Roush Racing

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Roush Racing

Owner(s) Name	Jack Roush, Georgetta Roush Mark Martin (#17) Geoff Smith (#16)
Racing Series	NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series
Number of Championships	2 NEXTEL Cup 1 Busch Series 1 Craftsman Truck Series
Car Number(s)	#06, #6, #16, #17, #26, #99 (NEXTEL Cup) #06, #6, #16, #17, #50, #60 (Busch) #6, #50, #99 (Craftsman Truck)
Driver(s)	Mark Martin (#6-NEXTEL, Busch, and Craftsman) Greg Biffle (#16-NEXTEL and Busch) Matt Kenseth (#17-NEXTEL and Busch) Jamie McMurray (#26-NEXTEL) Carl Edwards (#99-NEXTEL, #60-Busch) Todd Kluever (#06-Busch and NEXTEL) Danny O’Quinn Jr. (#50-Busch) David Ragan (#6-Craftsman) David Ragan/Michel Jourdain Jr. (#50-Craftsman) Erik Darnell (#99-Craftsman)
Primary Sponsor(s)	AAA (#6-NEXTEL) National Guard (#16-NEXTEL) DeWalt Power Tools (#17-NEXTEL) Crown Royal/Smirnoff Ice (#26-NEXTEL) Office Depot (#99-NEXTEL) 3M (#06-Busch) Ameriquest (#6-Busch) Ameriquest (#17-Busch) World Financial Group (#50-Busch) Ameriquest (#60-Busch) Scotts (#6-Craftsman) Roush Peformance Group (#50-Craftsman) Woolrich (#99-Craftsman)
Shop Location	Concord, North Carolina
Homepage	[Roush Racing]

Roush Racing is one of NASCAR's premier racing teams. Founded in 1988, the company was originally a small branch of owner Jack Roush's successful automotive engineering and road-racing equipment business based in Livonia, Michigan. The NASCAR operation, based in Concord, North Carolina, has since become the cornerstone and centerpiece of the company, winning back to back Nextel Cup Championships in 2003 with driver Matt Kenseth and 2004 with driver Kurt Busch.

Since its inception, Roush has competed exclusively in Ford badged automobiles. Currently, the Ford Fusion competes in the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series, while the Ford F-150 is the vehicle for the Craftsman Truck Series.

Overview

Roush Racing operates the largest NEXTEL Cup Series operation of any team, featuring five full-time teams and one part-time team. Founded in 1988, the program is built around having five cars. 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. However, this is scheduled to change in the future, as NASCAR has proposed a new four-car limit for each team. Roush has won two Cup championships, back to back in 2003 and 2004. Since the 2004 season, engines for the cars have been provided by Roush-Yates Engines, a partnership between Roush Racing and Robert Yates Racing. This consortium is known for producing some of NASCAR's best engines.

Car #06 History

Roush Racing's sole part-time team, the 06 car is scheduled to run six races for the 2006 season. The car is meant to prepare Todd Kluever for his full-time Cup campaign in car #6 for 2007. It is to debut at Chicagoland Speedway on July 9 with sponsorship from 3M.

Car #6 History

The 6 car began as Roush Racing's original foray into NASCAR. With a debut at the 1988 Daytona 500 as the #6 Stroh's Light Ford, struggling short-track driver Mark Martin at the wheel, the team finished 41st after experiencing an engine failure after 19 laps. However, performance quickly improved, with Martin winning a pole position later in the season and achieving ten top ten finishes. With a year of experience under their belt, Roush and Martin went on a tear in 1989, winning six poles, earning eighteen top-10 finishes and winning for the first time at North Carolina Speedway. The team finished third place in championship points.

Garnering new sponsorship from Folgers in 1990, Martin won three each of races and pole positions, as well as finishing in the top 10 in all but six races. Martin held the points lead for a majority of the season, but lost momentum in the final races. In the end, the team lost the championship to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points. Interestingly, Martin would have won the championship had he not been docked 46 points in the second race of the season following a rules violation. Regardless, the team hoped to carry the momentum into 1991. Disappointingly, Martin finished sixth in points, and didn't win until the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 1992, Valvoline joined to sponsor the car, but the team's position in points still did not improve. Finally, they recaptured the magic of before in 1993, as Martin notched five victories and finished third in points. 1994 found Martin and the 6 team finishing once again runner-up to Dale Earnhardt in points. In 1995, Martin defeated former teammate Wally Dallenbach Jr. to win at Watkins Glen and won the most money of his career at that time, $1,893,519. However, the team's performance slumped sharply in 1996. The 6 car and Martin did not visit victory lane. The team rebounded nicely in 1997, with an additional four victories and finishing third in championship points. In 1998, Martin and team 6 had their most dominant season yet, winning seven times. Nonetheless, the car finished second in points yet again, this time to Jeff Gordon. The 1998 season was marked with a black spot when Martin's father Julian died in an aviation accident. 1999 marked Martin's consistency more than anything, where despite winning only twice, he finished in the top-10 in 26 out of 34 races.

After winning only one race in 2000, primary sponsor Valvoline left for MB2 Motorsports, and Pfizer/Viagra became the team's new financial backer. In addition, throughout the season Martin served as co-owner/mentor of rookie driver Matt Kenseth. However, Martin again failed to win, and ended up 12th in points, his lowest finish since 1988. The team won only once in 2002, but it was a significant win, coming weeks after car owner Jack Roush nearly died in an airplane crash. Martin and his #6 Ford was narrowly defeated by Tony Stewart for the championship. 2003 was another season of lackluster performance for the team, as once again they didn't visit victory lane, and finished a mere 17th in the final standings. 2004 brought improved performance, with a victory at Dover International Speedway and a 4th place finish in points. Prior to beginning the 2005 season, Martin stated that 2005 would be his last year in full-time Cup competition. The team conducted a Salute to You farewell tour to his fans highlighting many of Martin's career accomplishments. Martin finished fourth in points and went to victory lane once, along with achieving 19 top ten finishes. Due to contract issues, Roush was left without a driver for car 6 in 2006. After learning of the situation, Martin announced his return to car 6 for one more year. The team extended the Salute to You tour after modifying its logo to reflect the team's new sponsor, AAA. Todd Kluever will drive the 6 car in 2007.

Car #16 History

Originally the first car to make Roush Racing a multi-car stable, the 16 team debuted at the 1992 Daytona 500 with Keystone Beer as the sponsor. Wally Dallenbach Jr. drove the car to a fifteenth place finish. Dallenbach, however, earned only one top ten finish that year and finished 24th in points. 1993 proved to be a little better with Dallenbach posting four top tens. However, for 1994, the team underwent major changes. Driving duties were given to Ted Musgrave, with The Family Channel becoming the new sponsor. The car's performance improved drastically, with Musgrave notching three poles and finishing thirteenth in points. The 1995 season was even better, with Musgrave improving six spots in points to seventh. Despite this success, Musgrave never visited victory lane in his tenure behind the wheel of the 16. Midway through 1998, Musgrave was released and replaced by rookie Kevin Lepage, who finished runner-up to Kenny Irwin, Jr. in Rookie of the Year honors.

Teamed with TV Guide, Lepage and the 16 team showed promise in 1999, with a fifth place finish at Darlington, having a chance to win the Winston Million bonus, and a pole at the season ending race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, TV Guide did not renew their contract for the 2000 season. Car 16 ran the beginning of the season unsponsored, before ultimately signing a multi-year pact with [Family Click]. Over the course of the year, Lepage missed two races and dropped to 38th in the standings. He was quickly released. Dissastisfied with the team's performance, FamilyClick did not return as a sponsor and the team disappeared for one year, before returning in 2002. During the 2002 season, car 16 was used to prepare Greg Biffle for his rookie of the year run the following year. While the team missed several races, Biffle made seven starts.

Biffle ran full-time as a rookie in 2003, with [Grainger] sponsoring the car. Biffle started 35 out of 36 races, won the Pepsi 400 and finished runner-up to Jamie McMurray for Rookie of the Year. The next year, the car had a new primary sponsor in the National Guard. Over the 2004 season, Biffle won twice. In 2005, Post-it Brand and 3M replaced Subway as a secondary sponsor. 2005 was to be the most successful year for car 16 to date, as the National Guard Ford won six races, a season high, and finished runner-up in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Car #17 History

Having only one driver, Matt Kenseth, and one sponsor, DeWalt Tools, the 17 car has been a consistent and successful team since entering NASCAR's premier series at a part-time level in 1999. Premiering at the summer Michigan race in 1999, Kenseth finished 14th. A fourth place finish one month later at Dover International Speedway proved Kenseth was ready for Cup.

In 2000, the car started every race, won the Coca-Cola 600, and handily defeated favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Rookie of the Year honors. The 2001 season saw Kenseth finish thirteenth in points, winless and with only 9 top ten finishes. However, the team saw marked improvement the next year, as Kenseth won five times in 2002, ultimately reaching an eighth place finish in points.

The 17 car reached its pinnacle in 2003. While winning only once, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kenseth won the Winston Cup Championship by 90 points, earning Roush its first Cup championship. The team continued to perform in 2004, winning two races, making the Chase for the Nextel Cup, and finishing eighth in points. In 2005, Kenseth finished seventh in points after experiencing a disappointing beginning to the season. However, the second half of the year brought a resurgence of success for the car, as a win at Bristol Motor Speedway helped the team make its second consecutive Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Car #26/#97 History

What is now the 26 car raced for the first time at the 1993 fall event at Charlotte Motor Speedway as #97. Sponsored by Kleenex and owned by Greg Pollex, Chad Little was the driver. Little and Pollex ran part-time for four years with various sponsorships until 1997, when they ran full-time with backing from John Deere. However, after experiencing financial and performance struggles, Jack Roush bought the team three-quarters of the way through the season. Little qualified for 27 out of 32 races that year. The team returned in 1998, with the car changing to the Ford nameplate from Pontiac.

Despite missing the spring Atlanta race, Little finished a career-best second at the Texas 500 and finished 15th in points. After that, the performance of the team slipped, and midway through 2000 it was announced that Little would leave the team. For the remainder of the season, a Roush Craftsman Truck Series driver, Kurt Busch, began running races for the team. Car 97, like the 16 car in 2000, started the 2001 season unsponsored, but soon found sponsorship from Rubbermaid and Sharpie. Busch's rookie year in Winston Cup was unspectacular save for a pole at Darlington. The team finished 27th in points, with only six top ten finishes. In 2002, Kurt Busch grabbed headlines after battling with Jimmy Spencer for a win at Bristol Motor Speedway. This sparked a rivalry between the two drivers that lasted for the following years. However, the 2002 season marked a coming-of-age for the team, which won four times and finished third in the championship points. Busch drove car 97 to victory four times in 2003, along with 14 top ten finishes. The team ended up eleventh in points. 2004 was the defining year of team #97. Winning three times, earning 21 top ten finishes, and clinching a pole, Busch won the first Chase for the Cup Championship. In , he won three times and finshed tenth in points.

Midway through the 2005 season, Busch shocked many in the NASCAR community when he announced that he would be leaving Roush Racing and replacing the retiring Rusty Wallace in the #2, owned by Penske Racing. On November 7, 2005 it was announced that Busch had been released from contractual obligations at Roush and would leave the team at the end of the season [link]. In November 2005, Busch was cited for reckless driving in an area close to Phoenix International Raceway. Although no action was taken by NASCAR, Roush Racing suspended Busch for the remainder of the 2005 season. Kenny Wallace took his place for the final two races of the season.

On November 16, it was officially announced that the #97 would be switching to the #26 for the 2006 season and beyond [link]. Jamie McMurray is the car's new driver, with sponsorship from Crown Royal, Smirnoff Ice, and Irwin Industrial Tools.

Previous to its 2006 incarnation, #26 had been run before by Roush Racing in 1998 and 1999. Sponsored by General Mills, the team debuted at North Carolina Speedway, where Johnny Benson finished 30th in the car. Benson ended the 1998 season with 10 top ten finishes and earned twentieth place in the championship points. In 1999, the 26 car experienced a very disappointing year. After mustering only two top-10 finishes and dropping eight spots in points, Benson quit the team in disgust to drive for Tyler Jet Motorsports. The 26 team was subsequently disbanded.

Car #99 History

Car 99 first raced at the 1996 Daytona 500, with Jeff Burton driving and Exide Batteries the sponsor. The car finished fifth. After missing the first Atlanta race, Burton won a pole at Michigan and finished 13th in points.

The 1997 season proved to be better for the team, as Burton won the first three races of his career and ended fourth in points. In 1998, Burton enjoyed another successful season, winning twice, mounting 23 top ten finishes, and earning fifth place in the championship points. The team led the standings for part of 1999, but lost the top spot after performing poorly at Richmond International Raceway. The team again settled for fifth in the points, with six wins and, like the previous year, 23 top ten finishes. Late in 2000, Exide ceased their sponsorship, and Citgo joined with new financial backing. The car finished a team-high third in the points, with four wins and 22 top ten finishes, along with one pole position. Burton got his last win with the car at Phoenix International Raceway in 2001. However, the team's performance sharply dropped, landing at tenth in points.

After the 2003 season, Citgo discontinued their sponsorship of car 99, forcing associate sponsors, including SKF and Pennzoil, and Roush Racing to fund the team. Disappointed with the team, Burton and many remaining sponsors of the team left for Richard Childress Racing midseason in 2004. To fill the void left by this departure, Roush elevated Carl Edwards from the truck series. Edwards showed immediate promise while driving the unsponsored 99 entry, posting five top ten finishes in his abbreviated season. During his first full-time season, 2005, with sponsorship from Scotts and Office Depot, Edwards won four times and finished third in points. In 2006, Office Depot became the exclusive sponsor of the team.

Car #06 History

The number 06 Ford Fusion first raced in the Hershey's Kissables 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2006. Todd Kluever is scheduled to pilot the car for the entire 2006 season, with primary sponsorship from 3M and associate sponsorship from AAA. Mike Kelley, the former car chief on championship car 97, is the crew chief.

Car #6 History

The car now known as the 6 car debuted at Daytona in 1997 as the 9 car. Jeff Burton drove the Track Gear sponsored Ford Taurus to a 40th place finish. Over the next six years, Burton drove to 16 wins with additional sponsorships from Northernlight.com and Febreeze, among others. After Burton left Roush Racing midway through 2004, Mark Martin returned to the Busch Series, posting four top-10s in five starts. In 2005, Martin ran five races and won twice. The car switched to the #6 in 2006, after a number switch with Evernham Motorsports, and will run a part-time schedule sponsored by Ameriquest.

Car #16 History

The number 16 car made its Busch Series debut at Daytona International Speedway in 2006. Greg Biffle will drive the car for 20 races this season, with sponsorship from Ameriquest.

Car #17 History

The 17 car debuted in 1994 at Darlington Speedway with Robbie Reiser driving the unsponsored car to 35th after a crash. Reiser ran part-time for a few years, but when his driver Tim Bender was injured in 1997, he decided to hire fellow Wisconsinite Matt Kenseth to take his place. Kenseth had seven top-10 finishes and ended the year 22nd in points. His substitution duty was impressive enough to get him a ride in Reiser's car for the next season. Kenseth won his first race at the North Carolina Speedway in 1998. Driving with new sponsorship from Lycos, Kenseth won three times and finished second in points to Dale Earnhardt Jr. DeWalt Tools became the sponsor in 1999, with Kenseth getting an additional four wins and a third place finish in points. The team actually was not a Roush team until 2002; Reiser, the team owner, ran Chevrolets through the 2001 season. Since then, the 17 car has run part time with a variety of different sponsors, with Kenseth driving each time. For the 2006 season, the car will run a limited schedule sponsored by Ameriquest and Pennzoil.

Car #50 History

The number 50 Ford Fusion will debut at Daytona International Speedway in 2006. Danny O'Quinn Jr. will be the driver, with primary sponsorship from World Financial Group and Stonebridge Life Insurance Company, members of the AEGON group. Drew Blickensderfer will be the crew chief.

Car #60 History

The centerpiece and original car of Roush Racing's Busch operation debuted at the opening race of the 1992 Busch Series season at Daytona International Speedway. Mark Martin was driving with Winn-Dixie as sponsor. Martin finished sixth in that race. For the next several years, this was Martin's personal Busch car and he won enough races to surpass Jack Ingram as the all-time leader of wins in the Busch Series. During this time, he and several other Winston Cup drivers came under steep controversy for running the Busch Series as well as Cup. These drivers earned the nickname "Busch Whackers." After 2000, Martin decided to stop running Busch, and Winn-Dixie left NASCAR as a car sponsor. His replacement was Greg Biffle, who brought Grainger with him to sponsor the car. Biffle had a phemomenal rookie season, winning five times and even leading the championship standings at one point in the season. After winning four more times and the championship by a wide margin, Biffle moved to Winston Cup, bringing Grainger with him. Stanton Barrett, who had never had a quality ride jumped on board with Odoban sponsoring. Despite winning two consectutive poles, the car folded early in the season due to sponsorship concerns. It returned the next season with Charter Communications sponsoring and Biffle driving again. Biffle won five more times and finshed third in points running full-time. In 2005, rookie Carl Edwards won five races en route to finishing third in points, and earned Rookie of the Year honors. For the 2006 season, Edwards returns to drive the Ameriquest-sponsored Ford for a full-time schedule.

Truck #6 History

The #6 truck debuted at Heartland Park Topeka in 1996 as #99. 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 was replaced by Chuck Bown the next year, who posted thirteen top tens and finished ninth in points. The rotating doors moved again, and Joe Ruttman was driving this truck in 1998, winning once and finishing 3rd in points. Mike Bliss was next to tackle the ride, and he performed masterfully, winning at Martinsville at finishing 9th in points. When Bliss left for an ill-fated rookie year in Winston Cup, Kurt Busch was named the new driver. 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, and rookie Nathan Hasleau took over with Eldon the new sponsor. Despite posting four top ten finishes in the first twelve races of the season, Hasleau was waived and replaced by Kurt's younger brother Kyle for a limited run. Despite being 16 years old, Busch had two top tens and was scheduled to go full-time in 2002, before NASCAR announced all drivers in its top series must be age 18. After taking 2002 off, the truck returned in 2004 with sponsorship from Superchips and a new driver in Carl Edwards. Edwards won three races and the Rookie of the Year title. He repeated his win total in 2004, and moved up to fourth in points. When he moved up to Nextel Cup for 2005, Roush hired a former Cup driver, Ricky Craven to take his place. Despite posting seven top tens and winning at Martinsville Speedway, Roush and Craven announced they would not be back together in 2006. Instead, the truck switched to #6, and is shared by Mark Martin and rookie David Ragan. The #6 truck's new sponsor is Scotts, and the truck, piloted by Martin, won the first two races of the 2006 season. Martin has decided to race more races than he originally intended, and he has so far only skipped races without a corresponding Nextel Cup event. Ragan has made only one start in the #6 so far this season, and he finished 28th after a crash. He was replaced by Auggie Vidovich III for the Mansfield race after crashing the truck in practice. Vidovich finished 19th. Martin will be in the Truck for the next race, at Dover.

Truck #50 History

After Mark Martin's strong start to the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series season, his original limited schedule was expanded. Roush decided to run another part-time team for rookie David Ragan to fill out his original schedule. Ragan took the #50 to a 22nd place finish at Atlanta, but struggled in his next few starts in both the #50 and the #6. After crashing the #6 in practice for the Mansfield race, he was replaced for the weekend. Carl Edwards will run the #50 at the Dover race and Ragan will return at the Texas race.

Truck #99 History

The original truck in Roush's stable debuted in 1995 at the challenging Heartland Park Topeka road course. It was #61 and driven to a fourth place finish by Todd Bodine. Bodine had two more top ten runs at Richmond and Mesa Marin Raceway before Ted Musgrave drove to a fourth place finish at Phoenix. In 1996, the car switched to #80 and Joe Ruttman was at the wheel, nailing down sixteen top-10's and finishing 4th in points. In 1997, with sponsorship from LCI, Ruttman won five times and finished 3rd in points. After running one race with the truck in 1998, the truck switched to #50 and Ruttman took over another ride with the team and he was replaced by a rookie named Greg Biffle, whom Roush hired under the recommendation of Benny Parsons. Although he failed to win, Biffle won four poles and finished eighth in points.

Biffle would go on to set the trucks on fire 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. In 2001, Roush hired an unknown modified driver named Chuck Hossfeld to take Biffle's place as he was moving up to the Busch Series. Hossfeld struggled in his rookie year, and soon he was released, with a rotation of drivers including Jon Wood and Biffle himself in the driver's seat. 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. In 2005, Todd Kluever piloted the World Financial Group truck to six top five and twelve top ten finishes in his NASCAR Rookie of the Year season. Erik Darnell will pilot the newly-renumbered truck full time in 2006 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Woolrich as sponsor.

Tim Brown Partnership

In 2005, Hall of Fame NFL Wide receiver Tim Brown announced that he intended to start his own NASCAR team, most likely #81, and receive equipment from Roush Racing [link]. Brown also stated that he will let Roush select his driver [link]. The series the team will run will depend on how much sponsorship money the team gets. As of February, 2006, no further announcements have been made on the progress of this team.

The Gong Show

Roush Racing hires many of its developmental drivers through an elimination style of testing entitled The Gong Show. The process begins when Roush solicits applications from thousands of drivers from all levels. They are then put through a series of tests, gauging not only driving skills, but also public relations talent and personality traits. Eventually, the field is narrowed down to an elite group who are allowed to race Roush vehicles, often Craftsman Truck Series trucks, in an attempt to assess driving ability. Those with the fastest times progress, and ultimately the best are awarded with a contract to drive for Roush in the Craftsman Truck Series or Busch Series. In 2005, the process was documented in the Discovery Channel television series , which followed the stories of those involved in the 2005 Gong Show.

External links

• [Roush Racing]

Sources

• [NASCAR.com Driver list]
• [Racing Reference]
• [Photo source-Jayski]

 

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