RFK Racing

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (down with the business name RFK Racing, formerly known as Roush Fenway Racing or Roush Racing) is a racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. As one of the biggest teams in NASCAR racing, Roush competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Re/Max Series, Trans-Am Series and IMSA Camel GT.

Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but the team has been competing and winning championships in various drag racing and sports car racing series since the mid-1960s. The racing business was originally a small offshoot of the successful entrepreneur of the owner Jack Roush based in Livonia, Michigan.

The NASCAR operations, based in Concord, North Carolina, later became the centerpiece of the company and team that went on to win back-to-back Sprint Cup Series championships in 2003 with driver Matt Kenseth and 2004 with driver Kurt Busch.

History
Roush Racing was founded by Jack Roush, former employee of the Ford Motor Company and founder of Roush Performance Engineering. 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.

The NASCAR operation, founded in 1988 and based in Concord, North Carolina, has since become the cornerstone and centerpiece of the company. 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.

In 2007, sports investor John W. Henry, owner of the Fenway Sports Group which operates the, , 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.

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.

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.

1988-1995
Roush debuted in 1988 counting Mark Martin in the #6 Ford, where he posted 3 top-five finishes to finish 15th in the championship. Martin later took third place in the championship in 1989 with one win and 14 top-fives, and runner-up in 1990 with two wins and 16 top-fives.

In 1991, Martin had one win and 14 top-five finishes to finish sixth in the championship. The following year, Martin had two wins and 10 top-fives to finish sixth in the championship. Wally Dallenbach Jr., who drove the #16 Ford, finished 24th with no wins. Martin had 5 wins and 12 top 5 finishes in 1993 to finish third. While Dallenbach finished 22nd without wins and with a top 10.

The Arkansas man claimed his second runner-up finish in 1994, trailing Dale Earnhardt, by posting two wins and 15 top-fives. Dallenbach's replacement Ted Musgrave, on the other hand, finished 13th with 8 top-10s. Martin accumulated 4 wins and 13 top 5 finishes, finishing fourth in the drivers' table. Meanwhile, Musgrave managed 7 top 5s, so that he was seventh.

1996-2002
Martin, despite not winning in 1996, had 14 top-fives to finish fifth in the championship. Meanwhile, Jeff Burton, the 99th Ford driver, had 6 top-fives to finish 13th, and Musgrave had 2 top-fives to finish 16th. In 1997, Martin and Burton had 4 and 3 wins each, finishing third and fourth in the overall standings, respectively. Meanwhile, Musgrave posted 5 top-five finishes to finish twelfth, and Chad Little ran 12 races in a fourth car.

Martin had 7 wins and 22 top-five finishes, finishing runner-up for the third time in 1998, behind Jeff Gordon. Burton had 2 wins and 18 top 5 finishes to finish fifth in the championship. Chad Little, driver of the #97 Ford, and Johnny Benson, wearing the #26, posted 1 and 3 top-fives, respectively, to finish 15th and 20th in the points standings. Meanwhile, Musgrave and Kevin Lepage shared the number 16 Ford.

In 1999, Martin finished third with 2 wins and 19 top-fives, and Burton fifth with 6 wins and 18 top-fives. Meanwhile, Little, Lepage and Benson finished 23rd, 25th and 28th. Lastly, Matt Kenseth made his debut in the series in 5 races in a sixth car. In 2000, Burton posted four wins and 15 top-five finishes to finish third in the championship. Martin finished eighth with one win and 13 top-fives, and Kenseth, piloting the number 17, was 14th with one win and four top-fives. Lepage and Little, meanwhile, finished 28th and 32nd in the championship.

In the 2001 season, Burton had 2 wins and 8 top 5 finishes, finishing 10th in the drivers' standings. Also, Martin and Kenseth, achieved 3 and 4 top 5, each, finishing 12th and 13th. Kurt Busch, replaced Little, and had 3 top 5 finishes, finishing 27th in the points. Three Roush drivers cracked the top 8 positions in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series: Martin, Busch and Kenseth posting one, four and five wins each, finishing second, third and eighth in the points standings. Meanwhile, Burton had 5 top-fives to finish 12th, and Greg Biffle qualified for a race of four, in a fifth Ford, the number 16.

2003-2006
Despite earning one win in 2003, Kenseth racked up 11 top-fives and 25 top-10s to become the NASCAR Cup Series champion. Busch had 4 wins and 9 top-five finishes, and Burton had 3 top-five finishes, finishing 11th and 12th respectively. On the other hand, Martin had 5 top-fives to finish 17th, and Biffle had 1 win and 3 top-fives to finish 20th.

Kurt Busch won three times and had 10 top-fives to clinch the title in 2004, beating rival Jimmie Johnson in the new postseason format, the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Martin and Kenseth also qualified for the Chase, with one and two wins, respectively, finishing fourth and eighth in the championship. What's more. Biffle had two wins and 8 top 10s, to finish 17th, and Jeff Burton left the team midway through the season, being replaced by Carl Edwards, who posted a third-place finish and 5 top 10s.

In 2005, all five of the team's drivers made it to the Chase. Biffle accumulated 6 victories and 15 top 5 finishes, which was enough for him to be runner-up, behind Tony Stewart. Third was Carl Edwards, with 4 wins and 13 top 5s, while Martin had one win and 12 top 5s. Also, Kenseth had 1 wins and 12 top 5s, and Busch had 3 wins and 9 top 5s, finishing seventh and tenth.

Kenseth came close to winning his second title in 2006, winning four times and finishing 15 times in the top five, but he couldn't beat Johnson and finished runner-up. Martin was the only other driver on the team to qualify for the Chase, finishing ninth with 7 top-fives. Edwards had 10 top-fives to finish 12th in the points, one place ahead of Biffle, who had two wins and eight top-fives. On the other hand, Jamie McMurray, the #26 Ford driver, had 3 top-fives to finish 25th in the standings, and Todd Kluever and David Ragan drove 4 and 2 races each, in the #06 Ford, which it marked Roush's sixth car.

2007-2012
In 2007, Kenseth finished fourth in the championship with two wins and 13 top-fives, and Edwards had three wins and 11 top-fives, although he finished ninth. Biffle, despite winning once and posting 5 top-fives, also failed to make the Chase, finishing 14th in the points. On the other hand, McMurray and David Ragan, replacement for veteran driver Mark Martin, finished 17th and 23rd in the championship respectively, posting a win and 3 top-fives, and two top-fives, each.

Edwards had a fantastic campaign in 2008 with 9 wins and 19 top 5 finishes, but it was not enough to beat Johnson in the fight for the title, and he became runner-up. Biffle had two wins and 12 top-five finishes to finish third, while Kenseth finished 11th with 9 top-five finishes. Ragan and McMurray each had six top-fives and four top-five finishes, finishing 13th and 16th.

In 2009, Biffle posted a total of 10 top-five finishes to finish seventh, and Edwards posted seven top-five finishes to finish 11th. Kenseth started off by winning the first two races of the season (including the Daytona 500), but finished 14th with 7 top-fives. Also, McMurray had one win, finishing 22nd, and Ragan was winless to finish 27th.

Edwards, Kenseth and Biffle qualified for the Chase in 2010. Edwards and Biffle each had 2 wins and 9 top-five finishes, but the former had a better postseason finish, finishing fourth, while Biffle finished sixth. Kenseth posted 6 top 5 finishes, finishing fifth in the championship. For his part, Ragan failed to even make the top 5, finishing 24th in the championship.

In 2011, Edwards, despite one win and 19 top-fives, once again had to settle for runner-up, this time behind Tony Stewart. Kenseth finished fourth, after winning three races, and earning 12 top-fives. Meanwhile, Biffle was 16th, with three top-fives, and Ragan, 23rd, with one win and four top-fives. The following year, Biffle had two wins and 12 top-fives. 5 to finish fifth in the championship, while Kenseth had 3 wins (of which the Daytona 500 stands out) and 13 top 5 finishes, finishing seventh. Meanwhile, Edwards had just three top-five finishes to finish 15th, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made his debut in a fourth Ford.

2013-2016
In 2013, Biffle amassed one win and four top-five finishes to finish in ninth place. Meanwhile, Edwards finished 13th with two wins and 9 top-five finishes, and Stenhouse, who replaced Kenseth, posted a top-five finish to finish 19th in the championship. Edwards and Biffle qualified for the Chase in 2014 ; the former reached the third round, finishing ninth with two wins and 7 top 5 finishes, while the latter was eliminated in the first round, and with a total of 3 top 5 finishes, he was 14th. Meanwhile, Stenhouse had 5 top 10 finishes, finishing 27th in the championship.

In 2015, the results were poor, so that none of its drivers qualified for the Chase. Biffle was 20th with 3 top-fives, Stenhouse 25th with one top-five, and #6 driver Trevor Bayne 29th with just two top-10s. Stenhouse, Bayne and Biffle finished 21st, 22, and 23 of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, respectively, with no wins, and no Chase qualification.

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Mark Martin contested the category in a partial program from 1992 to 2000 with Roush. Despite not contending for the championship, he was able to win at least one race in each of those seasons, adding 7 wins in 1993, 6 in 1996, 1997 and 1999, 5 in 2000 and 3 in 1994 and 1995.

Greg Biffle was fourth with 5 wins in 2001, and champion in 2002 with 4 wins. Stanton Barrett finished 25th in 2003 with no wins.

Biffle was third in 2004 with five wins, while Carl Edwards finished third in 2005, and second in 2006, with five and four wins, respectively. In 2007, Edwards became champion with four wins, while David Ragan finished fifth without a win.

Edwards continued to race in the series through 2011, finishing second in 2008, 2009 and 2010, while Ragan finished fourth in 2008, Paul Menard fifth in 2010, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 16th in 2010. Stenhouse had two wins in 2011 and six in 2012 to win both seasons, while Trevor Bayne finished 11th in 2011, and sixth in 2013 and 2014. Chris Buescher finished seventh in 2014, with a win, while Ryan Reed was ninth.

In 2015, Buescher became champion with two wins, while Elliott Sadler and Darrell Wallace Jr. finished sixth and seventh, respectively, without wins. On the other hand, Reed was tenth with a victory. The following year, Reed and Wallace reached the second round of the postseason, finishing sixth and eleventh, with no wins.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Joe Ruttman was third in 1997, 1998, and fourth in 1996, posting five wins in 1997 and one in 1998. Meanwhile, Chuck Brown was ninth in 1997, and Greg Biffle eighth in 1998, both winless.

Biffle finished runner-up in 1999 and champion in 2000, scoring 9 and 5 wins each. While Mike Bliss finished ninth in 1999 with one win, and Kurt Busch, runner-up in 2000, with four wins.

Chuck Hossfeld and Nathan Haseleu were signed to Roush in 2001, however they left the team early. While Jon Wood was 12th in 2002.

In 2003, Wood and Carl Edwards had two and three wins, respectively, finishing fifth and eighth. Edwards finished fourth with three wins in 2004, while Wood finished 15th with no wins.

In 2005, Todd Kluever and Ricky Craven, finished 11th and 14th. The following year, Mark Martin won six races but ran a partial schedule, split with David Ragan, who failed to win.

Meanwhile, Erik Darnell finished 12th in 2006, 2007, and fourth in 2008, Travis Kvapil finished sixth in 2007, and Colin Braun, finished 13th in 2008 and fifth in 2009.

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.

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.

In 2007, Erik Darnell drove the No. 99 in three races, finishing second at Kansas and winning at Kentucky and Michigan. Travis Kvapil drove one race at Pocono, failing to finish, and Colin Braun drove three races later in the year, collecting three top tens. 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.

Roush-Yates Engines


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 (SHR), Front Row Motorsports (FRM), Live Fast Motorsports (LFM), and Rick Ware Racing (RWR).

Roush Fenway also has technical alliances with Front Row Motorsports, providing engines, chassis, and bodies as well as technical support. 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. 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. The relationship later expanded when the team fielded Roush development driver Trevor Bayne from late-2010 to 2014. It would end after that season, with the Wood Brothers currently receiving equipment and support (other than engines) from Team Penske.

Tim Brown partnership
In 2005, nine-time  wide receiver  announced that he intended to start his own NASCAR team, most likely No. 81, and receive equipment from Roush Racing. Brown also stated that he will let Roush select his driver. 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
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. The team began running a limited schedule with the Sonoma road course in 2006.

Robby Gordon
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 baseball team, purchased 50% of Roush Racing to create a new corporate entity, Roush Fenway Racing.

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, announced that they were contracting with Roush Racing to produce the lightweight  to be used to power the.

The Gong Show
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. The first combine for the stock car program was held in 1999. 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 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 television series Roush Racing: Driver X, which followed the stories of those involved in the 2005 Gong Show. Winners of the program include Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and David Ragan. The term "Gong Show" comes from the 1970s talent show ."