JACK ROUSH | NASCAR HALL OF FAME NOMINEE

Racer – Champion – Pioneer

MOORESVILLE, NC, April 19, 2018 – Jack Roush’s two passions in life have always been racing and aviation. In a career that spans over 50 years, Roush has taken his two passions and turned them into the iconic American dream.
Roush the quintessential entrepreneur, champion race car owner, and pioneer of engineering services was born in the small town of Covington, Kentucky and grew up not far away in Manchester, Ohio. Earning a mathematics degree with a minor in physics from Berea College (he later received a master’s in scientific mathematics from Eastern Michigan University). Faced with a decision at graduation to work for Ford Motor Co. or Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, he decided to move to Dearborn, Michigan to work for Ford, where his legendary story began.
Ford and Roush have a long and successful relationship, spanning over 50 years. It was at Ford Motor Co. where Roush was first introduced to the Ford employee race team called “The Fastbacks”, known for their drag racing. Roush became even more passionate about racing and competition, taking his passion for racing one step further, in 1970, he partnered with Wayne Gapp in a racing venture that would see the duo win three national Pro Stock championships, one each in the NHRA, IHRA and AHRA Pro Stock drag racing series.

In the mid-1970’s, Roush decided to start his first engineering business and formed Jack Roush Performance Engineering in 1976. His reputation in the world of high-performance engine building kept him rooted in the sport of racing; producing engines for numerous teams throughout the early 80’s.

In 1984, Roush was asked by Ford to develop a car for the SCCA Trans-Am and IMSA Camel GT racing series. He took on this new opportunity and won the 1985 manufacturer’s championship for Lincoln-Mercury in addition to winning an unprecedented 119 races and 24 national championships between the two series.

Roush went onto launch his first NASCAR Cup team with driver Mark Martin (NASCAR Hall of Famer) in 1988. Roush and Martin claimed their first NASCAR Cup victory at North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1989, creating one of the sports’ most famed partnerships. Partnering with Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Roush transformed Roush Fenway Racing into one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports, achieving 325 NASCAR wins and eight NASCAR championships to date.
Over the course of Roush’s 30-year career in NASCAR,19 different drivers have won races under his leadership; 2003 Cup Champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth, as well as 2004 Cup Champion, Kurt Busch and two-time NASCAR Champion Greg Biffle to name just a few.
In 2003, Roush joined forces with Robert Yates (NASCAR Hall of Famer) to form Roush Yates Engines. Roush Yates Engines, the exclusive NASCAR Cup and Xfinity engine builder, as well as IMSA and FIA series engine builder for Ford Performance. Designing, developing and manufacturing high-performance engines for the elite teams of Roush Fenway Racing, Team Penske, Wood Brothers, Stewart-Haas Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Go Fas Racing and Ford Chip Ganassi Racing.

“Happy Birthday and congratulations to one of my heroes, mentors and a great friend to our family on the NASCAR Hall of Fame nomination,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Jack has been a champion and icon in the sport of racing for over 50 years, accomplishing achievements we can only hope to reach. It is my honor to be your partner and to call you my friend.”
For almost 50 years Roush has been committed to winning on and off the track. As a direct result of Roush’s hard work, drive and dedication he has turned his love of racing into 43 championships, more than 500 race wins in drag racing, sports car and stock car racing, 1,000 top-5 and over 2,000 top-10 finishes, while leading over 57,000 laps and turning well over a million miles.
As an advocate for the sport of auto racing, Roush advanced the safety of the cars. He brought together his knowledge of aviation and aerodynamics to determine how the changes to car designs in the 1990’s affected their aerodynamics and used this research to create the roof flaps which gave the cars more downforce to keep them on the ground in case of an accident. Roush is one of today’s professional sports’ premiere owners and champions for the sport of racing.

As a racer and champion, Jack Roush has taken his two passions, cars and aviation, and turned them into his life’s’ work. Creating six organizations; Roush Industries, Roush Performance, Roush Clean Tech, Roush Fenway Racing, Roush Assembly Solutions and Roush Yates Engines.

As chairman of the board of Roush Enterprises, Inc., which employs more than 4,000 people and operates facilities across North America, Europe and Asia, Roush has taken his winning record on the track and applied it to the boardroom to become one of the most successful automotive entrepreneurs of the modern era.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Voting is now open at https://www.nascar.com/halloffame

To learn more about Roush Fenway Raceway go to http://www.roushfenway.com

 

*Photography courtesy of ROUSH Automotive Collection & NASCAR Media

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