Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Talladega
Sweet Home Alabama is the site of what is guaranteed to be an action-packed NASCAR Cup Series race this Sunday. Jack Roush has five Cup wins at the track and eight overall, and his Fords have been in the picture in every race recently there with four top-10s in six outings. The team also has nine finishes inside the top-10 in the last 16 races with one win and five top fives.
Geico 500
Sunday, April 25 | 2 p.m. ET
FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Richmond Recap, Talladega Advance
- Newman was the victim of one of only two cautions in Sunday’s race from Richmond, ultimately finishing 30th in the Oscar Mayer Bacon Ford.
- Buescher finished 25th in the Fastenal Ford.
- Castrol, the official oil partner of Roush Fenway and a primary partner on both Newman and Buescher’s Mustangs this season, will be on Newman’s No. 6 machine Sunday at Talladega. It marks the second primary race for Castrol in 2021, but first in the all-color scheme as their first appearance came back on the Daytona Road Course in the all-white car that highlighted RFR’s sustainability efforts.
- Fastenal is back on Buescher’s No. 17 entry at the 2.66-mile track.
Recently at Dega
An RFR Ford has led laps in four straight Talladega events, and Jack Roush has five top-10s in that stretch. Take out a controversial post-race penalty for Chris Buescher last fall, and the tally would be six. Going back to his first Talladega race with RFR in 2019, Ryan Newman finished seventh, then followed that with second, 24th and sixth. Buescher ran sixth in this race a season ago, and was aligned for another sixth-place run in the fall before the penalty gave him a 22nd-place finish officially.
Photo Finish at the Line Last Fall
It came down to the final few inches for Newman two years ago in the fall race, as he finished second behind Ryan Blaney by .007 seconds, the sixth-closest finish in NASCAR history. Newman lined up fifth on the inside line for the final restart with three laps to go. After a four-car group went single-file coming to the white flag, Newman took the lead and led coming out of turn four and through the tri-oval before Blaney snuck to his inside just before the start/finish line. It was a long 188 laps for the entire field as rain set in after 57 laps were completed, postponing the finish to Monday afternoon.
Running Clear Across Alabama
Roush Fenway has seen its fair share of success at the Alabama track, amassing 273 starts, eight wins, 44 top-fives and 94 top-10s across NASCAR’s three major touring series. Roush machines have also tallied seven poles, including three in cup action, and have led more than 1500 laps.
Winning in Greenbow
Roush Fenway has won in all three of NASCAR’s major series at Talladega. The team won its first race at Talladega in the NCS event in the spring of 1995. Former Roush Fenway driver Mark Martin won for the organization in all three series at the 2.66-mile oval.
Most recently, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. piloted his Fifth Third Bank Ford to victory lane four years ago when the NCS rolled through Talladega for the organization’s eighth win at the historic track.
Fastest Chicken in the South
Former Roush Fenway driver Mark Martin won the fastest Cup race ever recorded on May 10, 1997 at Talladega piloting the No. 6 Ford. Martin, who held off NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, started from the 18th position and led 47 laps en route to the victory. The race saw 26 lead changes and had an average speed of 188.354 mph.
Tale of the Tape
Roush Fenway has started 214 NCS races at Talladega with 77 top-10 and 37 top-five finishes along with three poles. Former drivers Mark Martin (1995, 1997), Jamie McMurray (2009), Matt Kenseth (2012) and Stenhouse are responsible for RFR’s combined five Cup wins and overall a Jack Roush Ford has led 1517 laps at the 2.66-mile track.
Roush Fenway Talladega Wins
1995-1 Martin Cup
1997-1 Martin Cup
1997 Martin NXS
2006 Martin Truck
2009 Ragan NXS
2009-2 McMurray Cup
2012-2 Kenseth Cup
2017-1 Stenhouse Cup
