RFK Racing

The team was founded by Jack Roush, a former employee of Ford Motor Company and founder of Roush Performance. Before entering NASCAR, Roush competed and won championships in drag racing and sports car racing from the mid-1960s onwards, including the NHRA, SCCA Trans-Am Series, IMSA GT Championship, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. The racing business began as a small branch of his automotive engineering operation based in Livonia, Michigan. Early Roush drivers included Tommy Kendall, Scott Pruett, and Willy T. Ribbs.

The NASCAR operation was founded in 1988 and based in Concord, North Carolina. Beginning in 2001, all teams were consolidated into a single shop in Concord to improve performance and communication.

Between 1998–2000 and 2003–2009, Roush Racing operated five full-time Cup Series teams, running car numbers 6, 16, 17, 26/97, and 99 — more than any other organisation at the time, including Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing. The team won back-to-back Cup Series championships in 2003 with Matt Kenseth and 2004 with Kurt Busch. In 2005, all five Roush teams qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup simultaneously, setting a NASCAR record. Following the 2009 season, NASCAR directed Roush Fenway to reduce to four Cup teams, ceding the No. 26 team. The operation was further reduced to three teams after 2011 and to two after 2016. For 2025, RFK expanded back to three full-time cars for the first time since 2016, adding the No. 60 with driver Ryan Preece and primary sponsor Kroger.

The No. 60 was first brought from the Xfinity Series to enter the 2024 Daytona 500 with David Ragan under the banner Stage 60, competing part-time that year before becoming a full-time entry in 2025.

Engines for the Cup cars have been supplied by Roush-Yates Engines since 2004, formed through a partnership between Roush Fenway Racing and Yates Racing, with Doug Yates as head engine builder. Roush-Yates also supplies engines, cars, and parts to other Cup teams including Team Penske, Wood Brothers Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and Rick Ware Racing.

The team was originally named Roush Racing. On February 14, 2007, the Fenway Sports Group — owner of the Boston Red Sox — purchased a 50% stake, and the team was renamed Roush Fenway Racing. Jack Roush continued to head day-to-day operations. In July 2021, Brad Keselowski announced he would leave Team Penske after the 2021 season to join the organisation as both driver of the No. 6 and co-owner; the team was subsequently renamed RFK Racing in 2022.

The Xfinity Series operation began in 1992 with the No. 60 driven by Mark Martin. The No. 60 accumulated many wins with Martin and three driver championships: Greg Biffle in 2002, Carl Edwards in 2007, and Chris Buescher in 2015, plus an owner championship with Edwards in 2011. The No. 6 team won back-to-back driver championships in 2011 and 2012 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The Xfinity programme was closed following the 2018 season after the departures of Ryan Reed, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric.

From 1995 to 2009, Roush fielded teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, winning fifty races and the 2000 series championship with Greg Biffle. Key drivers across the truck programme included Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Ricky Craven, David Ragan, Mark Martin, Travis Kvapil, and Colin Braun.

Greg Biffle, hired under the recommendation of Benny Parsons, drove the No. 50 truck from 1998 to 2000. Biffle won nine races in 1999 and took the 2000 series championship by 230 points over teammate Kurt Busch. Carl Edwards drove the No. 99 truck from 2003 to 2004, winning three races in 2003 and earning Rookie of the Year. In 2008, Erik Darnell won in the No. 99 truck at Michigan by 0.005 seconds over eventual champion Johnny Benson. The truck programme was shut down after 2008, with Jack Roush selling the remaining trucks to Kyle Busch for his own team.

Roush restarted a road racing programme in 2006 as Roush Road Racing, fielding the No. 61 Ford Mustang in the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and Rolex Sports Car Series for Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. Since 2014, the team has fielded the No. 60 Mustang in the Pirelli World Challenge, sponsored by Roush Performance. Since 2015, the programme has operated in partnership with Capaldi Racing from Michigan.

In the ARCA Re/Max Series, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove the No. 99 car in 2008, winning twice at Kentucky and Pocono and collecting ten top-fives. Erik Darnell drove the No. 99 in three 2007 races, finishing second at Kansas and winning at Kentucky and Michigan.

Roush's first technical alliance with another organisation was with Wood Brothers Racing, beginning in mid-2000 after two seasons supplying the team with engines. The alliance later expanded when the team fielded Roush development driver Trevor Bayne from late 2010 to 2014. Roush also provided heavy technical support to Yates Racing from 2008 until that team closed at the end of 2009, when it merged with Richard Petty Motorsports. Roush supplies engines and chassis to Front Row Motorsports.

In 2005, nine-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tim Brown announced plans to start a NASCAR team receiving equipment from Roush Racing, but no further announcements followed by October 2006. In 2006, SoBe No Fear energy drink announced a new team affiliated with Roush to be driven by road racing specialist Boris Said, beginning with a limited 2006 schedule at Sonoma. Starting with the 2007 season, Robby Gordon leased Roush/Yates engines before switching to Dodge mid-season.

In April 2015, United Launch Alliance contracted Roush Racing to produce a lightweight internal combustion engine for the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage, the second stage of the Vulcan launch vehicle.

Roush developed drivers through an elimination-style programme called The Gong Show. The first version was held in 1985 for Roush's road racing operation; the stock car version began in 1999. Candidates progressed through tests of driving skill, public relations ability, and personality, ultimately competing in Truck or Busch Series vehicles. The 2005 competition was documented in the Discovery Channel series Roush Racing: Driver X. Alumni who won the programme include Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and David Ragan.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.