Humble Beginnings 25 Years Ago led to Legacy for Roush Fenway

Competing with a backup car not even built for a superspeedway, Jack Roush and his newly formed Roush Racing team covered only 19 laps before overheating and finishing 41st in its debut Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, 1988. Humble beginnings for a team that 25 years needs only a single victory to hit 300 wins and has accumulated championships in all three of NASCAR’s highest levels of competition. On that day Ronald Ragan was President of the United States, a gallon of gas cost 96 cents, the average price of a car was just over $14,000, a loaf of bread would run you 61 cents and Jack Roush was in the early stages of building one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history. “We wrecked our car in the twin qualifying race and had to run a car that was built for a smaller track,” said Roush of his foray into NASCAR. “We went with what we had and of course did not yield the results we would have liked for your intro to NASCAR that day.” “We made the race on time,” said driver M...