RFK Racing

Owner(s)	Jack Roush John W. Henry (Fenway Sports Group) Brad Keselowski
Base	Concord, North Carolina
Series	NASCAR Cup Series
Race drivers	Cup Series: 6.Brad Keselowski 17.Chris Buescher 60.Ryan Preece
Sponsors	Cup Series: 6.Kroger (Cottonelle, Blue Buffalo,General Mills,Tree Top,Coca-Cola,Oscar Mayer,Lunchables), BlueForge Alliance,Castrol,Consumer Cellular,Esperion Therapeutics, Solomon Plumbing,Fastenal, Elk Grove Manufacturing & Technology Expo 17.Fastenal,Fry's (Thomas'),Smith's (Dasani),Kroger (Farm Rich, Blue Buffalo,General Mills,Tree Top,Coca-Cola,Oscar Mayer,Lunchables), BlueForge Alliance,Esperion Therapeutics,Fifth Third Bank,Castrol,TravelCenters of America 60. BlueForge Alliance,Kroger (Gevalia, Blue Buffalo,General Mills,Tree Top,Coca-Cola,Oscar Mayer,Lunchables), Solomon Plumbing,Consumer Cellular,Castrol, Mohawk Northeast Inc,Esperion Therapeutics
Manufacturer	Ford
Opened	1988
Career
Debut	Cup Series: 1988Daytona 500 (Daytona) Xfinity Series: 1992Goody's 300 (Daytona) Camping World Truck Series: 1995Heartland Tailgate 175 (Topeka) ARCA Re/Max Series: 2005Advance Discount Auto Parts 200 (Daytona)
Latest race	Cup Series: 2025Pennzoil 400 (Las Vegas) Xfinity Series: 2018Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead) Camping World Truck Series: 2009Ford 200 (Homestead) ARCA Re/Max Series: 2008Hantz Group 200 (Toledo)
Races competed	Total: 2,376 Cup Series: 1,267 Xfinity Series: 726 Camping World Truck Series: 353 ARCA Re/Max Series: 30
Drivers' Championships	Total: 8 Cup Series: 2 2003,2004 Xfinity Series: 5 2002,2007,2011,2012,2015 Camping World Truck Series: 1 2000 ARCA Re/Max Series: 0
Race victories	Total: 334 Cup Series: 143 Xfinity Series: 137 Camping World Truck Series: 50 ARCA Re/Max Series: 4
Pole positions	Total: 235 Cup Series: 91 Xfinity Series: 96 Camping World Truck Series: 45 ARCA Re/Max Series: 3

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing,doing business asRFK Racing, is an American professionalstock car organization that currently competes in theNASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ran teams in theNASCAR Xfinity Series,NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,ARCA Menards Series,Trans-Am Series andIMSA Camel GT. The team currently fields the No. 6Ford Mustang Dark Horse full-time for driver/co-ownerBrad Keselowski, the No. 17 Mustang full-time forChris Buescher, and the No. 60 full-time forRyan Preece.

The team was originallyRoush Racing and was renamedRoush Fenway Racing in 2007 whenJohn W. Henry and theFenway Sports Group became co-owners andRFK Racing in 2022 whenBrad Keselowski became a co-owner.

Since its inception, Roush has competed exclusively inFord brand automobiles. The team also operatesRoush-Yates Engines, which provides engines for most Ford teams in NASCAR and ARCA.^[1][2]

Roush Racing was founded byJack Roush, former employee of theFord Motor Company and founder ofRoush Performance . 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 theNHRA,SCCATrans-Am Series,IMSA GT Championship, and the24 Hours of Daytona. The racing business was originally a small branch of co-ownerJack Roush's successful automotive engineering and road-racing equipment business based inLivonia, Michigan. Early Roush drivers includedTommy Kendall,Scott Pruett andWilly T. Ribbs.^[1][3]

The NASCAR operation, founded in 1988 and based in Concord, North Carolina, has since become the cornerstone and centerpiece of the company.^[1] The team won back to back Championships in theNASCAR Cup Series in 2003 and 2004; the final Winston Cup championship with driverMatt Kenseth, and the first Nextel Cup championship with driverKurt Busch. The team also has amassed many wins and championships in theNationwide/Xfinity Series andCraftsman Truck Series competition.^[4][5]

In 2007, sports investorJohn W. Henry, owner of theFenway Sports Group which operates theBoston Red Sox,Liverpool F.C., and theNew 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.^[6]

Roush restarted its road racing program in 2006, calledRoush Road Racing (previouslyRoush Performance Racing orRoush Performance). The team fielded the No. 61 Ford Mustang in theIMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge andRolex Sports Car Series forBilly Johnson and Jack Roush's son, Jack Roush Jr., and since 2014 fields the No. 60 Mustang in thePirelli World Challenge sponsored byRoush 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 toMichigan near Roush Performance headquarters.^{[7][8][9][10]}

After several months of speculation, Roush-Fenway announced on July 20, 2021, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that the2010 Nationwide Series and2012 Sprint Cup Series ChampionBrad Keselowski would depart fromTeam Penske after the 2021 season to join the organization as a driver (replacingRyan Newman in the No. 6) and co-owner.

Founded in 1988, the NASCAR program is built around having multiple cars and providing engine, engineering, and race car build services to other NASCAR teams fielding Ford-branded vehicles. 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. Since the 2004 season, engines for the cars have been provided by Roush-Yates Engines, a partnership between Roush Fenway Racing and now-closed rivalYates Racing, withDoug Yates as a head engine builder. Roush-Yates also provides engines, cars and parts to other Cup teams, includingWood Brothers Racing,Team Penske,Rick Ware Racing,Haas Factory Team, andFront Row Motorsports.^[2][11]

Between 1998 and 2000^[12][13] and 2003–2009,^[14] Roush Racing operated five full-time Cup teams (6, 16, 17, 26/97, 99), more than any other organization includingHendrick Motorsports andRichard Childress Racing, which have both operated as many as four full-time teams. Beginning in 2001, after years of operating in separate facilities, the teams were moved into a single shop inConcord, North Carolina to improve performance and communication.^[13] Roush Racing set a NASCAR record by putting all five of its race teams in theChase for the Nextel Cup in 2005.^[15] Following the 2009 season, Roush Fenway was ordered byNASCAR to shrink its operation to four Sprint Cup Series teams, ceding the No. 26 team.^[15] The team would later shrink to three teams after the 2011 season,^[16] and would shrink again to two teams after the 2016 season. For 2025, RFK went back to a 3-car operation for the first time since 2016.

On November 29, 2023, it was announced that the number 60 will be brought up from theXfinity Series, to enter the 2024 Daytona 500 withDavid Ragan. The team will be racing under the banner of Stage 60. It will also compete on a part time schedule with different drivers. Starting in 2025, RFK will expand the 60 team into a full time operation with driverRyan Preece, andKroger being the sponsor.

The Xfinity Series operation began in 1992 with the No. 60 driven byMark Martin. The No. 60 team has been dominant throughout its history, amassing many wins with Martin; three driver's championships withGreg Biffle in 2002,Carl Edwards in 2007, andChris Buescher in 2015; and an owner's championship with Edwards in 2011. The No. 6 team won back-to-back driver's championships in 2011 and 2012 withRicky Stenhouse Jr.^[5][9] Following the departures ofRyan Reed,Chase Briscoe, andAustin Cindric, Roush's Xfinity program was closed following the 2018 season.

From 1995 until 2009 Roush fielded teams in theNASCAR Truck Series, fielding trucks for drivers such asKurt Busch, Greg Biffle,Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards,Ricky Craven,David Ragan,Mark Martin,Travis Kvapil, and various others. Many of these drivers went on to drive for the team at the Cup level.^[4][17] Roush's trucks won fifty races and the 2000 series championship (Biffle).^[5]

Chuck Hossfeld drove the final race of 2000 atCalifornia Speedway in the No. 49 as a third Roush entry in preparation to take over the No. 50 fromGreg Biffle in the 2001 season. He finished 31st after losing an engine during the event.

The No. 33 truck began running in2005 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 theFord 200, where he started 14th and finished 8th with sponsorship fromStonebridge Life Insurance.

Joey Clanton began the 2008 season driving the No. 09 full-time in 2008 withZaxby's sponsoring, but after the season-openingrace, he was released.Travis Kvapil returned to Roush and shared this ride withBobby East andJohn 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.

The truck switched to No. 6 and was shared by Nextel Cup veteranMark Martin and rookieDavid Ragan. The No. 6 truck's new sponsor wasScotts, and the truck, piloted by Martin, won the first two races of the 2006 season. Martin then decided to race more races than he originally intended, and he only skipped races without a corresponding Nextel Cup event.Auggie Vidovich II drove for theMansfield race after Ragan crashed the truck in practice, finishing 19th. Ragan shared the truck with Martin for the balance of the season and had six top-tens and one pole in the 6 truck. Martin had the most success in the truck, winning five races. Overall, the team finished 2nd in the owner's points.

In 2007, Mark Martin moved on to a new role withanother team. In his place, Roush-Fenway hired 2003 NCTS ChampionTravis Kvapil. Kvapil, after two years of struggling to launch his Cup Series career, returned to the Truck Series in 2007. During the season, Kvapil almost won the opening race at Daytona, and won four races en route to a sixth-place finish in points.

As Kvapil heads back to the Sprint Cup Series withYates Racing, formerRolex Sports Car Series driverColin Braun took Kvapil's place in the No. 6 truck with sponsorship fromCon-way. In his rookie season, Braun had three top-fives and finished 13th in points, winning Rookie of the Year. In 2009, he won at Michigan and finished 5th in points. With moving Braun to the Nationwide Series for the 2010 season, Roush shut down this team and ended its Truck Series program. He later sold the remaining trucks to Cup Series driverKyle Busch for him to starthis own truck team.

The original truck in Roush's stable debuted in 1995 at theHeartland Park Topeka road course. It was No. 61 and driven to a fourth-place finish byTodd Bodine. Bodine had four more top ten runs beforeTed Musgrave drove to a fourth-place finish at Phoenix. In 1996, the car switched to No. 80, andJoe Ruttman was at the wheel, nailing down sixteen top-10s and finishing 4th in points. In 1997, with sponsorship fromLCI, Ruttman won five times and finished 3rd in points.

For the first race in 1998 atWalt Disney World Speedway, Ruttman piloted the No. 50, rookieGreg Biffle drove the No. 80, andChuck Bown ran the No. 99. After Bown departed the team, Ruttman took over the No. 99, and Biffle moved from the No. 80, which was discontinued, to the No. 50. Biffle had been hired by Roush under the recommendation ofBenny Parsons, and he would be sponsored byW. W. Grainger.^[18] Although he failed to win a race, Biffle won four poles and finished eighth in points.

Biffle would go on a tear in 1999 when he won nine times and was in contention for the championship for much of the season before finally losing toJack 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.^[18]

With Biffle moving up to the Busch Series, in 2001, Roush hiredWinston Modified Tour driverChuck Hossfeld to drive the truck after he won 2000 Roush"Gong Show" competition.^[19][20][21] Hossfeld struggled in his rookie year, and soon he was released, withJon Wood driving the truck for the remainder of the season.^[19][20]

Wood's audition was impressive enough to earn him a full-time run in 2002, and he posted twelve top-ten finishes in theU.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 toJTG Racing in the Busch Series.

In 2005,Todd Kluever, another"Gong Show" winner, piloted the truck sponsored byShell Rotella T andWorld Financial Group. Kluever earned six top five and twelve top ten finishes in his rookie season, winning the Rookie of the Year award.^[17][22][23]

After Martin's strong start to the 2006 season, his original limited schedule in the No. 6 was expanded. Roush decided to run another part-time team for rookie David Ragan to fill out his original schedule. Ragan took the No. 50 to a 22nd-place finish at Atlanta, but struggled in his next few starts in both the No. 50 and the No. 6. Carl Edwards ran the No. 50 at the Dover race, achieving the team's only top five of the season, and Ragan returned at theMichigan race. Ragan's best finish in the No. 50 came at Atlanta where he finished sixth.Peter Shepherd andMichel Jourdain Jr. also drove the No. 50 on a part-time basis during the season with sponsorship from PurposeMoney.com. Edwards drove the truck for the first two races of the 2007 season unsponsored, scoring the team's only top five of the season atCalifornia Speedway. It was then announced thatT. J. Bell would drive the truck for sixteen races, bringing sponsorship fromHeathcliff's Cat Litter. Development driversPeter Shepherd,Danny O'Quinn Jr., andColin Braun also drove the No. 50 truck, with sponsorship fromNorthern Tool and Equipment.

The No. 99 truck debuted atHeartland Park Topeka in 1996. It was sponsored byExide Batteries and driven to an eighth-place finish byJeff Burton. Posting three top tens in four races that year, he shared the ride withMark Martin, who won atNorth Wilkesboro Speedway. The next year,Chuck Bown was hired to drive full-time, posting thirteen top tens and finishing ninth in points. Bown drove the first race of the1998 season atWalt Disney World Speedway, beforeJoe Ruttman moved over to the truck for the remainder of the year, winning once and finishing third in points.Mike Bliss was next to tackle the ride, scoring a win atHeartland Park Topeka but only finishing ninth in points. When Bliss left for an ill-fated rookie year in Winston Cup,Kurt Busch was named the new driver for 2000. 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 (Busch moving to the Cup Series), and rookieNathan Haseleu took over.^[19][20] The truck was largely unsponsored at the beginning of the year, withEldon becoming the sponsor after nine races. Despite posting four top ten finishes in twelve starts, Hasleau was waived mid-season, replaced initially by former Truck Series driversGreg Biffle andKurt Busch.^[19][20] Biffle scored two wins in the truck.^[24] Kurt's younger brotherKyle would also run six races in the second half of the season, earning two top tens at the age of 16.^[25] Kyle Busch was scheduled to race the truck full-time in 2002, but during the 2001 season finale atFontana he was ejected from the race due to conflicts with track sponsorMarlboro. Afterwards, NASCAR announced all drivers in its top three series must be at least 18 years of age. Tim Woods III would replace Busch in the race.^{[25][26][27][28]}

AfterTim Fedewa ran the2002 season-opener in the truck, and with the now 17-year-old Busch not able to compete, the team did not run for the rest of the year due to lack of sponsorship.^[26]

The truck returned in2003 withCarl Edwards driving;^[17] although the United States Navy was the truck's original sponsor, they left the team midway through the year and Edwards ran largely unsponsored untilSuperchips came on to sponsor him.^[17] Edwards won three races and the Rookie of the Year title.^[17] He repeated his win total in 2004 and moved up to fourth in points, and followingJeff Burton's departure from Roush Racing he began splitting time between the Truck Series and the Nextel Cup Series.^[17][29]

When Edwards moved up to Nextel Cup for 2005, Roush hired a former Cup driver,Ricky Craven, to take his place.^[22] Despite posting seven top tens and winning at Martinsville, Roush and Craven announced they would not be back together in2006.

Erik Darnell piloted the No. 99 truck full-time in 2006 with at firstWoolrich, but eventuallyNorthern Tool and Equipment as sponsor to a 2006 Rookie of the Year title.^[17] 2007 brought about Darnell's first win atKansas,^[17] but inconsistency left the team 12th in points at season's end. In 2008, Darnell captured one win atMichigan by only .005 seconds over eventual championJohnny Benson and ended the season fourth in the standings. This team was shut down after the 2008 season, as the team was being moved up for a part-time schedule in the Nationwide 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.^[30]Travis Kvapil drove one race at Pocono, failing to finish, andColin Braun drove three races later in the year, collecting three top tens.^[31] For 2008,Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove anAflac sponsored No. 99 to compete in the championship, winning two races at Kentucky and Pocono and collecting ten top-fives. During the last race atToledo Speedway, he andScott 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.^[32]

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 asRoush-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 affiliateWood Brothers Racing (then Wood Brothers/JTG Racing). Current Roush-Yates clients includeTeam Penske (TP),Wood Brothers Racing (WBR),Stewart-Haas Racing^[33] (SHR),Front Row Motorsports (FRM), andRick Ware Racing (RWR).^[2][11][34]

Roush Fenway also has technical alliances withFront Row Motorsports, providing engines, chassis, and bodies as well as technical support.^[35][36] Roush also provided heavy technical support to Yates Racing from 2008 to the team's closure at the end of 2009, when it merged withRichard Petty Motorsports.^[37][38] As of 2017, Roush supplies engines and chassis to 13 Cup teams.

The first technical alliance between Roush Racing and another organization was withWood 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.^[39][40][41] The relationship later expanded when the team fielded Roush development driverTrevor Bayne from late-2010 to 2014.^[42] It would end after that season, with the Wood Brothers currently receiving equipment and support (other than engines) fromTeam Penske.^[43]

In 2005, nine-timePro BowlNFL wide receiverTim Brown announced that he intended to start his own NASCAR team, most likely No. 81, and receive equipment from Roush Racing.^[44] Brown also stated that he will let Roush select his driver.^[45] 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.

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 specialistBoris 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.^[46] The team began running a limited schedule with the Sonoma road course in 2006.

Starting with the 2007 season,Robby Gordon switched fromChevrolet toFord vehicles after signing a contract withFord Racing. He leased engines from the Roush/Yates engine program through the 2007 season, until he switched toGillett Evernham engines and aDodge Charger.

On February 14, 2007, theFenway Sports Group, owner of theBoston Red Sox baseball team, purchased 50% of Roush Racing to create a new corporate entity, Roush Fenway Racing.^[47]

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."

Roush became involved in the aerospace industry in the 2010s. In April 2015,United Launch Alliance announced that they were contracting with Roush Racing to produce the lightweightinternal combustion engine to be used to power thelong-life on orbit system of theAdvanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage to be flown in the 2020s as the second stage of theVulcanlaunch vehicle.^[48]

For many years, Roush Racing recruited its developmental drivers through an elimination-style of testing entitledThe Gong Show. The first competition was held in 1985 for Roush's road racing program.^[17][49] The first combine for the stock car program was held in 1999.^{[17][22][50][51]} 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 alsopublic relations 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 theDiscovery Channel television seriesRoush Racing: Driver X, which followed the stories of those involved in the 2005 Gong Show.^[22][50] Winners of the program includeKurt Busch,Carl Edwards andDavid Ragan.^[17][22][50]

The term "Gong Show" comes from the 1970s talent showspoofThe Gong Show.^[22]

• Roush Performance
• Ford Racing

• NASCAR.com Driver list
• Racing-Reference.info

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• Auto racing teams established in 1988
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