Roush Fenway Racing Set for Return Trip to Wild, Wild West
With the end of the 2018 season on the horizon, Roush Fenway Racing heads back out West as both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) converge on the newly-redesigned ISM Raceway. A Roush Fenway Ford has visited victory lane at the 1-mile track on 17 occasions across NASCAR’s three major touring series.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
ISM Raceway
Sunday, November 11 | 2:30 p.m. ET
NBC, MRN, Sirius 90
· Matt Kenseth, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Fusion
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford Performance Fusion
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
ISM Raceway
Saturday, November 10 | 3:30 p.m. ET
NBC, MRN, Sirius 90
· Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang
· Ty Majeski, No. 60 Ford Performance Mustang
Hooked on Phoenix
Roush Fenway has 281 combined starts at Phoenix, totaling 17 wins, 75 top-five and 133 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have nine poles and have led 4,030 laps at the 1-mile track.
Winning in the Desert
Roush Fenway has won at Phoenix in all three of NASCAR’s major divisions, with the organization’s first win coming in the fall of 1993 with NASCAR Hall of Famer and former driver Mark Martin in the MENCS. Roush Fenway won the second-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix in 2000 and former driver Greg Biffle claimed the organization’s 100th overall NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Phoenix in 2009.
Former driver Carl Edwards also won there that fall to give Roush Fenway the season sweep. All in all, six drivers have won NASCAR races for Roush Fenway at Phoenix (Martin, Biffle, Edwards, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Joe Ruttman). In addition, Edwards swept Phoenix in the fall of 2010, winning both the NXS and MENCS events.
Xfinity Success
Phoenix is one of the strongest tracks for Roush Fenway’s Xfinity program. In 91 starts, the organization has won eight times, earned 27 top-fives, 53 top-10s and has led 1,406 laps. Roush Fenway most recently went to victory lane with Edwards in Nov. 2010. Its eight wins rank most of any track on the circuit behind only Charlotte (12), Darlington (15), Richmond (9) and Rockingham (10).
Flashback: Defending Winner
Veteran Matt Kenseth makes his return to the track where he earned his most recent win a year ago in the fall race. Kenseth picked up his 39th career win at Phoenix last November, leading 62 laps including the final 10, crossing the stripe ahead of a pair of playoff drivers in Chase Elliott and Martin Truex, Jr. for an emotional and memorable victory. That marked the second win for Kenseth at the 1-mile track, with the first coming back in 2002 for Jack Roush.
Tale of the Tape
Roush Fenway has started 154 MENCS races at Phoenix, recording a total of seven victories, 35 top-five finishes, 59 top-10 finishes, four poles and has led 2,290 laps. Edwards earned Roush Fenway’s most recent victory at Phoenix in the March 2013 event.
Point Standings Entering Phoenix
MENCS
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sits 18th in the driver standings with two races left.
· The No. 6, split between Trevor Bayne and Matt Kenseth, sits 26th in owner standings.
NXS
· Ryan Reed checks in 10th in the NXS standings with three races remaining.
· The No. 60, split between Ty Majeski, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric, is 22nd in owner standings.
Roush Fenway Phoenix Wins
1993 Martin Cup
1997-2 Ruttman Truck
2000 Burton Cup
2000 Burton NXS
2001 Biffle Truck
2001 Burton Cup
2001 Biffle NXS
2002 Kenseth Cup
2005-1 Busch Cup
2005-2 Edwards NXS
2006-2 Kenseth NXS
2008-2 Edwards NXS
2009-1 Biffle NXS
2009-2 Edwards NXS
2010-2 Edwards Cup
2010-2 Edwards NXS
2013-1 Edwards Cup
By the Numbers at ISM Raceway
Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles
154 7 35 59 4 46010 2290 18.2 15.8 46010
91 8 27 53 5 17518 1406 11.0 11.6 17518
36 2 13 21 0 5195 334 12.3 12.4 5195
281 17 75 133 9 68723 4030 15.1 14.0 68723
