Jack Roush, a former Ford Motor Company employee and founder of Roush Performance, had accumulated championships in drag racing and sports car racing since the mid-1960s, including events in the NHRA, SCCA Trans-Am Series, IMSA GT Championship, and the 24 Hours of Daytona before entering NASCAR. The NASCAR operation was founded in 1988 and based in Concord, North Carolina. Early Roush drivers included Tommy Kendall, Scott Pruett, and Willy T. Ribbs.
The team expanded to become one of NASCAR's dominant multi-car operations. Between 1998 and 2000, and again from 2003 to 2009, Roush Racing operated five full-time Cup Series teams simultaneously — more than any other organisation of that era, including Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing.
The team won back-to-back Cup Series championships in 2003 and 2004. The 2003 title came with driver Matt Kenseth, claiming the final Winston Cup championship before the series was rebranded. In 2004, Kurt Busch won the first Nextel Cup championship. In 2005, Roush set a NASCAR record by placing all five of its Cup teams in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
Roush also accumulated numerous wins and championships in the Nationwide/Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. In the Xfinity Series, Greg Biffle won in 2002, Carl Edwards in 2007, and Chris Buescher in 2015. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won back-to-back Xfinity titles in 2011 and 2012. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Greg Biffle won the 2000 series championship.
On 14 February 2007, Fenway Sports Group — the ownership group of the Boston Red Sox baseball club, Liverpool F.C., and the New England Sports Network — purchased a 50 percent stake in the team. The renamed entity, Roush Fenway Racing, marked the first instance of a professional franchise from one of the four major American sports leagues crossing into NASCAR ownership. Jack Roush retained day-to-day operational leadership.
Following NASCAR's order to reduce to four Sprint Cup teams after the 2009 season, and further reductions after 2011 and 2016, the organisation contracted to two full-time Cup entries for several years.
After months of speculation, the team announced in July 2021 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that 2010 Nationwide Series and 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski would leave Team Penske to join the organisation as both a driver and co-owner. Keselowski replaced Ryan Newman in the No. 6 car. The team was renamed RFK Racing in 2022. The team's current full-time Cup entries include the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driven by Keselowski, the No. 17 Mustang for Chris Buescher, and the No. 60 for Ryan Preece, with the No. 99 running on a part-time basis. In 2025 RFK returned to a three-car full-time operation for the first time since 2016.
One of the team's most significant structural partnerships is Roush-Yates Engines (RYE), formed in 2004 through a union of Roush Racing's engine division with that of longtime rival Yates Racing. By 2006 most Ford-aligned Cup teams were using Roush-Yates power, and the programme continues to supply engines to multiple organisations including Team Penske, Wood Brothers Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and Rick Ware Racing.
For many years Roush recruited developmental drivers through an elimination competition called The Gong Show, which began in 1985 for road racing and expanded to stock car racing in 1999. Applicants from all levels of racing were subjected to driving assessments and public-relations evaluations before the best candidates were awarded development contracts. Notable Gong Show graduates include Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and David Ragan. The 2005 process was documented in the Discovery Channel television series Roush Racing: Driver X.
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