Roush Fenway Racing (formerly Roush Racing) is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series.

Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had competed and won championships in various drag racing and sports car racing series since the mid-1960s. The racing business was originally a small branch of co-owner Jack Roush's successful automotive engineering and road-racing equipment business based in Livonia, Michigan.

The NASCAR operation, based in Concord, North Carolina, has since become the cornerstone and centerpiece of the company, winning back to back Sprint Cup Series Championships in 2003 with driver Matt Kenseth and 2004 with driver Kurt Busch. In the Sprint Cup Series, the team fields the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Greg Biffle, the #17 Best Buy Ford Fusion for Matt Kenseth, and the #99 Fastenal, Best Buy, Kellogg's and UPS Ford Fusion for Carl Edwards.

In the Nationwide Series, RFR fields the #6 Ford Mustang for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. full-time and the #60 Ford for Trevor Bayne part-time. Roush also fields a team in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge sponsored by Roush Performace with the car being driven by both his son, Jack Roush, Jr. and Billy Johnson.

Since its inception, Roush has competed exclusively in Ford brand automobiles. Currently, the Ford Fusion competes in the Sprint Cup, the Ford Mustang template is used in the Nationwide Series, and the Ford F-150 was used for the Camping World Truck Series.

Sprint Cup[link]

Overview[link]

Roush Fenway Racing was ordered to shrink its operation to four Sprint Cup Series teams effective for the 2010 season.Founded in 1988, the program is built around having four 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. However, this is scheduled to change in the future, as NASCAR has proposed a new four-car limit for each team. Since the 2004 season, engines for the cars have been provided by Roush-Yates Engines, a partnership between Roush Fenway Racing and Yates Racing.

Car #06 history[link]

The 06 attempted eleven races during the 2006 season to prepare Roush Racing's development drivers for future Cup careers. Todd Kluever was originally the sole driver, but was replaced with David Ragan for five out of eleven races. The team debuted with Kluever behind the wheel at Chicagoland Speedway on July 9 with sponsorship from 3M. Kluever also drove the car at Michigan International Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway, and attempted to start races at California Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway. David Ragan ran the #06 at Dover International Speedway in September 2006 and Martinsville Speedway, and missed the second 2006 race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Car #6 history[link]

The 6 car began as Roush Racing's original foray into NASCAR. With a debut at the 1988 Daytona 500 as the #6 Stroh's Light Ford, short track driver Mark Martin at the wheel, the team finished 41st after experiencing an engine failure after 19 laps. However, performance quickly improved, with Martin winning a pole position later in the season and achieving ten top ten finishes. With a year of experience under their belt, Roush and Martin went on a tear in 1989, winning six poles, earning eighteen top-10 finishes and winning for the first time at North Carolina Speedway. The team finished third place in championship points.

Garnering new sponsorship from Folgers in 1990, Martin won three each of races and pole positions, as well as finishing in the top 10 in all but six races. Martin held the points lead for a majority of the season, but lost momentum in the final races. In the end, the team lost the championship to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points. Interestingly, Martin would have won the championship had he not been docked 46 points in the second race of the season following a rules violation. Regardless, the team hoped to carry the momentum into 1991. Disappointingly, Martin finished sixth in points, and didn't win until the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The #6 paint scheme from 1996–1997.

In 1992, Valvoline joined to sponsor the car, but the team's position in points still did not improve. Finally, they recaptured the magic of before in 1993, as Martin notched five victories and finished third in points. 1994 found Martin and the 6 team finishing once again runner-up to Earnhardt in points. In 1995, Martin defeated former teammate Wally Dallenbach Jr. to win at Watkins Glen and won the most money of his career at that time, $1,893,519. However, the team's performance slumped sharply in 1996, as Martin did not visit victory lane. He would win again 1997, with an additional four victories and finishing third in championship points. In 1998, Martin and team 6 had their most dominant season yet, winning seven times, but finished second in points yet again, this time to Jeff Gordon. The 1998 season was marked with a black spot when Martin's father Julian died in an aviation accident. Although 1999 saw Martin winning only twice, he finished in the top-10 in 26 out of 34 races.

2005 #6 Viagra Ford Taurus

After winning only one race in 2000, primary sponsor Valvoline left for MB2 Motorsports, and Pfizer/Viagra became the team's new financial backer. In addition, throughout the season Martin served as co-owner/mentor of rookie driver Matt Kenseth. However, Martin again failed to win, and ended up 12th in points, his lowest finish since 1988. The team won only once in 2002, but was narrowly defeated by Tony Stewart for the championship. 2003 was another season of lackluster performance for the team, as once again they didn't visit victory lane, and finished 17th in the final standings. 2004 brought improved performance, with a victory at Dover International Speedway and a 4th place finish in points. Prior to beginning the 2005 season, Martin stated that 2005 would be his last year in full-time Cup competition. The team conducted a Salute to You farewell tour to his fans highlighting many of Martin's career accomplishments. Martin finished fourth in points and went to victory lane once, along with achieving 19 top ten finishes. Due to contract issues, Roush was left without a driver for car 6 in 2006. After learning of the situation, Martin announced his return to car 6 for one more year. The team extended the Salute to You tour after modifying its logo to reflect the team's new sponsor, Automobile Association of America Todd Kluever was originally scheduled to drive the 6 car in 2007, but due to lackluster performance in the Busch Series, Roush Racing decided to put David Ragan in the car full time. He had three top-tens and finished 23rd in points. The following season, he had fourteen top-ten finishes and finished 13th in the points standings.

AAA left the #6 team after the 2008 season for Penske Racing, with the United Parcel Service becoming the sponsor for Ragan's car for 2009. Ragan only had two top-ten finishes and finished 27th. The next year, the team started off on a mixed note by nearly winning the 2011 Daytona 500, only to be penalized for an early lane change. The team then won at Daytona in July, their first since 2005. Despite the victory, UPS left the 6 team and moved to an associate sponsor for the #99 team. Jack Roush announced that RFR would not field the 6 team in 2012 and would lay off nearly 100 people.^[1] The team decided to run the #6 part time. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. drove at the Daytona 500 and Roush Fenway Racing plans to run more races in 2012 if a sponsor can be found. After the Daytona 500, Jack Roush sold the points to the #6 to Frank Stoddard's FAS Lane Racing team.

Car #16 history[link]

1997 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird

2005 #16 National Guard Ford Taurus.

Originally the first car to make Roush Racing a multi-car stable, the 16 team debuted at the 1992 Daytona 500 with Keystone as the sponsor. Wally Dallenbach, Jr. drove the car to a fifteenth place finish. Dallenbach, however, earned only one top ten finish that year and finished 24th in points. 1993 proved to be a little better with Dallenbach posting four top tens. However, for 1994, the team underwent major changes. Driving duties were given to Ted Musgrave, with The Family Channel becoming the new sponsor. The car's performance improved drastically, with Musgrave notching three poles and finishing thirteenth in points. The 1995 season saw Musgrave improving six spots in points to seventh. Despite this success, Musgrave never visited victory lane in his tenure behind the wheel of the 16. Midway through 1998, Musgrave was released and replaced by rookie Kevin Lepage, who finished runner-up to Kenny Irwin, Jr in Rookie of the Year honors.

Teamed with TV Guide and Primestar, Lepage and the 16 team began 1999 with a fifth place finish at Darlington Raceway, having a chance to win the Winston Million bonus, and a pole at the season ending race at Atlanta. Unfortunately, TV Guide did not renew their contract for the 2000 season. Car 16 ran the beginning of the season unsponsored, before ultimately signing a multi-year pact with FamilyClick. Over the course of the year, Lepage missed two races and dropped to 28th in the standings. He was quickly released. Dissastisfied with the team's performance, FamilyClick did not return as a sponsor and the team disappeared for one year, before returning in 2002. During the 2002 season, car 16 was used to prepare 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and eventual Busch Series champion Greg Biffle for his Rookie of the Year campaign the following year. While the team missed several races, Biffle made seven starts. Biffle ran full-time as a rookie in 2003, with W. W. Grainger sponsoring the car. Biffle started 35 out of 36 races, won the Pepsi 400 and finished runner-up to Jamie McMurray for Rookie of the Year. The next year, the car had a new primary sponsor in the National Guard. Over the 2004 season, Biffle won twice. In 2005, Post-it Brand and 3M replaced Subway as a secondary sponsor. 2005 was to be the most successful year for car 16 to date, as the National Guard Ford won six races, a season high, and finished runner-up in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Biffle is signed to drive until at least 2008. In For 2007 National Guard did not renew its contract, moving to Hendrick Motorsports and the #25. Ameriquest, 3M, and Aflac served as the primary sponsors in 2007. It was announced on June 27, 2008 that Biffle signed a contract extension to remain at Roush/Fenway through 2011 with 3M as his major sponsor. That season, he finished third in points and won two races, but didn't re-visit victory lane in 2009. In 2010 3M returned as the primary sponsor with Red Cross as the secondary sponsor. Biffle and the 16 team got of to a good start finishing 3rd in the 2010 Daytona 500 and stayed in the top 12 in points all year. Biffle also won two races that year the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono as well as the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas leading to a sixth place finish in the standings. Biffle struggled for most of the next year, failing to return to victory lane and finishing 16th in points.

Car #17 history[link]

2004 #17 DeWalt Tools Ford Taurus

Having only one driver, Matt Kenseth, and one primary sponsor, DeWalt, although occasionally displaying Arby's, USG Sheetrock, R+L Carriers, and Carhartt, the 17 car has been a consistent and successful team since entering NASCAR's premier series at a part-time level in 1999. Premiering at the summer Michigan race in 1999, Kenseth finished 14th. A fourth place finish one month later at Dover proved Kenseth was ready for Cup.

In 2000, the car started every race, won the Coca-Cola 600, and defeated favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Rookie of the Year honors. The 2001 season saw Kenseth finish thirteenth in points, winless and with only 9 top ten finishes. However, the team saw marked improvement the next year, as Kenseth won five times in 2002, ultimately reaching an eighth place finish in points.

While winning only once, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kenseth won the Winston Cup Championship by 90 points in 2003, earning Roush its first Cup championship. The team continued to perform in 2004, winning two races, making the Chase for the Nextel Cup, and finishing eighth in points. In 2005, Kenseth finished seventh in points after experiencing a disappointing beginning to the season. However, the second half of the year brought a resurgence of success for the car, as a win at Bristol Motor Speedway helped the team make its second consecutive Chase for the Nextel Cup. In 2006, Kenseth won 4 events, and finished second to Jimmie Johnson in the championship standings. Kenseth won the first two races of the 2009 season winning Jack Roush his first Daytona 500. Due to the slumping economy, however, Kenseth's longtime sponsor DeWalt informed Roush Fenway Racing on July 23, 2009 that they would no longer be sponsoring the #17 team for the 2010 season. Crown Royal announced they would move to the #17 in 2010 for 35 races as Valvoline sponsored the remaining 3.^[2] For 2011, Kenseth returned to victory lane at Texas and won at Dover and Charlotte. However, Diageo announced that they would not return to the #17 team, instead focusing their NASCAR efforts on the Brickyard 400 sponsorship. Despite this, Kenseth finished fourth in points.

Kenseth's 2006 USG Sheetrock car, taken in New York City for the awards banquet.

In 2012, Matt Kenseth will be sponsored by Best Buy for 9 races and as an associate sponsor for the rest of the year. Kenseth started the year strong by winning the Daytona 500, which was also Jack Roush's 300th victory in NASCAR.

Car #26 history[link]

The #26 Ford Fusion being raced by Jamie McMurray at Bristol in 2006

What was the 26 car raced for the first time at the 1993 fall event at Charlotte Motor Speedway as #97. Sponsored by Kleenex and owned by Greg Pollex, Chad Little was the driver. Little and Pollex ran part-time for four years with various sponsorships until 1997, when they ran full-time with backing from John Deere. However, after experiencing financial and performance struggles, Roush bought the team three-quarters of the way through the season. Little qualified for 27 out of 32 races that year. The team returned in 1998, with the car changing to the Ford nameplate from Pontiac.

Despite missing the spring Atlanta race, Little finished a career-best second at the Texas 500 and finished 15th in points. After that, the performance of the team slipped, and midway through 2000 it was announced that Little would leave the team. For the remainder of the season, a Roush Craftsman Truck Series driver, Kurt Busch, began running races for the team. Car 97, like the 16 car in 2000, started the 2001 season unsponsored (especially since John Deere bowed out after the 2000 season), but soon found sponsorship from Rubbermaid and Sharpie. Busch's rookie year in Winston Cup was unspectacular save for a pole at Darlington. The team finished 27th in points, with only six top ten finishes. In 2002, Kurt Busch grabbed headlines after battling with Jimmy Spencer for a win at Bristol. This sparked a rivalry between the two drivers that lasted for the following years. However, the 2002 season marked a coming-of-age for the team, which won four times (including 3 of the final five races and the season finale at Homestead) and finished third in the championship points. Busch drove car 97 to victory four times in 2003, along with 14 top ten finishes. The team was riding in the top 10 for most of the season, but late season struggles brought the team an 11th place points finish. 2004 was the defining year of team #97. Winning three times, earning 21 top ten finishes, and clinching a pole, Busch won the first Chase for the Cup Championship. In 2005, he won three times and finished tenth in points.

The #97 Sharpie Ford Taurus being raced by Kurt Busch at Talladega Superspeedway in 2005.

Midway through the 2005 season, Busch shocked many in the NASCAR community when he announced that he would be leaving Roush Racing and replacing the retiring Rusty Wallace in the #2, owned by Penske Racing. On November 7, 2005 it was announced that Busch had been released from contractual obligations at Roush and would leave the team at the end of the season [1]. In November 2005, Busch was cited for reckless driving in an area close to Phoenix International Raceway. Although no action was taken by NASCAR, Roush Racing suspended Busch for the remainder of the 2005 season. Busch moved to Penske Racing in 2006. Kenny Wallace took his place for the final two races of the season.

On November 16, it was officially announced that the #97 would be switching to the #26 for the 2006 season and beyond [2]. Roush had fielded a #26 team once previously, in 1998 and 1999. Sponsored by General Mills, the team debuted at North Carolina, where Johnny Benson finished 30th in the car. Benson ended the 1998 season with 10 top ten finishes and earned twentieth place in the championship points. In 1999, the #26 car experienced a very disappointing year. After mustering only two top-10 finishes and dropping eight spots in points, Benson quit the team to drive for Tyler Jet Motorsports. The #26 team was subsequently disbanded, but Roush retained ownership of the number.

For 2006, Jamie McMurray was the car's new driver, with sponsorship from Crown Royal, Smirnoff Ice, and Irwin Industrial Tools. He had seven top-ten finishes and finished 25th in points in his first year with the team. For 2007, the season hit its peak when McMurray edged out Kyle Busch by 0.005 seconds to win the Pepsi 400. McMurray would end 2007 with one win, three top fives, and nine top tens along with a 17th place finish in points. 2008 was mostly the same for the #26, but improving one spot to 16th thanks to four top fives in the final six races of the season. 2009 was the final season for the #26 team because of a new NASCAR rule that will limit Roush Fenway Racing to four cars. Crown Royal will sponsor the #17 team in 2010 after DeWalt terminated its sponsorship due the economic downturn.

In January 2010, Vermont businessman Bill Jenkins purchased the team. The new #26 team was called Latitude 43 Motorsports, after the cleaning products company Jenkins owns.

Car #99 history[link]

Car 99 first raced at the 1996 Daytona 500, with Jeff Burton driving and Exide Batteries the sponsor. The car finished fifth. After missing the first Atlanta race, Burton won a pole at Michigan and finished 13th in points.

The #99 car from 1996–1997

Burton won the first three races of his career in 1997, (including the inaugural Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway) and ended fourth in points. In 1998, Burton enjoyed another successful season, winning twice, mounting 23 top ten finishes, and earning fifth place in the championship points. The team led the standings for part of 1999, but lost the top spot after performing poorly at Richmond. The team again settled for fifth in the points, with six wins and, like the previous year, 23 top ten finishes. Late in 2000, Exide ceased their sponsorship, and Citgo joined with new financial backing. The car finished a team-high third in the points, with four wins, one of which was at New Hampshire in September where NASCAR used restrictor plates following the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin earlier that year, along with 22 top ten finishes and one pole position. Burton won twice in 2001 at Charlotte and Phoenix, but fell back to tenth in the points with 16 top tens. The #99 would not win another race with Burton behind the wheel, as he managed back-to-back twelfth place points finishes in 2002 and 2003.

After the 2003 season, Citgo discontinued their sponsorship of the 99 team and Roush was not able to find a full-time sponsor to run the team. Burton continued to race for the team with several one-off sponsorship deals and some support from his secondary sponsors, but with the financial state of the #99 still in doubt and Burton struggling rumors began circulating that Burton's days in the #99 were nearing an end. Burton eventually did leave Roush after eight and a half years to replace Johnny Sauter in the #30 AOL Chevrolet at Richard Childress Racing, and took whatever sponsors were left with him to his new team.

To fill the void left by this departure, Roush elevated Carl Edwards from the truck series. Edwards showed immediate promise while driving the unsponsored 99 entry, posting five top ten finishes in his abbreviated season. During his first full-time season, 2005, with sponsorship from Scotts, Office Depot, Stonebridge Life Insurance Company and World Financial Group, Edwards won four times and finished in a tie for second in points. In 2006, Office Depot became the exclusive sponsor of the team. Edwards failed to win or make the Chase for the Cup, posting ten top-fives but finishing twelfth in points. Edwards snapped his 52 race winless streak by winning the 2007 Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway. In 2008, Edwards posted a series-best nine victories and also led in top 5s and top 10s, but he was still runner-up by 69 points to three-time consecutive champion Jimmie Johnson.^[3] Office Depot did not renew their sponsorship after the 2008 season. In 2009 Aflac became the new sponsor for Carl Edwards and the #99 team. Edwards made the chase in 2009 finishing 11th in points while not winning a race. In 2010, Kellogg's moved from Hendrick Motorsports to join the team as primary sponsor for two races, and associate sponsor for the rest of the season.^[4] Scotts also joined Edwards' Cup sponsorship after several years as a Nationwide sponsor. Edwards snapped a 70-race winless skid with his victory in the 2010 Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. One week later he won his 2nd race in a row at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the Ford 400.

In 2011 Carl Edwards returned to drive the #99. He won his only race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but managed to remain in the top 12 with consistent finishes. Kellogg's and Subway returned to sponsor a few races, and Edwards managed to finish second in points on a tiebreak with Tony Stewart. For 2012, the 99 will be sponsored by Fastenal, Kellogg's, UPS and Best Buy.

NASCAR Nationwide Series[link]

Car #06 history[link]

The number 06 Ford Fusion first raced in the Hershey's Kissables 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2006. Todd Kluever piloted the car, with sponsorship from 3M, for the entire 2006 season, earning four top-ten finishes and one pole. Mike Kelley, the former car chief on championship car 97, was the crew chief. For 2007, Mark Martin drove the 06 machine, with sponsorship from Dish Network at Daytona International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. This team did not return in 2008.

Car #6 history[link]

The car now known as the 6 car debuted at Daytona in 1997 as the 9 car. Jeff Burton drove the Track Gear sponsored Ford Taurus to a 40th place finish. During the 1997 season, Robbie Crouch, Musgrave, and Rob Wilson drove the #9 on limited schedules, with a best finish coming from Crouch at Loudon. Over the next six years, Burton drove to 16 wins with additional sponsorships from Northern Light and Febreeze, among others. After Burton left Roush Racing midway through 2004, Mark Martin returned to the Busch Series, posting four top-10s in five starts. In 2005, Martin ran five races and won twice. The car switched to the #6 in 2006, after a number switch with Evernham Motorsports, and ran a part-time schedule sponsored by Ameriquest. In 2007, David Ragan drove the car full-time in 2007 using the #06 owner's points, with sponsorship coming from the Discount Tire Company. After a 5th place finish in points, Ragan was named Rookie of the Year. After running full-time in 2008, Ragan went to part-time and won the 2009 Aaron's 312 for his first Nationwide series victory as well as a win at Bristol. Rookie Erik Darnell filled out the rest of the schedule with Northern Tool and Equipment sponsoring. He won a pole and had two top-fives, but was unable to return the next season due to a lack of funding. In 2010, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. drove the #6 Ford with Citifinancial as the primary sponsor. After crashing out of a few early events along with rookie teammate Colin Braun, Roush temporarily benched Stenhouse after he failed to qualify at Nashville in April. The 6 was driven by Brian Ickler at Kentucky, and by Billy Johnson at Watkins Glen. When veteran Mike Kelley took over the pit box, Stenhouse responded with a 3rd place finish at the fall race at Daytona. The team rallied back to claim Rookie of the Year honors. The next year Cargill Meat Solutions sponsored the team for a few races as Citi had left for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. With fresh momentum, and most of the Cup drivers running limited schedules, Stenhouse swept both Iowa races for his first two Nationwide Series victories, and held off former Cup driver Elliott Sadler for the Nationwide Series championship.

Car #16 history[link]

The #16 car made its Busch Series debut at Daytona in 2006. Greg Biffle drove the Ameriquest car in 20 races, winning once at California Speedway. For 2007, Biffle shared driving duties of the 3M Ford Fusion with Todd Kluever. For 2008, Citifinancial and 3M will be the sponsors on the car, with Biffle, McMurray, and Colin Braun sharing the driving duties. Biffle drove most of the races, Mcmurray drove at Atlanta, Texas, and Phoenix. Colin Braun drove with two pole wins at Mexico City and O'Reilly Raceway Park. Braun, Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Biffle drove the car in 2009, with Biffle winning twice and Kenseth once. Braun moved up to the ride full-time in 2010 with Con-way as sponsor for 18 races. However, Braun crashed out of a few races, and was replaced by Matt Kenseth at Richmond, Darlington and Atlanta. Brian Ickler drove a few races, and Erik Darnell drove 3 races. For 2011, Braun was released and was replaced by Trevor Bayne. After 8 races, Bayne was hospitalized for various illnesses, and Roush drivers Chris Buescher and Kevin Swindell filled in for him. Bayne returned later in the season, and scored his first win at Texas in the fall. Bayne's crew moved over to RFR's #60 to run a limited schedule, and the 16 team shut down for 2012.

Car #17 history[link]

The 17 car debuted in 1994 at Darlington with driver/owner Robbie Reiser driving the unsponsored car to 35th after a crash. Reiser ran part-time for a few years. He hired Tim Bender to drive in 1997. After Bender was injured, Reiser decided to hire fellow Wisconsinite Matt Kenseth to take his place. Kenseth had seven top-10 finishes and ended the year 22nd in points. His substitution duty was impressive enough to get him a ride in Reiser's car for the next season. Kenseth won his first race at the North Carolina in 1998. Driving with new sponsorship from Lycos, Kenseth won three times and finished second in points to Dale Earnhardt Jr. DeWalt Tools became the sponsor in 1999, with Kenseth getting an additional four wins and a third place finish in points. The team actually was not a Roush team until 2002; Reiser, the team owner, ran Chevrolets through the 2001 season. Since then, the 17 car has run part time with a variety of different sponsors, with Kenseth at least co-driving each time. In 2006, the car ran a limited schedule sponsored by Ameriquest and Pennzoil. Kenseth had three wins. In 2007 the 17 car was sponsored by Arby's, Dish Network, and Weyerhauser, and continued to be driven by Matt Kenseth, along with Danny O'Quinn, and Michel Jourdain Jr.. The car took two wins at California and Texas, with Kenseth finishing 10th in points despite running only 23 races. For 2008 sponsorship is expected to be the same, with Citigroup coming on board for a few races. In 2009, Kenseth raced this car in the Camping World 300 at Daytona with Ritz as sponsor and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. drove this car in the Dollar General 300 (Charlotte) in October with Save-A-Lot as sponsor. This team had hopes for returning in 2010, as a part time team for driver Matt Kenseth. However sponsorship has not been found so the team has been suspended. On October 2, the 17 returned at Kansas Speedway with Trevor Bayne as the driver for the remaining 7 races of the 2010 season after Bayne was released from Michael Waltrip Racing. The team will shut down again for 2011.

Car #26 history[link]

The number 26 Ford debuted as the #50 at Daytona in 2006. Danny O'Quinn was the driver, with primary sponsorship from World Financial Group and Stonebridge Life Insurance Company, members of the AEGON group, after beginning the season with sponsorship from Roush Racing only. Drew Blickensderfer was the crew chief. O'Quinn had five top-ten finishes and was named Rookie of the Year despite being replaced by David Ragan for two races. The team switched to the #26 for 2007, with Greg Biffle driving at Daytona with Oreo sponsorship. Jamie McMurray then drove the car for the majority of the season sponsored by Dish Network, finishing in the top-ten three times. Todd Kluever drove twice with a best finish of nineteenth. This team did not return in 2008.

Car #60 history[link]

The centerpiece and original car of Roush Racing's Busch operation debuted at the opening race of the 1992 Busch Series season at Daytona. Mark Martin was driving with Winn-Dixie as sponsor. Martin finished sixth in that race. For the next several years, this was Martin's personal Busch car and he won enough races to surpass Jack Ingram as the all-time leader of wins in the Busch Series. During this time, he and several other Winston Cup drivers came under steep controversy for running the Busch Series as well as Cup. These drivers earned the nickname "Busch Whackers." After 2000, Martin decided to stop running Busch, and Winn-Dixie left NASCAR as a car sponsor. His replacement was one of Roush Truck Series driver Greg Biffle, who brought his W.W. Grainger with him. Biffle had a phemomenal rookie season, winning five times and even leading the championship standings at one point in the season before falling to Kevin Harvick. After winning four more times and the championship by a wide margin, Biffle moved to Winston Cup, bringing Grainger with him. Roush hired Stanton Barrett, who to that point was a journeyman driver, to drive the #60 for 2003 with OdoBan sponsoring. Despite winning two consecutive poles, the car lost its sponsor and folded before the end of the season. Charter Communications began sponsoring the car in 2004 and Biffle returned to drive the car full-time, winning five times and placing third in the series points standings. In 2005, rookie Carl Edwards won five races en route to finishing third in points, and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Edwards returned to drive the Ameriquest-sponsored Ford for a full-time schedule in 2006, winning four more times and was runner-up for the championship. Edwards continued to pilot the car in 2007, with rotating sponsorship from Scotts, World Financial Group, and others. Edwards and the #60 team went on to win the 2007 Busch Grand National Series Championship by a very wide margin over David Reutimann. In 2008 he won five races and finished second in points behind Clint Bowyer in the inaugural Nationwide Series season. Edwards finished second in points again in 2009, finshing behind Kyle Busch. In 2010, Edwards ran for the Nationwide Series Championship again with co-sponsorship from Fastenal and Copart. Despite winning at Road America Gateway, and Texas, Edwards finished runner-up to Brad Keselowski. Edwards drove the #60 again in 2011 with only half of the season sponsored by Fastenal.^[5] Despite being unable to compete for the drivers championship, as well as missing Road America, Edwards scored a career-high eight wins in 2011 and won the Owners Championship for Jack Roush. With the departure of crew chief Mike Beam to Kyle Busch Motorsports and Edwards announcing that he will not contest the Nationwide Series championship, Trevor Bayne's #16 crew moved over to the #60 and ran the first five races before being sidelined by a lack of sponsorsihp.

Car #98 history[link]

As part of the breakup of Yates Racing following the 2009 season, Jack Roush purchased the #98 Nationwide Series team. Paul Menard continued to drive for the team with sponsorship from Menards. Menard and his sponsor moved to Richard Childress Racing for 2011 so the team shut down.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series[link]

Truck #09 history[link]

The 50 truck in 2007.

The 09 truck began running in 2005 as a research and development entry for Ford. Bobby East attempted a few races in the truck (then #33) but failed to qualify. Mark Martin made the team's first qualification at the Ford 200, where he started 14th and finished 8th with sponsorship from Stonebridge Life Insurance.

After Martin's strong start to the 2006 season, his original limited schedule was expanded. Roush decided to run another part-time team for rookie David Ragan to fill out his original schedule. Ragan took the #50 to a 22nd place finish at Atlanta, but struggled in his next few starts in both the #50 and the #6. After crashing the #6 in practice for the Mansfield race, he was replaced for the weekend. Carl Edwards ran the #50 at the Dover race, and Ragan returned at the Texas race. Ragan's best finish in the 50 came at Atlanta where he finished sixth. Peter Shepherd and Michel Jourdain, Jr. also drove the 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 season unsponsored, when it was announced T. J. Bell would drive the truck for fifteen races, bringing sponsorship from Heathcliff's Cat Litter. Development drivers Peter Shepherd and Danny O'Quinn Jr. also drove the #50 truck with sponsorship from Northern Tool and Equipment. Joey Clanton began the season driving the #09 full-time in 2008 with Zaxby's sponsoring, but after the season-opening race, he was released. Travis Kvapil returned to Roush and shared this ride with Bobby East, and Jon Wes Townley for the rest of the season. Roush shut down the #09 team after the 2008 season.

Truck #6 history[link]

The #6 truck debuted at Heartland Park Topeka in 1996 as #99. It was sponsored by Exide Batteries and driven to an eighth place finish by Jeff Burton. Posting three top tens in four races that year, he shared the ride with Mark Martin, who won at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The next year, Chuck Bown was hired to drive full-time, and posted thirteen top tens and finished ninth in points. The rotating doors moved again, and Joe Ruttman was driving this truck in 1998, winning once and finishing 3rd in points. Mike Bliss was next to tackle the ride, and he performed masterfully, winning at Martinsville at finishing 9th in points. When Bliss left for an ill-fated rookie year in Winston Cup, Kurt Busch was named the new driver. 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, and rookie Nathan Haseleu took over with Eldon^{[disambiguation needed ]} the new sponsor. Despite posting four top ten finishes in the first twelve races of the season, Hasleau was waived and replaced by Kurt's younger brother Kyle for a limited run. Despite being 16 years old, Busch had two top tens and was scheduled to go full-time in 2002, before NASCAR announced all drivers in its top series must be age 18. Biffle and Tim Woods III also drive the 99 in limited runs during 2001. After Tim Fedewa ran the season-opener in the truck, the team took the rest of 2002 off, the truck returned in 2003 with Carl Edwards driving; although the United States Navy was the truck's original sponsor, they left the team midway through the year and Edwards ran largely unsponsored until Superchips came on to sponsor him. Edwards won three races and the Rookie of the Year title. He repeated his win total in 2004 and moved up to fourth in points, and following Jeff Burton's departure from Roush Racing he began splitting time between the Truck Series and the Nextel Cup Series.

When he moved up to Nextel Cup for 2005, Roush hired a former Cup driver, Ricky Craven to take his place. Despite posting seven top tens and winning at Martinsville, Roush and Craven announced they would not be back together in 2006. Instead, the truck switched to #6, and was shared by NEXTEL Cup veteran Mark Martin and rookie David Ragan. The #6 truck's new sponsor was Scotts, 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 the Mansfield 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. 2003 NCTS Champion Travis Kvapil returned to the Truck Series in 2007, and won four races en route to a sixth place finish in points. As Kvapil heads back to the Sprint Cup Series with Yates Racing, former Rolex Sports Car Series driver Colin Braun took Kvapil's place in the 6 truck with sponsorship from Con-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 program. He later sold the remaining Trucks to Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch for him to start his own Truck Team.

Truck #99 history[link]

The original truck in Roush's stable debuted in 1995 at the Heartland Park Topeka road course. It was #61 and driven to a fourth place finish by Todd Bodine. Bodine had two more top ten runs at Richmond and Mesa Marin Raceway before Ted Musgrave drove to a fourth place finish at Phoenix. In 1996, the car switched to #80 and Joe Ruttman was at the wheel, nailing down sixteen top-10's and finishing 4th in points. In 1997, with sponsorship from LCI^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Ruttman won five times and finished 3rd in points. After running one race with the truck in 1998, the truck switched to #50 and Ruttman took over another ride with the team and he was replaced by rookie Greg Biffle, whom Roush hired under the recommendation of Benny Parsons. Although he failed to win, Biffle won four poles and finished eighth in points.

Biffle would go on to set the trucks on fire in 1999, when he won nine times, and was in contention for the championship for much of the season before finally losing to Jack 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. In 2001, Roush hired an unknown modified driver named Chuck Hossfeld to take Biffle's place as he was moving up to the Busch Series. Hossfeld struggled in his rookie year, and soon he was released, with a rotation of drivers including Jon Wood and Biffle himself in the driver's seat. Wood's audition was impressive enough to earn him a full-time run in 2002, and he posted twelve top ten finishes in the U.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. In 2005, Todd Kluever piloted the World Financial Group truck to six top five and twelve top ten finishes in his rookie season. Erik Darnell piloted the newly-renumbered truck full time in 2006 with at first Woolrich, but eventually Northern Tool and Equipment as sponsor to a 2006 Rookie of the Year title. 2007 brought about Darnell's first win at Kansas, but inconsistency put the team 12th at season's end. 2008 would be the 99's final season in the Truck Series, as the team was being moved up for a part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series. Erik captured one win at Michigan by only .005 seconds over eventual champion Johnny Benson. This team was shut down after the 2008 season.

Partnerships[link]

Yates Racing[link]

Outside Roush headquarters.

Perhaps Roush Racing's most famous partnership is with fellow Ford team Yates Racing. In 2004, the two teams announced a program to combine their engine divisions, 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 Wood Brothers/JTG Racing.

Yates has purchased at least one Roush chassis, and may be moving towards adopting Roush's car designs. Jack Roush has also stated that Roush Racing would not court RYR's sponsors when their contracts were up. As well as Yates Racing, Roush Yates also supplied motors for Hall of Fame Racing for the 2009 season.

Tim Brown Partnership[link]

In 2005, nine-time Pro Bowl NFL Wide receiver Tim Brown announced that he intended to start his own NASCAR team, most likely #81, and receive equipment from Roush Racing [3]. Brown also stated that he will let Roush select his driver [4]. The series the team will run will depend on how much sponsorship money the team gets.

Brown has 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. If it does happen, it will likely be an arrangement similar to the affiliation deal with No Fear Racing.

No Fear Racing[link]

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 specialist Boris 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. [5] The team began running a limited schedule with the Sonoma road course in 2006.

Robby Gordon[link]

Starting with the 2007 season, Robby Gordon switched from Chevrolet to Ford vehicles after signing a contract with Ford Racing. He leased engines from the Roush/Yates engine program through the 2007 season, until he switched to Gillett Evernham Motorsports|Gillett Evernham]] engines and a Dodge Charger.

Other Partnerships[link]

Roush Fenway, in collaboration with Roush-Yates Engines, supplies most of the Fords in the Sprint Cup Series with technical support and engines. In 2010 Front Row Motorsports signed with Ford and Roush Fenway Racing to receive technical support and engines. Roush also supplies support to Wood Brothers, who's driver, Trevor Bayne is under contract with Roush. Along with these teams, Roush supplies support to Germain Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Phil Parsons Racing, and FAS Lane Racing. As of 2012, Roush supplies engines and chassis to 13 Sprint Cup Teams.

Creation of Roush Fenway Racing[link]

On February 14, 2007, the Fenway Sports Group, owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, purchased 50% of Roush Racing to create a new corporate entity, Roush Fenway Racing. [6]

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."

Current management will remain in place at Roush Fenway Racing, with Jack Roush handling all competitive operations and Geoff Smith will continue as Roush Racing president to handle business activities. [7]

The Gong Show[link]

Roush Racing hires many of its developmental drivers through an elimination style of testing entitled The Gong Show. The process begins when Roush solicits applications from thousands of drivers from all levels. They are then put through a series of tests, gauging not only driving skills, but also public relations talent and personality traits. Eventually, the field is narrowed down to an elite group who are allowed to race Roush vehicles, often Craftsman Truck Series trucks, in an attempt to assess driving ability. Those with the fastest times progress, and ultimately the best are awarded with a contract to drive for Roush in the Craftsman Truck Series or Busch Series. In 2005, the process was documented in the Discovery Channel television series Roush Racing: Driver X, which followed the stories of those involved in the 2005 Gong Show.

The term "Gong Show" comes from the 1970s talent show spoof "The Gong Show."

See also[link]

• Roush Performance
• Ford Racing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Roush-Fenway Racing official site
• Roush Industries official site

Sources[link]

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

v t e United Parcel Service (UPS) Established 1907 Founders James E. Casey (Primary) George Casey · Evert McCabe · Charlie Soderstrom (Partners) CEO D. Scott Davis Board of Directors F. Duane Ackerman · Michael Burns · Stuart E. Eizenstat · Michael L. Eskew · William R. Johnson · Ann Livermore · Rudy Markham · John W. Thompson · Carol Tomé Subsidiaries and Divisions The UPS Store · UPS Capital · UPS Airlines · UPS Ground · UPS Racing Related MaxiCode · LYNX Express · Annie E. Casey Foundation · Worldport Annual Revenue: $49.545 billion USD (2010) · Employees: 400,600 (2010) · Stock Symbol: UPS · Website: ups.com · Products: Freight Forwarding Services, Logistics Services

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Travis Alan Pastrana Pastrana at the 2009 Lake Superior Performance Rally Born (1983-10-08) October 8, 1983 (age 28) Annapolis, United States Achievements 2000 AMA Motocross 125cc Champion 2001 AMA Supercross 125cc Champion Awards 10-time X Games gold medalist NASCAR Nationwide Series career 4 race(s) run over 1 year(s) Car no., team No. 99 (RAB Racing / Michael Waltrip Racing) First race 2012 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond) Last race 2012 History 300 (Charlotte) Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0 Statistics current as of May 26, 2012. Sport Sport Rally, Motocross, Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, Base Jumping, NASCAR, monster truck freestyle Event(s) X Games, Red Bull X-Fighters, Dew Tour, Rally America

Travis Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some of his friends. For 2011, Pastrana has partnered with NASCAR team owner Michael Waltrip to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. He planned to drive the #99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for 7 races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series,^[1] but after an accident, his Nationwide Series debut was delayed until 2012.

Early life[link]

He was born on October 8, 1983 at 12:20 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland to parents Robert and Debby Pastrana.^[2] His uncle, Alan, played as a quarterback from 1965 to 1968 at the University of Maryland,^[3] which Travis Pastrana also attended.^[2] On June 11, 2003, 19-year old Pastrana was seriously injured when he crashed his Corvette into a tree in Davidsonville, Maryland.^[4]

Motocross/Supercross[link]

Pastrana has won two motocross racing championships: the 2000 A.M.A. 125cc National championship, the 2001 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship, and the 125cc Rose Creek Invitational. Pastrana also raced in the 2000 Motocross des Nations. He moved up to the 250cc class in 2002. His stand-up style, ability to spot jump combinations and great speed through the whoops make him easy to spot on the track. Although Pastrana has never won a 250cc race, his kindness to the fans and love of the sport still makes him one of the most popular riders of all time. Pastrana has always raced and competed on Suzuki motorcycles, and remains fiercely loyal to the brand. He races with Team Cernic's Suzuki. All of his motorcycles and rally cars carry the number 199. He even sponsors a Monster Jam truck called Pastrana 199, and Nitro Circus after the TV show on MTV.

Team Puerto Rico[link]

Robert Pastrana, Travis' father, is a native Puerto Rican, which made Travis directly eligible to represent Puerto Rico in international competition.^[5] On February 27, 2008, the Asociación de Motociclismo de Puerto Rico (Motorcycling Association of Puerto Rico) provided him with a license to represent the island, which was accepted by the Unión Latinoamericana de Motociclismo, the relevant sanctioning body in Latin America.^[5][6] His debut with the team took place on March 15, 2008. Here he qualified to the finals by defeating Erick Vallejo of Mexico. In the finals he finished third, behind local Costa Rican racer Roberto Castro and Vallejo.^[6]

X Games[link]

• 1999 – Pastrana wins the first ever MotoX Freestyle event at the X-Games. He also scores the highest ever run of 99.00 points.

• 2000 – Pastrana wins the gold medal for the second time, and attempts the first ever backflip on a motorcycle.

• 2001 – Pastrana wins his third gold, still the only person to win the event.

• 2003 – Pastrana claims his fourth gold and becomes the second rider ever to complete a 360 in competition.

• 2004 – Pastrana crashes while trying a 50 ft (15m) 360, sustaining a concussion, but is able to compete the next day and wins a silver medal. Nate Adams becomes the only rider to beat Pastrana at that time. Before this event, he had won Bronze in Best Trick, performing a One-Handed 360 and a Superman Seat Grab-Indian Air Back flip.

• 2005 – Pastrana wins his fifth gold in Freestyle and also attempts the first ever Backflip Barspin on a motorcycle, however the bike fails and he resorts to a regular bike and performs a Backflip Saran Wrap to take Silver in Best Trick.

• 2006 – Pastrana becomes the third athlete to win three Gold medals at a single X Games Event. He wins Gold in MotoX Best Trick, MotoX Freestyle, and Rally Car Racing. Pastrana also performs the first Double Backflip in competition, scoring a 98.60, the highest score in the Best Trick competition at X Games.

• 2007 – Pastrana takes bronze in Rally after sliding into the other drivers area while inside the Home Depot Center. He is disqualified but retains his medal. He also competes in the first MotoX Racing event at X Games, but does not achieve a medal after two false starts in the heat race and last chance qualifier.

• 2008 – Pastrana takes gold in Rally and competes in the Speed & Style event but does not place.

• 2009 – Pastrana attempts a rodeo 720 at X Games 15 in the Moto X Best Trick Event. He crashes on his first attempt and withdraws from his second after experiencing blurred vision. He places 4th for his efforts. He takes silver in Rally after being defeated by rookie and former Indy Car/Indy 500 champion Kenny Bräck. On November 8, Pastrana landed the famous Rodeo 720, and filmed it in his newest movie, Nitro Circus – Country Fried. Once he landed the trick, he named it the TP7, due to the fact that he was 20 degrees short of 720.

• 2010 – Pastrana wins Moto X Freestyle, landing yet another Double Backflip, the first one done at an X Games Freestyle. Travis also wins Moto X Speed & Style, beating silver medalist Nate Adams by a landslide. Travis had problems with his Rally Car during competition, costing him gold at Rally Car Racing and a chance to compete in the new event, Super Rally.

• 2011 – Pastrana launches "Pastranathon" which included Best Trick, a race at Lucas Oil Raceway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and then flying back to Staples Center in Los Angeles for RallyCross. However, Pastranathon seemed to be done when, in XGames Best Trick, Travis attempted the Rodeo 720, also known as the TP7, and failed, landing on his right leg. He had broken his foot and ankle, and was taken to a local hospital. Travis was thought to be done, and backed out of the NASCAR race. His team worked diligently to get Travis in the RallyCross event. A special hand-controlled device was made for the steering wheel, and Travis had to relearn to drive the car using the new controls. Travis won a qualifying event, then finished 4th in the final after a crash on the last lap.

Rallying[link]

Pastrana's Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

In 2003, Pastrana opened a rallying career in the Race of Champions, and began driving for the Subaru-backed Vermont SportsCar rally team in 2004. Starting in 2006, Pastrana was signed by Subaru to lead their new Subaru Rally Team USA, being paired once again with veteran co-driver Christian Edstrom. On August 5, 2006 Pastrana won the gold medal in the first rally car competition at the X Games, edging out rally legend Colin McRae by 0.53 seconds after McRae rolled his car through the last jump.

Pastrana and Edstrom clinched the 2006 Rally America National Series overall and open class championship on October 22, 2006 during day one of the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The team finished out the 2006 series with another first-place victory at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington on December 31, 2006.

On December 16, 2006 Pastrana competed at the 2006 Race of Champions at the Stade de France in Paris. He represented the United States in the Nations' Cup by himself, after injuries forced teammate Jimmie Johnson and his replacement Scott Speed to withdraw.

February 19, 2007 brought news that Pastrana's longtime co-driver Edstrom had announced a sabbatical to concentrate on his career and family. Although former McRae co-driver Derek Ringer is set to compete with Pastrana for the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri and Rally America, he has not announced a permanent replacement co-driver.

Pastrana driving a classic Ford Escort Mk1 at the 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages.

In September 2008, Pastrana took part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally, a round of the Scottish Rally Championship centred in Perth in Scotland. Derek Ringer was his co-driver and they entered in a historic Ford Escort RS1600. He was one of a number of celebrity drivers to take part in the event in memory of McRae, who died in 2007.

On August 29, 2009 Pastrana claimed the overall victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally, his fifth of the 2009 Rally America season. The victory sealed his fourth consecutive Rally America driver's title, the most in series history.^[7]

Complete Rally America results[link]

International competition[link]

Pastrana, Colin McRae and Ken Block at the X Games XIII.

On December 13, 2006, Subaru Rally Team USA announced plans to enter Pastrana in certain World Rally Championship events in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

In the 2007 season, he raced three P-WRC events in the Group N class, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI–based rally car. During March 9–11 2007, Pastrana competed in his first world rally at the 21º Corona Rally México. He finished fifth in the P-WRC (Group N) class (the best in-class finish by an American in a WRC event since John Buffum finished third in the Acropolis Rally in 1988), followed by a tenth place in Rally Argentina and an eleventh in Rally GB. Pastrana described his season as having gone "horribly".^[14]

Pastrana's 2008 season in the P-WRC was even less successful, with one retirement following a crash on stage one of Rally Argentina^[15] and one thirteenth place on the Acropolis Rally.

NASCAR and sports car racing[link]

Pastrana's 2012 Nationwide Series car

Pastrana made his debut in NASCAR competition by driving in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown, finishing sixth. Plans to compete in 2011 in the Nationwide Series were cancelled as a result of his injuries at the X-Games in July of that year; currently, he plans to compete in the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race, as well as running a full season in the K&N Pro Series East and selected Nationwide Series races.^[16] On April 27th, 2012, Travis made his Nationwide series debut, finishing 22nd at the Richmond 250.^[17]

NASCAR Nationwide Series[link]

* Season in progress

Injuries[link]

“I don’t remember most of the injuries, there have been too many.” – Travis Pastrana

Injuries have often taken Travis Pastrana off the circuit for weeks or months at a time. His medical records include: a dislocated spine, he has torn his ACL, PCL, LCL, and MCL in his left knee, his bucket handle meniscus, broken his tibia and fibula, he’s had surgery on his left wrist twice, left thumb once, two surgeries on his back, one on his right elbow, nine on his left knee, six on the right knee, one shoulder surgery which left him with the only piece of metal he has in his body.^[18]

When Travis was 14-years-old, he was severely injured while competing in an FMX competition. He came up short landing on the top of the front side of the landing ramp and the motorcycle went from 50 mph (80 km/h) to 0 mph (0 km/h) in less than one second. The bike was stuck into the dirt ramp with the front wheel just over the top and the crank case smashed into the dirt deep enough to support the entire bike upright. Upon impact Travis froze in the upright riding position and his feet went straight out to the sides like he was trying to straddle a bull. As soon as his legs went outward he fell off the motorcycle and his father took off across the dirt course in fear of what everyone just witnessed. He was seriously injured; he separated his spine from his pelvis. It also left him in a wheel chair for three months.^[19]

“I was in and out of consciousness for about three days and had six blood transfusions,” says Pastrana. He also adds that according to doctors, only three people in the U.S. have ever lived after such an injury. It was a long and difficult recovery. Pastrana would routinely ride wheelies in his wheel chair, around the hospital and therapy areas. While in the wheel chair recovering he vowed to continue motorcycle jumping. He was also injured in July 2011 while competing at the X Games when his bike did not rotate to the landing position, crushing his ankle and causing a fracture. However, Travis was back in his Subaru Impreza and competing in the Rally Cross final where he overshot the corner, forcing himself into the wall, on board footage shows his leg in plaster being slammed against the wheel well, much to his discomfort. He will need an operation to repair his ankle in the near future.^[20]

Other activities[link]

• A documentary story about Travis was filmed by ESPN in 2008, titled 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story
• is featured as a hidden surfer in the 2002 video game Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer.
• Travis lent his voice to the game Colin McRae: DiRT as himself, and the in-menu voice.
• Travis also has part ownership in Ethika, an underwear company specializing in products for athletes.
• Travis features as a driver in Colin McRae: DiRT 2 for Subaru Rally Team USA.

On September 26, 2007, Pastrana jumped out of an airplane over Arecibo, Puerto Rico, without a parachute in a carefully choreographed stunt. He met up in midair with another jumper, then latched himself into a harness to make a safe tandem landing.

On Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 10:00 PM, MTV Nitro Circus, his new television show that he is an executive producer, premiered on MTV. A spinoff of MTV's Jackass, the two shows shared producers, Jeff Tremaine and was partially created by Jackass frontman, Johnny Knoxville. It features Jolene Van Vugt, Erik Roner, Streetbike Tommy, Andy Bell, JD Larson, Jim DeChamp, among others doing dangerous stunts. Jackass' Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius and Steve-O; BMX freestylers, T. J. Lavin and Mat Hoffman; and actor, Gary Coleman have guest starred on various episodes. Nitro Circus was also featured on an episode of MTV's Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and vice-versa.

Travis and the rest of Nitro Circus appeared in the music video for Spaceship by Puddle of Mudd.

On Friday, January 1, 2010, Travis officially set a new world record in a ramp-to-ramp car jump. He jumped his rally car off the Pine Street Pier onto a floating barge anchored in Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor, shattering the existing mark of 171 feet (52 m) and establishing a new world distance record of 269 feet (82 m). To celebrate, after getting out of his car, he performed a gainer from the landing ramp into the harbor below.^[21]

In September 2010, Travis set the world record for fastest ascent of Mount Washington in a car, using his Subaru WRX STi: 6min 20.47sec. In June 2011, David Higgins set a new record for ascent of Mt. Washington in a car, at 6:11.54, using the same model vehicle.^[22][23] Travis is featured in "X Games: The Movie"; Travis' work with motocross and rally cars is shown.

Pastrana 199/Nitro Circus Monster Truck[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Pastrana' 199 is a monster truck that races on the USHRA circuit. The truck is owned by Live Nation/FELD Motorsports and sponsored by Travis Pastrana. It was originally driven by Paul Cohen^{[disambiguation needed ]}, then driven by Chad Tingler, then driven by Courtney Jolly and now driven by Cam McQueen. Travis made his monster truck debut on October 18, 2006 in the Pastrana 199 monster truck at the 2006 Monster Jam. Also, on an episode of Nitro Circus, Travis attempts to backflip the Nitro circus themed monster truck. Though unsuccessful, he walked away without injury. In 2008–2009, the Pastrana 199 truck was driven by Pastrana's good friend Cam McQueen. McQueen was invited to the 2009 World Finals for his second appearance. Pastrana himself competed in the freestyle competition of the event, finishing in a three-way tie for 5th place in a field of 24 trucks. On February 27, 2010 in Jacksonville, FL Cam McQueen nailed successfully a backflip in the Nitro Circus monster truck during the freestyle competition, making Nitro Circus the first to do a backflip in competition.

Personal Life[link]

In June 4, 2011, during a live performance of Nitro Circus, he asked professional skateboarder Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins to marry him. On October 29, 2011 Hawkins and Pastrana were married.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Travis Pastrana

• Official website
• Travis Pastrana at Racing Reference
• Travis Pastrana Fan Site
• Pastrana at EXPN (X Games) site
• Pastrana at WRC.com
• Nitro Circus
• Pastrana Waltrip Racing

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2012)

Carl Michael Edwards II
Born	(1979-08-15) August 15, 1979 (age 32) Columbia, Missouri, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Achievements	2007 Busch Series Champion Sprint All-Star Race XXVII Winner
Awards	2003 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2005 Busch Series Rookie of the Year 2007 Busch Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
277 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 99 (Roush Fenway Racing)
2011 position	2nd
Best finish	2nd - 2008, 2011
First race	2004 GFS Marketplace 400 (Michigan)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2005 Golden Corral 500 (Atlanta)
Last win	2011 Kobalt Tools 400 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles 19 152 11
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
244 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
2011 position	89th
Best finish	1st – 2007
First race	2002 Charter Pipeline 250 (Gateway)
Last race	2011 Ford 300 (Homestead)
First win	2005 Aaron's 312 (Atlanta)
Last win	2011 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 37 173 27
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
60 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Best finish	4th – 2004
First race	2002 O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 (Memphis)
Last race	2007 San Bernardino County 200 (California)
First win	2003 Built Ford Tough 225 by Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers (Kentucky)
Last win	2004 O'Reilly 200 Presented by Valvoline Maxlife (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles 6 35 14
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #99 Fastenal, Aflac, Kellogg's, Best Buy, and UPS Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing. He won the Busch Series championship in 2007 and nearly won the Sprint Cup Series title in 2011, but lost by a tiebreaker.

Career[link]

NASCAR[link]

Edwards does a backflip, after winning at Texas Motor Speedway

Edwards' big break came in 2002, when he competed in 7 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for MB Motorsports. His best finish in the seven races was 8th at Kansas Speedway. He also ran one Busch Series race for Bost Motorsports, finishing 38th at Gateway International Raceway. However, it was enough to impress Jack Roush, and Edwards became a full-time Truck Series competitor in 2003, driving the #99 Ford F-150 sponsored by Superchips. He won Rookie-of-the-Year honors in addition, to three race wins, eventually finishing 8th in the points standings at the end of the season. In 2004, he notched three more race wins, including the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at the Daytona International Speedway. At season's end, Edwards finished 4th in the points. In August 2004, he made his NEXTEL Cup Series debut, replacing Jeff Burton, who left the team, in the No. 99 Ford Taurus for Roush Racing, at the Michigan International Speedway. He finished 10th. He drove the #99 Ford for the remainder of the 2004 NEXTEL Cup. He also once again ran one Busch Series race; this time for Bobby Benton's RAB Racing team at Bristol Motor Speedway with sponsorship from Mac Tools.

2005[link]

In 2005, Edwards became a full-time driver in both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series. He had already won races in each, and he made history in the process of winning. On March 19, 2005, Edwards won the Aaron's 312 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, recording his first Busch Series win. The next day, he beat Jimmie Johnson by 2-hundredths of a second to win the Golden Corral 500 at the same track for his first NEXTEL Cup Series win. Until this took place, no driver had ever won both the Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series races in the same weekend at Atlanta, although the feat had been pulled off numerous times before at other tracks by other drivers. Also, Edwards became the first driver in NASCAR history to pick up his first career Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series wins in the same weekend, and became the eleventh driver in NASCAR history to win races in all three of the organization's major racing series.^{[citation needed]}

On June 12, 2005, Edwards picked up his second NEXTEL Cup win by taking the checkered flag at the Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The weekend was somewhat bittersweet for Edwards, as the Busch Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee had been rained out the night before, and rescheduled for the same day. Even worse, qualifying for that race had been rained out, too, and in NASCAR, when qualifying is rained out, the starting grid is set by owner points. Through this process, Edwards was awarded pole, but Hank Parker Jr. ended up driving the car to a 20th place finish. Since Edwards did not start the race he was not awarded any points, and as such lost a 74-point lead in Busch Series points and dropped to fourth in the standings; Edwards never recovered from the missed race and finished the season third in points, well behind eventual series champion Martin Truex, Jr.. Edwards got his third win of 2005 on October 30 in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.^{[citation needed]}

Edwards No. 99 races to the end of pit lane

Edwards got his fourth win at Texas and became the tenth different driver to win at that track, and the fifth to win there for Roush Racing. By finishing the remainder of the 2004 season in the NEXTEL #99 car, he was not eligible to compete for the 2005 Rookie of the Year in NEXTEL Cup, but did win the 2005 Busch Series Rookie of the Year.

2006[link]

In 2006, Edwards and Roush Racing struggled to keep up with the competition. Edwards did not win a race in 2006. His best finish was at Michigan Speedway where he finished 2nd.

2007[link]

On May 18, 2007, Edwards won the pole for the 2007 NEXTEL Open, and while he led almost the entire 40 lap race, he faded to third in the last few laps, just missing the feature event. On June 17, 2007 Carl Edwards broke his 52-race winless streak in the Nextel Cup by winning the Citizens Bank 400. Shortly thereafter, on July 23, he dislocated his thumb in an eleven car pileup at a late model race at Nebraska Raceway Park (formerly I-80 Speedway) near Lincoln, Nebraska. Edwards won his second race of the 2007 season, and sixth career Cup race, at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 25. During the post-race interview on Victory Lane, Edwards commented on the race, saying, "This is the biggest win of my career". At the conclusion of the first 26 races, the 2007 "regular season", Edwards ranked 6th in overall standings, with 3372 points, 477 points behind overall points leader Jeff Gordon. Edwards entered the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup in 4th place, with 5020 points, based on his two wins in the 2007 season, clinching a spot in the Chase after his win at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol. Edwards struggled through the Chase despite winning at Dover during the Chase. The Hendrick duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon dominated the Chase for the Championship winning six of the 10 races and finishing #1 and #2 in the final 2007 standings. Edwards finished ninth in the final 2007 standings.^{[citation needed]}

Edwards celebrating after clinching the 2007 Busch Series Championship after the fall Texas race.

2008 Cup racecar

On November 3, 2007, Edwards clinched his first NASCAR Busch Series Championship by finishing 11th at the O'Reilly Challenge. This came despite struggling in the second half of the Busch Series season. Edwards became the 19th different Busch Series Champion in the 26 years of the modern-era series.

2008[link]

2008 was Edwards' strongest year finishing second to Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Edwards won the 2008 Auto Club 500, his 1st Sprint Cup win of the year. The following week, Edwards won the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first back to back victories since 2005 when he won back to back in Atlanta and Texas. These victories would put Edwards at the top of the point standings for the first time in his career.^{[citation needed]}

Following the Las Vegas win, on March 5, 2008, NASCAR penalized Edwards, owner Jack Roush, and crew chief Bob Osborne for violations found in post-race inspection. The #99 car driven by Edwards was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A, 12-4-Q, and 20–2.1J of the 2008 NASCAR rulebook, specifically the cover was off the oil tank. The violations were found during post-race inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2. The following penalties were levied by NASCAR: Edwards was fined 100 driver points and stripped his 10 bonus points for the Las Vegas win which would be used to seed him in the Chase for Championship (should he make The Chase). Roush was fined 100 owner points and Osborne was suspended for six races and fined $100,000. Edwards was leading the Kobalt Tools 500 looking for his 3rd consecutive victory, but on lap 274 his car began to smoke and his crew diagnosed the problem as a broken transmission. Edwards went on to finish 42nd. On April 7, he won the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway for his third win of the season.

On May 2, Edwards announced that he had signed a multi-year contract to remain with Roush Fenway Racing.^[1] It was announced that Aflac will be the full time sponsor of the 99 car in 2009. This was the largest sponsorship contract that Roush Fenway Racing has ever signed. On August 3, Carl got his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the season, surviving a rain delay and fuel shortage to win at Pocono. On August 17, Carl Edwards dominated the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway capturing his fifth win of the season and surpassing his career high season win total of four in 2005. On August 24, Carl Edwards earned another victory by winning the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win was his second consecutive and sixth of the season. He did a bump and run Kyle Busch in the closing laps to take the win from the dominant driver of the night. Busch showed his displeasure with Edwards after the race by driving into the side of Edwards' car, to which he returned the favor by spinning Kyle out. On October 26, Edwards earned his 7th victory of the season with a win in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta. On November 2, Edwards tied Kyle Busch for the series wins lead by winning his second Dickies 500 at Texas, his eighth win of the season. He reduced his deficit in the points to 106 behind Jimmie Johnson. On November 9 at Phoenix, Edwards finished fourth behind race winner Johnson, who by virtue of the win and the 10 bonus points he earned for leading one lap and the most laps took a 141-point lead over Edwards. Edwards won the season finale at Homestead to take over the series wins lead for the season, extending his career high win total to nine. However, he did not finish far ahead enough of Johnson to take the Sprint Cup championship, as Johnson finished fifteenth and led at least one lap to win the championship by 69 points over Edwards.^{[citation needed]}

2009[link]

Heading into the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season, Carl Edwards would be sponsored by Aflac, Subway for three races, and Claritin for one race. The Office Depot sponsorship headed over to Tony Stewart and his Stewart-Haas team. Many media analysts expected Edwards to challenge Johnson for the championship.

In the #99 Claritin car, on the final lap of the 2009 Aaron's 499 at Talladega in April, Edwards survived one of the most violent crashes in NASCAR history. Heading into the tri-oval with the lead, Edwards was spun by Brad Keselowski. Edwards bounced off Ryan Newman, and flipped airborne into the catch fence. Edwards emerged from the car unharmed and sprinted on foot over the start/finish line to the cheers of the crowd. Eight fans were injured, the worst being a woman with a broken jaw; she was airlifted to a nearby hospital.^[2]

He experienced another winless season in 2009 as his best finish was 2nd at Pocono Raceway. Although Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship, Edwards finished 2nd place in the series and scored 5 wins, finishing 210 pts. behind the leader.

2010[link]

2010 Road America winning car

Edwards won the first-ever Nationwide Series race at Road America in late June. He followed that up with a controversial win at the first Nationwide race of the season at Gateway, turning Brad Keselowski coming off the final turn to win the race. He won his third Nationwide race of the year at Texas Motor Speedway after dominating the race and a late race restart where he was accused of jumping the start by Kyle Busch. He would finish the season 2nd in points for the third year a in a row.

Edwards' season was a slow start in 2010. Going into Daytona in July, he was in danger of missing the chase while barely running in the top 12 in points. The whole Roush-Fenway team marks Chicagoland as the turning around point for the organization, where Edwards would finish 2nd to David Reutimann. Edwards performance increased from this point, with him winning the pole at Watkins Glen and Richmond, and leading laps at Atlanta and Richmond.

On November 12, Edwards broke the track-record for the fastest qualifying lap at Phoenix International Raceway scoring his 6th career pole. Carl went on to win the Kobalt Tools 500 on November 14, 2010, with his Aflac Ford Fusion and breaking a 70-race winless streak going on from the 2008 Ford 400 at Homestead. The next weekend, Carl Edwards would qualify second at Homestead, and go on to dominate and win the race with season champion Jimmie Johnson finishing 2nd. The late season rally would take Edwards to 4th in points.^{[citation needed]}

2011[link]

On March 6, 2011, Edwards won the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas, his only points win of 2011. On May 21, 2011, he won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. On August 4, Edwards re-signed with Roush-Fenway Racing to continue driving his #99 Aflac Ford Fusion. The deal was reportedly worth over $40 million, with Ford talking Edwards into sticking with Roush-Fenway Racing for the rest of his career. It was rumored for many months that Edwards would go over to Joe Gibbs Racing to take over the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry currently driven by Joey Logano. Joe Gibbs was rumored to have offered Carl an $8 million dollar deal a year with a $10 million signing bonus.

For the rest of the season, Edwards raced with consistency and made the 2011 Chase field. After the Good Sam Club 500, he was in a tight points battle with Tony Stewart, but Stewart won the championship by holding off Edwards to win the 2011 Ford 400. They were tied in points, but Stewart won the tiebreaker, having five wins to Edwards' one. In the Nationwide Series, Edwards contested the full season once again, but was unable to compete for the Drivers' Championship. Due to a scheduling conflict, Edwards was forced to miss the Bucyrus 200 while the Cup Series raced at Infineon. Edwards would win a career high 8 races and give Jack Roush the Nationwide Series Owners' Championship.^{[citation needed]}

2012[link]

In January 2012, Edwards announced that he would not be competing in the Nationwide Series during the 2012 season, concentrating on his Sprint Cup championship effort.^[3]

Other Racing[link]

On June 6, 2007, Carl won the 2007 NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream at the Eldora Speedway. The Prelude is a dirt late model race organized in part by Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora, to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp and other worthy causes. Over 20 NEXTEL Cup drivers participated in the heat races and 30-lap feature, along with other drivers from different forms of motorsports. Edwards started second in the feature and held off Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon to win.^{[citation needed]}

Edwards participated in the 2008 Race of Champions, partnered by Tanner Foust. While in the individual event Edwards faced 7-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher and defeated him. In the next round, however, Edwards was defeated by eventual runner-up David Coulthard.

Personal life[link]

Edwards is a first cousin once removed to fellow NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, who told Edwards early in his racing career to get dirt track experience before going to Cup; he would later take the advice. In light of this relationship, Edwards is often referred to as "Cousin Carl." Edwards would give a business card to other teams for his services before getting a ride with Roush Racing. Off the track, Edwards has been busy promoting his new record label, Back40 Records, a company he started with a high school friend back in Columbia, Missouri.^[4] During the week of the Auto Club 500, Edwards participated in taping of the Fox television series 24, where he played Homeland Security Agent Jim Hill.

A rumor emerged that Edwards is also a cousin of Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback Trent Edwards. During an interview with Dave Hollander of AOL Sports,^[5] Hollander asked if Carl's cousin Trent Edwards had the same allergies as he did. After Carl replied that, "My old cousin Trent ... he probably has the same kind of stuff I do", Roush Fenway Racing Senior Account Manager Randy Fuller said he did not know that Trent Edwards was Carl's cousin. In response to Fuller, Edwards^[which?] said, "He's not. I’m just rollin' with it."^{[citation needed]}

Edwards also appeared on The Price Is Right, where he presented both showcases on the episode which aired on November 10, 2009. The Showcases were NASCAR-themed, with a trip to the Coca-Cola 600 and a Camping World trailer featured in one Showcase, while the other featured the debut of a new garage door prop for the "ultimate garage" Showcase that featured tools and a hybrid version of his Ford Fusion racer.^{[citation needed]}

WWE[link]

Edwards is a known fan of professional wrestling, specifically WWE, and wrestler John Cena is one of his closest friends. The two first met at the taping of Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race in 2007. On April 5, 2009 Edwards appeared at WWE Wrestlemania XXV as it was in Houston, TX and so was the NASCAR race at Texas earlier in the day. Edwards guest hosted on WWE Monday Night RAW on February 8, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Family[link]

Edwards and Dr. Katherine "Kate" Downey were married January 3, 2009.^[6][7] The couple has two children.

Athleticism[link]

Edwards has appeared on the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Men's Health shirtless, displaying his muscular body. He appeared in an Under Armour commercial during Super Bowl XLII. For a NASCAR driver, Edwards spends a lot of time developing his body, as photos of his abdominal and pectoral muscles have shown. Edwards made an appearance on the February 22, 2006, episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Ferguson produced the cover of the February issue of ESPN The Magazine which featured a bare-chested photo of Edwards. Joking that Edwards' nipples seemed far apart, Ferguson suggested this was due to the high rates of speed at which Edwards often traveled.^{[citation needed]}

Edwards is popular among fans for celebrating his wins by doing a backflip off his car (or truck), a style of celebration he took from sprint car driver Tyler Walker. Seizing on the popularity of Edwards' trademark celebrations, Ford has recently run several "Overactive Adrenaline Disorder" commercials featuring a "young Carl" performing backflips in his baby crib, off of a couch, and off a doctors exam table. Edwards also performed his signature backflip not once, but twice in a recent This Is Sportscenter commercial when he tried to cheer up anchor Neil Everett following a bad show. He has recently appeared in Aflac Commercials with the Aflac duck driving the #99 car and doing Carl's trademark backflip which causes Carl Edwards to utter "I taught him that!".^{[citation needed]}

He also played in the annual Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game in 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. During the game he sported a Boston Red Sox cap because of the affiliation his race team Roush Fenway Racing has to the owners of the Boston Red Sox.

Aviation[link]

According the Federal Aviation Administration registry, Edwards has an Airline Transport Pilot License with a multi engine rating.^[8]

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup statistics[link]