Archive for February, 2019

ROUSH LOOKS FORWARD TO NASCAR HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

Posted on: February 1st, 2019
Location: post

CONCORD, NC –  Feb 1, 2019 – This evening, Jack Roush will officially be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

And it’s something the Roush Fenway Racing team owner just can’t quite believe is happening.

“There’s only 45 people in the Hall of Fame,” said Roush. “So with the class that’s coming in, that will make 50 of us. To be one of the first 50 inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame is really a great honor.”

Roush has been fielding NASCAR entries for the past 31 years, and during that time his teams have amassed a NASCAR record 325 victories, while covering over 1.78 million miles in NASCAR action and bringing home eight championships. Roush’s lifetime of achievement will be rewarded this evening, when he will be inducted into the 2019 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

With over eight championships in NASCAR’s top three divisions, 325 wins, 1,456 top-five’s, 2,579 top-10 finishes and 230 pole awards, it’s easy to see how Roush guaranteed his seat in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“When I thought about the success of all the drivers and all of the people that have worked on the cars, I’m just proud to be running with them and share with them the excitement here,” Roush said.

In 1988 Roush ventured into the unknown territory of NASCAR racing, starting a single car team out of Liberty, N.C. His No. 6 Ford Thunderbird lasted only 19 laps in its Daytona 500 debut that year. Thirty years later, Roush stands amongst the greatest in the sport’s celebrated history. Roush has fielded over 5,908 entries in NASCAR competition, while leading over 67,421 laps.

Known as a leader in the garage for finding and developing talent, Roush has seen 19 different drivers win in NASCAR competition in his race cars – including nine in the Cup Series and six different drivers bring home NASCAR season championships. In addition, six different drivers have won 14 or more races in Roush’s Fords at the Cup level, with three of those drivers posting over 20 victories at NASCAR’s highest level. In total, 52 different drivers have piloted Roush’s Fords across NASCAR’s three major series.

Roush’s multi-car efficiency of scale model became one of the most successful in NASCAR history, with his organization placing an unprecedented five teams in the 2005 10-team ‘Chase’, after coming off back-to-back Cup Championships in 2003 and 2004. Roush has also been recognized as one of the premier leaders in the garage in driver development, with Roush Fenway having led drivers to 13 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Awards.

An engineer at heart, Roush has always employed a solutions-based approach, be it in competition, business or safety initiatives. He has been involved in numerous safety innovations, including the roof flaps designed to disrupt airflow and prevent cars from going airborne that now are standard equipment for all NASCAR racers.

Roush becomes the second person with Roush Fenway Racing ties to be inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame. Mark Martin – the first driver to drive for Roush in NASCAR – was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.  Martin piloted Roush Fenway’s flagship No. 6 Ford from 1988 until 2006. During that time, he and Roush earned 35 Cup victories. At the end of his tenure at Roush Fenway, Martin held a record five prestigious IROC (International Race of Champions) Championships and a then-record 47 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins. For his career, Martin posted 96 career NASCAR victories, with the majority coming in Roush-owned equipment.

Roush will be inducted along with Roger Penske, Alan Kulwicki, Jeff Gordon and David Allison. Tune in to tonight’s Hall of Fame ceremony at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is the winningest team in NASCAR history, fielding multiple teams in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series competition. Moving into its 31st season, Roush Fenway is a leader in driver development, having launched the careers for many of the top drivers in the sport. Off-track, Roush Fenway is a leader in NASCAR marketing solutions, pioneering motorsport’s first team-focused TV show and producing multiple award-winning Social Media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Roush Fenway is co-owned by Jack Roush, the winningest team owner in NASCAR history and Fenway Sports Group, parent company of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C. Visit RoushFenway.com, circle on Google+, become a fan on Facebook and Instagram, and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway.

 

*Courtesy of Roush Fenway

FORD GOES FOR THIRD CLASH WIN IN A ROW

Posted on: February 6th, 2019
Location: post

MOORESVILLE, NC, February 6, 2019 – Ford going for third straight Daytona Clash win. Ford has won The Clash at Daytona nine times by seven different drivers, including the last two by Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.  The best stretch for Ford in the event undoubtedly came during a three-year winning streak in which Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett all reached victory lane from 1998-2000.  Jarrett owns three of Ford’s eight victories (1996, 2000, 2004) in the event and on two of those occasions (1996 and 2000) he went on to win the Daytona 500.  As noted above, Bill Elliott was Ford’s first winner in the event while Geoffrey Bodine was next in 1992.

 

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: THE CLASH AT DAYTONA

The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season gets started this weekend with The Clash at Daytona on Sunday afternoon.  This non-points event features pole-winners from the 2018 season, along with former Clash winners, former Daytona 500 race and pole-winners who competed full-time last year, and playoff qualifiers from a season ago.  This event has been run in one form or another since 1979.

 

WHO’S IN?

There are 20 drivers entered in Sunday afternoon’s Clash and nine of those will be driving the new Ford Mustang for the first time in competition.  Four Ford organizations will be represented, including all of the drivers that make up Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing.  Defending series champion Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) will join Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez (SHR) in the field.  Rounding out the Ford contingent is Ryan Newman, who will be making his return to Ford and debut with Roush Fenway Racing, and Paul Menard, who won the pole for Wood Brothers Racing last year at Chicagoland Speedway.

 

KESELOWSKI LOOKING TO DEFEND

In a foreshadowing of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Brad Keselowski took Ford to Victory Lane in the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway.  Keselowski led a Ford sweep of the top four finishing positions as he took the lead on lap 39 of the 75-lap feature and never looked back, holding off Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney, respectively.  It marked the second straight Clash win for Ford and served as a springboard that saw the Blue Oval lead the series with 19 points wins and capture the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.

 

LOGANO BREAKS CLASH DROUGHT

Joey Logano snapped a 13-year Ford winless drought when he won The Clash in 2017, making him the manufacturer’s first victor since Dale Jarrett in 2004.  Logano found himself in the right place at the right time, taking the lead after Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski made contact on the final lap.  Keselowski had a run and was trying to pass Hamlin, whose attempt at blocking came too late and resulted in both cars colliding.  That enabled Logano to get through and win the Clash for the first time in his career.  Four Ford drivers finished in the top six spots as Danica Patrick was fourth, Kevin Harvick fifth and Keselowski sixth.

 

FORD’S CLASH AT DAYTONA WINNERS

1987 – Bill Elliott

1992 – Geoffrey Bodine

1996 – Dale Jarrett

1998 – Rusty Wallace

1999 – Mark Martin

2000 – Dale Jarrett

2004 – Dale Jarrett

2017 – Joey Logano

2018 – Brad Keselowski

 

*Courtesy of Ford Performance

STARRETT AND ROUSH YATES ENGINES RENEW PARTNERSHIP

Posted on: February 11th, 2019
Location: post

 

MOORESVILLE, NC, February 11, 2019 – Roush Yates Engines announced today that it has reached a multi-year partnership extension agreement with L.S. Starrett Co.

Starrett, an industry leader in metrology tools and equipment for over 135 years, located in Athol, Massachusetts, has been an official partner of Roush Yates Engines since 2016. Starrett’s premier measuring and inspection tools have been a key component in delivering championship winning engines and world-class products around the world.
“Starrett’s brand is iconic and known world-wide, while their support to our racing programs has provided competitive advantages to win races,” said Todd English, VP Business Development, Roush Yates Engines. “We rely on their employee’s workmanship in their manufacturing facilities in Athol and across the globe. We look forward to expanding our valued partnership and leveraging Starrett’s force and vision measurement systems.”
Starrett’s standard of quality and workmanship is the best in the industry, as their accuracy and product performance exceed national and international standards. These attributes are critical when developing and machining world-class products for the automotive, military, aerospace and industrial industries.

With more than 5,000 products; including spring and force testing, measurement equipment, precision hand tools, state-of-the-art vision and optical systems, Starrett has the right tools to meet our needs.
“We utilize Starrett’s inspection equipment for accuracy, reliability, and repeatability,” said Jennifer Lafever, NASCAR QA Manager, Roush Yates Engines. “We must have 100% confidence that our parts are accurate and correct every single time. Starrett tools provide us that confidence, when there is no room for error.”

“Starrett is glad to work with a high demanding customer such as Roush Yates Engines, as they use precision with everything they do,” said Emerson Leme, Head of Starrett Metrology Division. “Starrett has been a long-standing premier supplier to Roush Yates Engines for many years and extending this partnership is a win for all of us.”

With a shared commitment of excellence and objective to deliver the best products to our customers, partnering with Starrett ensures that continued level of expertise.

About L.S. Starrett Co. (NYSE: SCX):  
The L.S. Starrett Co. was founded in 1880, in Athol, Massachusetts. Starrett, a leader who has set the standard for fine precision tools in the industry for over 130 years, has rightfully earned the title, “World’s Greatest Toolmakers”.

Manufacturing more than 5,000 variations of precision tools, gages, measuring instruments and saw blades for industrial, professional and consumer markets worldwide. Starrett operates sixteen manufacturing locations worldwide with six in the United States.
For more information about L.S. Starrett visit http://www.starrett.com.

KESELOWSKI WINS WITH THE NEW FORD MUSTANG IN ATLANTA

Posted on: February 25th, 2019
Location: post

HAMPTON, GA, February 25, 2019 – Brad Keselowski, Team Penske’s all-time winningest driver in the No. 2, recorded the first race win in the new Ford Mustang. Ford Performance recorded their third consecutive win at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 and 678th all-time win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) competition.

“Congratulations to Ford, Brad and Roger {Penske},” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “This was a big day for Roush Yates Engines with the new T550 engine package, on a mile and a half track for the first time this year, with the new iconic Ford Mustang body. To finish in victory lane is a testament to all the hard work by the entire Ford organization. We are proud to be part of this historic moment and partner with Ford Performance to deliver the first MENCS win with the new Ford Mustang.”
“Good enough to get the job done,” commented Keselowski in a victory lane interview after being asked about how he was feeling. “I think first off, I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my wife who’s standing in the back. I couldn’t be here today without them. So, thank you. And Doug Yates, we ran over a piece of debris with, I don’t know, probably 50 laps to go and overheated really bad, and I thought there was no way this engine would make it to the end, but Doug Yates and his team, they do a great job. I’m pretty sure it’s all used up, Doug, but it’s in Victory Lane, right?”
Keselowski, driving the new T550 engine package for the first time in the 2019 season, worked race traffic all day. The No. 2, methodically worked his way up to the front, taking the lead from Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano on lap 293, and led the last 33 laps of the race. The Keselowski managed to hold off a hard charging Martin Truex Jr. for the last three laps, taking the checkered flag .134 seconds ahead of the No. 19.
“This is a great day for Ford and it’s a testament to what can be achieved when everybody works together toward one common goal,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “So many people were involved in the design and development of Mustang – from team engineers to design center staff at Ford to our internal team at Ford Performance – we all worked together on this project over the last 18 months and to see it end with a victory in just the car’s second race is beyond satisfying.”

After sweeping qualifying with pole winner Aric Almirola, Rick Stenhouse Jr. and Clint Bowyer, the Ford Mustangs went onto lead a combined manufacturers’ race high of 178 laps out of the 325-lap race.
Joining winner Keselowski in the top-10 was Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick in P4, Clint Bowyer P5, Almirola P8, and Daniel Suárez rounding out the top-10.
Cole Custer with Stewart-Haas Racing started on the pole for the NASCAR Xfinity race on Saturday afternoon and finished P2. In addition, Austin Cindric with Team Penske finished P10, and Chase Briscoe also from Stewart-Haas Racing finished P15.
Ford Performance teams will ride this momentum out west to Las Vegas this weekend.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 355 WINS – 322 POLES!
*Photography courtesy of NASCAR Media