 19	DAR 24	PPR 10	DOV 23	TEX 27																			—	—
	Jon Wood												MEM 14	MLW 12	KAN 4	KEN 7	NHA 19	IRP 27	NSH 16	CIC 12	NZH 6	RCH 13	SBO 14	TEX 24	LVS 29	PHO 14	CAL 3
2002				DAY 21	DAR 9	MAR 10	GTY 7	PPR 12	DOV 29	TEX 9	MEM 11	MLW 9	KAN 9	KEN 13	NHA 11	MCH 10	IRP 8	NSH 8	RCH 28	TEX 12	SBO 6	LVS 18	CAL 13	PHO 11	HOM 14						12th	2782
2003				DAY 8	DAR 19	MMR 2	MAR 22	CLT 22	DOV 4	TEX 3	MEM 4	MLW 10	KAN 1*	KEN 4	GTW 11	MCH 6	IRP 5	NSH 7	BRI 8	RCH 4	NHA 9	CAL 9	LVS 19	SBO 4	TEX 6	MAR 1	PHO 7	HOM 8			5th	3659
2004				DAY 7	ATL 27	MAR 4	MFD 8	CLT 17	DOV 10	TEX 13	MEM 8	MLW 11	KAN 6	KEN 12	GTW 30	MCH 30	IRP 27	NSH 18	BRI 18	RCH 14	NHA 29	LVS 12	CAL 13	TEX 26	MAR 4	PHO 26	DAR 22	HOM 36			15th	2835
2005	Todd Kluever			DAY 32	CAL 4	ATL 36	MAR 16	GTY 32	MFD 4	CLT 20	DOV 20	TEX 25	MCH 15	MLW 9	KAN 2	KEN 12	MEM 10	IRP 2	NSH 5	BRI 13	RCH 32	NHA 28	LVS 8	MAR 2	ATL 6	TEX 10	PHO 12	HOM 7			11th	3074
2006	David Ragan			DAY	CAL	ATL 22	MAR 34	GTY	CLT 25				MCH 19							BRI 15	NHA 11		TAL 7	MAR 20	ATL 6		PHO 17				—	—
	Michel Jourdain Jr.									MFD DNQ		TEX 13		MLW DNQ	KAN 32	KEN 26		IRP 19				LVS 30				TEX 24		HOM 31
	Carl Edwards										DOV 2
	Peter Shepherd																MEM 23		NSH 31
2007	Carl Edwards			DAY 24	CAL 4																										—	—
	T. J. Bell					ATL 26	MAR 23	KAN 22	CLT 9	MFD 13	DOV 30	TEX 23	MCH 20							GTW 24	NHA 16	LVS 31	TAL 31		ATL 30	TEX 17	PHO 15	HOM 17
	Peter Shepherd													MLW 32	MEM 15	KEN 32	IRP 21
	Danny O'Quinn Jr.																	NSH 17	BRI 10
	Colin Braun																							MAR 34

Truck No. 99 history

Early years (1996–2002)

The No. 99 truck debuted at Heartland Park Topeka in 1996. It was sponsored by Exide Batteries and driven to an eighth-place finish by Jeff Burton. Posting three top tens in four races that year, he shared the ride with Mark Martin, who won at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The next year, Chuck Bown was hired to drive full-time, posting thirteen top tens and finishing ninth in points. Bown drove the first race of the 1998 season at Walt Disney World Speedway, before Joe Ruttman moved over to the truck for the remainder of the year, winning once and finishing third in points. Mike Bliss was next to tackle the ride, scoring a win at Heartland Park Topeka but only finishing ninth in points. When Bliss left for an ill-fated rookie year in Winston Cup, Kurt Busch was named the new driver for 2000. Busch won four times and finished second to teammate Biffle in the championship, easily winning Rookie of the Year.

Both Busch and Exide exited after that season (Busch moving to the Cup Series), and rookie Nathan Haseleu took over.^[19][20] The truck was largely unsponsored at the beginning of the year, with Eldon becoming the sponsor after nine races. Despite posting four top ten finishes in twelve starts, Hasleau was waived mid-season, replaced initially by former Truck Series drivers Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch.^[19][20] Biffle scored two wins in the truck.^[24] Kurt's younger brother Kyle would also run six races in the second half of the season, earning two top tens at the age of 16.^[25] Kyle Busch was scheduled to race the truck full-time in 2002, but during the 2001 season finale at Fontana he was ejected from the race due to conflicts with track sponsor Marlboro. Afterwards, NASCAR announced all drivers in its top three series must be at least 18 years of age. Tim Woods III would replace Busch in the race.^{[25][26][27][28]}

After Tim Fedewa ran the 2002 season-opener in the truck, and with the now 17-year-old Busch not able to compete, the team did not run for the rest of the year due to lack of sponsorship.^[26]

Carl Edwards (2003–2004)

The truck returned in 2003 with Carl Edwards driving;^[17] although the United States Navy was the truck's original sponsor, they left the team midway through the year and Edwards ran largely unsponsored until Superchips came on to sponsor him.^[17] Edwards won three races and the Rookie of the Year title.^[17] He repeated his win total in 2004 and moved up to fourth in points, and following Jeff Burton's departure from Roush Racing he began splitting time between the Truck Series and the Nextel Cup Series.^[17][29]

 

Erik Darnell in 2008.

Ricky Craven (2005)

When Edwards moved up to Nextel Cup for 2005, Roush hired a former Cup driver, Ricky Craven, to take his place.^[22] Despite posting seven top tens and winning at Martinsville, Roush and Craven announced they would not be back together in 2006.

Erik Darnell (2006–2008)

Erik Darnell piloted the No. 99 truck full-time in 2006 with at first Woolrich, but eventually Northern Tool and Equipment as sponsor to a 2006 Rookie of the Year title.^[17] 2007 brought about Darnell's first win at Kansas,^[17] but inconsistency left the team 12th in points at season's end. In 2008, Darnell captured one win at Michigan by only .005 seconds over eventual champion Johnny Benson and ended the season fourth in the standings. This team was shut down after the 2008 season, as the team was being moved up for a part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series.

Truck No. 99 results

Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	Owners	Pts
1996	Jeff Burton	99	Ford	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	TUS	CNS	HPT 8	BRI	NZH 4	MLW	LVL	I70	IRP 14	FLM	GLN	NSV			MAR 8									—	1125
	Mark Martin																			RCH 3	NHA		NWS 1	SON	MMR
	Ted Musgrave																									PHO 5	LVS 36
1997	Chuck Bown			WDW 12	TUS 9	HOM 3	PHO 8	POR 27	EVG 14	I70 3	NHA 10	TEX 4	BRI 9	NZH 7	MLW 10	LVL 22	CNS 26	HPT 20	IRP 12	FLM 12	NSV 7	GLN 34	RCH 8	MAR 16	SON 14	MMR 14	CAL 16	PHO 2	LVS 9		9th	3320
1998				WDW 25*																											3rd	3874
	Joe Ruttman				HOM 22	PHO 7	POR 9	EVG 12	I70 2	GLN 1	TEX 3	BRI 3	MLW 7	NZH 5	CAL 11	PPR 3	IRP 3	NHA 3	FLM 4	NSV 24	HPT 9	LVL 27	RCH 4	MEM 4	GTY 18	MAR 21	SON 4	MMR 13	PHO 4	LVS 7
1999	Mike Bliss			HOM 28	PHO 10	EVG 8	MMR 12	MAR 6	MEM 12	PPR 15	I70 9	BRI 28	TEX 6	PIR 2	GLN 19	MLW 5	NSV 15	NZH 2	MCH 22	NHA 6	IRP 5	GTY 8	HPT 1	RCH 13	LVS 30	LVL 11	TEX 26	CAL 5			9th	3294
2000	Kurt Busch			DAY 2	HOM 9	PHO 4	MMR 2	MAR 23	PIR 11	GTY 21	MEM 13	PPR 2	EVG 5	TEX 6	KEN 29	GLN 2	MLW 1*	NHA 1	NZH 14	MCH 2	IRP 6	NSV 12	CIC 19	RCH 3*	DOV 1	TEX 3	CAL 1				2nd	3596
2001	Nathan Haseleu			DAY 29	HOM 14	MMR 14	MAR 10	GTY 27	DAR 10	PPR 12	DOV 21	TEX 10			KAN 10	KEN 12	NHA 13														—	2968
	Greg Biffle												MEM 9						NSH 7		NZH 1					PHO 1
	Kurt Busch													MLW 5
	Kyle Busch																	IRP 9		CIC 17		RCH 22	SBO 33	TEX 25	LVS 9		CAL QL^†
	Tim Woods III																										CAL 25
2002	Tim Fedewa			DAY 27	DAR	MAR	GTY	PPR	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	NHA	MCH	IRP	NSH	RCH	TEX	SBO	LVS	CAL	PHO	HOM						86th	82
2003	Carl Edwards			DAY 24	DAR 23	MMR 15	MAR 4	CLT 12	DOV 33	TEX 2	MEM 5	MLW 15	KAN 2	KEN 1	GTW 4	MCH 5	IRP 1*	NSH 1*	BRI 11	RCH 25	NHA 2	CAL 7	LVS 27	SBO 7	TEX 4	MAR 2	PHO 4	HOM 27			8th	3416
2004				DAY 1*	ATL 7	MAR 6	MFD 17	CLT 2*	DOV 14	TEX 6	MEM 5	MLW 23	KAN 1	KEN 33	GTW 18	MCH 6	IRP 5	NSH 20	BRI 1	RCH 5	NHA 4	LVS 33	CAL 10	TEX 9	MAR 8	PHO 10	DAR 4	HOM 12			4th	3493
2005	Ricky Craven			DAY 4	CAL 3	ATL 18	MAR 2	GTY 10	MFD 8	CLT 10	DOV 7	TEX 13	MCH 33	MLW 21	KAN 13	KEN 13	MEM 27	IRP 25	NSH 24	BRI 32	RCH 20	NHA 11	LVS 23	MAR 1*	ATL 9	TEX 21	PHO 32	HOM 21			14th	2976
2006	Erik Darnell			DAY 6	CAL 11	ATL 8	MAR 11	GTY 31	CLT 10	MFD 13	DOV 25	TEX 35	MCH 12	MLW 27	KAN 26	KEN 9	MEM 2	IRP 10	NSH 12	BRI 18	NHA 9	LVS 17	TAL 19	MAR 3	ATL 3	TEX 9	PHO 10	HOM 3			12th	3136
2007				DAY 12	CAL 13	ATL 24	MAR 18	KAN 1*	CLT 30	MFD 15	DOV 18	TEX 32	MCH 26	MLW 6	MEM 9	KEN 29	IRP 7	NSH 9	BRI 13	GTW 7	NHA 2	LVS 5	TAL 29	MAR 25	ATL 26	TEX 14	PHO 35	HOM 24			12th	2875
2008				DAY 21	CAL 11	ATL 12	MAR 5	KAN 28	CLT 4	MFD 11	DOV 25	TEX 24	MCH 1	MLW 4	MEM 2	KEN 29	IRP 3	NSH 2	BRI 15	GTW 6	NHA 4	LVS 2*	TAL 12*	MAR 19	ATL 6	TEX 18	PHO 7	HOM 11			4th	3412
^† – Busch was declared ineligible to compete at Fontana due to his age and sponsorship reasons and was replaced by Tim Woods III.

ARCA Re/Max Series

Todd Kluever drove the No. 60 car in 2005 at Daytona, crashing out of the event. The next year, Danny O'Quinn Jr. drove a renumbered No. 39 car at Daytona, finishing 37th after completing less than half the laps.

Car No. 99 history

In 2007, Erik Darnell drove the No. 99 in three races, finishing second at Kansas and winning at Kentucky and Michigan.^[30] Travis Kvapil drove one race at Pocono, failing to finish, and Colin Braun drove three races later in the year, collecting three top tens.^[31] For 2008, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove an Aflac sponsored No. 99 to compete in the championship, winning two races at Kentucky and Pocono and collecting ten top-fives. During the last race at Toledo Speedway, he and Scott Speed battled for the championship, and Stenhouse ran Speed up the track causing a caution. Speed later wrecked in retaliation, knocking Stenhouse and himself out of the race. Justin Allgaier won the championship, while Stenhouse and Speed slipped to 4th and 5th in the final standings.^[32]

ARCA Series results

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	ARMC	Pts
2005	Todd Kluever	60	Ford	DAY 11	NSH	SLM	KEN	TOL	LAN	MIL	POC	MCH	KAN	KEN	BLN	POC	GTW	LER	NSH	MCH	ISF	TOL	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL	111th	180
2006	Danny O'Quinn Jr.	39		DAY 37	NSH	SLM	WIN	KEN	TOL	POC	MCH	KAN	KEN	BLN	POC	GTW	NSH	MCH	ISF	MIL	TOL	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL	IOW	—	1360
2007	Erik Darnell	99		DAY	USA	NSH	SLM	KAN 2	WIN	KEN 1*	TOL	IOW		MCH 1*	BLN	KEN	POC	NSH	ISF	MIL
	Travis Kvapil												POC 33
	Colin Braun																				GTW 9	DSF	CHI 3	SLM	TAL 9	TOL	51st	595
2008	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.			DAY 25	SLM 6	IOW 19	KAN 2	CAR 3	KEN 1	TOL 7	POC 1*	MCH 2	CAY 3*	KEN 13	BLN 7	POC 30	NSH 7	ISF 2	DSF 5	CHI 2*	SLM 17	NJM 2	TAL 28	TOL 25			4th	5155
	Colin Braun																					NJM RL^†
^† – Relieved Ricky Stenhouse Jr. during race.

Partnerships

Roush-Yates Engines

 

Outside Roush headquarters.

See also: Yates Racing

Perhaps Roush Racing's most famous partnership is with the now defunct-Yates Racing, a longtime rival Ford team. In 2004, the two teams announced a program to combine their engine divisions, now known as Roush-Yates Engines (RYE), a move which greatly improved the power of both organizations' engines. By 2006, most Ford teams were using the Roush-Yates engines, including long-time Ford team and Roush affiliate Wood Brothers Racing (then Wood Brothers/JTG Racing). Current Roush-Yates clients include Team Penske (TP), Wood Brothers Racing (WBR), Stewart-Haas Racing^[33] (SHR), Front Row Motorsports (FRM), Live Fast Motorsports (LFM), and Rick Ware Racing (RWR).^[2][11][34]

Roush Fenway also has technical alliances with Front Row Motorsports, providing engines, chassis, and bodies as well as technical support.^[35][36] Roush also provided heavy technical support to Yates Racing from 2008 to the team's closure at the end of 2009, when it merged with Richard Petty Motorsports.^[37][38] As of 2017, Roush supplies engines and chassis to 13 Cup teams.

Wood Brothers Racing

The first technical alliance between Roush Racing and another organization was with Wood Brothers Racing, another longtime Ford team and the oldest active team in the sport. The Wood Brothers alliance began in mid-2000, after Roush had provided the team with engines the previous two seasons.^[39][40][41] The relationship later expanded when the team fielded Roush development driver Trevor Bayne from late-2010 to 2014.^[42] It would end after that season, with the Wood Brothers currently receiving equipment and support (other than engines) from Team Penske.^[43]

Tim Brown partnership

In 2005, nine-time Pro Bowl NFL wide receiver Tim Brown announced that he intended to start his own NASCAR team, most likely No. 81, and receive equipment from Roush Racing.^[44] Brown also stated that he will let Roush select his driver.^[45] The series the team will run will depend on how much sponsorship money the team gets.

Brown had said that his team will most likely not enter NASCAR until 2007, but as of October 2006, no further announcements have been made about the status of this partnership.

No Fear Racing

Main article: No Fear Racing

In 2006, SoBe No Fear energy drink announced that it was forming a new team to run full-time in 2007, with a car driven by road racing specialist Boris Said. It was also announced that this new team would be affiliated with Roush Racing. This allows Roush to sell No Fear Racing cars and equipment, as well as help them with engineering. In return, Said is tutoring Roush's younger drivers on road course racing.^[46] The team began running a limited schedule with the Sonoma road course in 2006.

Robby Gordon

Main article: Robby Gordon Motorsports

Starting with the 2007 season, Robby Gordon switched from Chevrolet to Ford vehicles after signing a contract with Ford Racing. He leased engines from the Roush/Yates engine program through the 2007 season, until he switched to Gillett Evernham engines and a Dodge Charger.

Creation of Roush Fenway Racing

On February 14, 2007, the Fenway Sports Group, owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, purchased 50% of Roush Racing to create a new corporate entity, Roush Fenway Racing.^[47]

Mike Dee, president of the Fenway Sports Group was quoted as saying, "Although there have been many instances of cross-ownership in the world of professional sports, this partnership marks the first time that owners of a professional franchise in one of the four major leagues have crossed over into the world of NASCAR."

Aerospace industry

Roush became involved in the aerospace industry in the 2010s. In April 2015, United Launch Alliance announced that they were contracting with Roush Racing to produce the lightweight internal combustion engine to be used to power the long-life on orbit system of the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage to be flown in the 2020s as the second stage of the Vulcan launch vehicle.^[48]

The Gong Show

Main article: Roush Racing: Driver X

For many years, Roush Racing recruited its developmental drivers through an elimination-style of testing entitled The Gong Show. The first competition was held in 1985 for Roush's road racing program.^[17][49] The first combine for the stock car program was held in 1999.^{[17][22][50][51]} The process would begin when Roush solicited applications from thousands of drivers from all levels of racing. They would then be put through a series of tests, gauging not only driving skills but also public relations talent and personality traits. Eventually, the field would be narrowed down to an elite group who are allowed to race Roush vehicles, often Truck Series vehicles, in an attempt to assess racecraft. Those with the fastest times progress, and ultimately the best drivers are awarded a contract to drive for Roush in the Truck Series or Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). In 2005, the process was documented in the Discovery Channel television series Roush Racing: Driver X, which followed the stories of those involved in the 2005 Gong Show.^[22][50] Winners of the program include Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and David Ragan.^[17][22][50]

The term "Gong Show" comes from the 1970s talent show spoof "The Gong Show."^[22]

See also

• Roush Performance
• Ford Racing

References

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Sources

• NASCAR.com Driver list
• Racing-Reference.info

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roush Fenway Racing.

• Official website