08/11/2021
Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Indy Road Course
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis for its sixth of seven road course events this season, the first time ever for the NCS to visit the 14-turn road course. Jack Roush has 15 road course wins all-time, including five in the Cup Series as the team heads into another new track on the schedule.
Watkins Glen Recap, Indy RC Preview
- Newman finished 25th a week ago at Watkins Glen, while Buescher drove to a 17th-place finish in the Socios Ford.
- Oscar Mayer returns to the No. 6 with a new-look hot dog scheme.
- Castrol makes its first-ever appearance on the No. 17 at Indy, the first of two-straight primary events for the official oil partner of Roush Fenway.
All New Indy This Weekend
While the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway has hosted many memorable events over the years, this weekend marks the first of its kind in Cup Series history, with the Cup stars hitting the road course for the first time ever. The Xfinity Series tried their hand at the 14-turn course last season, with both series – along with IndyCar – set to battle it out on the 2.439-mile track this weekend.
Overall Roush has 228 Cup starts on road courses with five wins, 38 top fives and 77 top-10s, leading 577 laps with an average 17.7 finish. In total, the organization has 360+ starts on road courses with 15 wins, 69 top fives, 134 top-10s, 11 poles and nearly 900 laps led.
Last Practice and Qualifying Event Until Finale
With the shortened weekend schedules in 2021, the opportunity to get on track prior to the green flag dropping has been very limited, but that changes this weekend with a practice session set for 11:05 a.m. on Saturday, followed by qualifying first thing Sunday morning at 9:05 a.m., ahead of the race at 1 p.m. It marks the final event to feature both practice and qualifying until the season finale at Phoenix in November.
Chasing History
Indianapolis is one of just the few NCS tracks that Roush Fenway has not visited Victory Lane at, and the only on the circuit that isn’t hosting a race for the first time in 2021. Despite not earning a victory, Roush Fenway has finished in the second position on four separate occasions (1998, 2003, 2006 and 2008) with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards.
Ragan’s Row
Former Roush Fenway driver David Ragan earned the organization’s first pole position at the famed 2.5-mile speedway in the 2011 running of this event. Overall, Roush Fenway has had one of its Fords on the front row at the hallowed speedway four times.
Tale of the Tape
Roush Fenway has made 99 starts in the NCS at Indianapolis dating back to 1994. In that span, RFR has 16 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 18.6. Jack Roush’s Fords have completed 14842 of the 15903 (93.3 percent) of the laps at the famed 2.5-mile track.
Xfinity Wins in Indiana
Roush Fenway has earned victories in the Xfinity Series in the state of Indiana before, recording two victories at the then named Indianapolis Raceway Park with Greg Biffle in 2002 and Edwards in 2009. Biffle’s victory was his fourth and final win of the 2002 NASCAR Xfinity Series season that helped propel the Roush Fenway driver to the Xfinity Series championship.
