Roush Fenway Racing Team
Roush Fenway Racing (formerly Roush Racing) is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series. Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had competed and won championships in various drag racing and sports car racing series since the mid-1960's. 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.
The NASCAR operation, based in Concord, North Carolina, has since become the cornerstone and centerpiece of the company, winning back to back Sprint Cup SeriesChampionships in 2003 with driver Matt Kenseth and 2004 with driver Kurt Busch. In the Sprint Cup Series, the team fields the #6 United Parcel Service Ford Fuion for David Ragan, the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Greg Biffle, the #17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion for Matt Kenseth, and the #99 Aflac Ford Fusion for Carl Edwards. In the Nationwide Series, they field the #6 Citigroup Ford Fusion for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., the #16 Con-way Freight Ford for Colin Braun, the #17 Ford Fusion part time for Matt Kenseth, and the #60 Copart/Fastenal Ford Fusion for Edwards.
The original truck in Roush's stable debuted in 1995 at the 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 rookie 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 rookie season. Erik Darnell piloted the newly-renumbered 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. 2007 brought about Darnell's first win at Kansas, but inconsistency put the team 12th at season's end. 2008 would be the 99's final season in the Truck Series, as the team was being moved up for a part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series. Erik captured one win at Michigan by only .005 seconds over eventual champion Johnny Benson. This team was shut down after the 2008 season.
Roush Fenway Racing Team Video
