‘The Lady in Black’ plays hosts to the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend for the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs. Jack Roush has 20 wins all-time at the South Carolina track, including five in the Cup Series. Most recently, his Fords finished ninth and tenth earlier this season.
Cook Out Southern 500
Sunday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET
NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Bologna Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Performance Ford Mustang
Daytona Recap, Darlington Preview
· Newman employed his usual Superspeedway strategy of laying back early to avoid all of the incidents, before making a late surge and avoiding the last-lap chaos to finish fourth last weekend in Daytona. He was officially credited with third following the disqualification of the No. 17.
· Buescher, on the other hand, put his Fifth Third machine in the mix with aggressive moves late to ultimately lead a handful of laps in the closing laps and take the final NASCAR Overtime restart in first. He crossed the line second behind Ryan Blaney, but NASCAR disqualified his car later in which he was relegated to 40th.
· Oscar Mayer is back on Newman’s No. 6 Ford this weekend at Darlington, and this time will sport a can’t-miss scheme highlighting Bologna.
· Buescher will carry the bright colors of Roush Performance, a scheme he first debuted a season ago and also ran this spring at Phoenix.
Darlington Two-Step
Roush Fenway has twice won consecutive NCS races at Darlington, including a season sweep in 1999 with former driver and current NBC commentator Jeff Burton. Roush Fenway also earned victories in consecutive seasons at the egg-shaped oval in 2005 and 2006 with Biffle.
Tale of the Tape
In 252 all-time NASCAR starts at ‘The Lady in Black,’ Jack Roush’s Fords have 20 wins, 69 top-five and 118 top-10 finishes, along with 20 poles. Over the years RFR has led 4,500+ laps across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, with more than 88,000 miles logged at the 1.366-mile track. In NCS action alone, RFR has finished top-10 in 43 percent (71-of-166) of the races with 35 top-five results and five wins.
Kickin’ It Old School
Legendary Roush Fenway drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are responsible for the five Cup wins for Jack Roush at Darlington. Martin earned Roush’s first Cup win back in 1993 after leading 178 laps. Burton swept the 1999 events as the dominant car, and Biffle earned the two most recent victories in 2005 and 2006.
Most All-Time
It’s no secret that when Roush has dominated in the Xfinity Series at Darlington. In 79 starts, the organization has 15 wins, 33 top-five and 44 top-10s. Mark Martin is responsible for eight of the victories, second-most for him among any track, after winning five of the first seven races at the track for Roush from 1993-96. He also went on to win in 1999 and swept again in 2000. Jeff Burton got in on the fun with wins in 1997, 2001 and 2002, while Biffle earned a win in 2004. Most recently, Kenseth drove to victory lane in 2005 and 2009.
Roush Fenway Darlington Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1999-1 Burton Cup
1999-2 Burton Cup
2005 Biffle Cup
2006 Biffle Cup
1993-2 Martin NXS
1994-1 Martin NXS
1994-2 Martin NXS
1995-2 Martin NXS
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-2 Burton NXS
1999-2 Martin NXS
2000-1 Martin NXS
2000-2 Martin NXS
2001-2 Burton NXS
2002-1 Burton NXS
2002-2 Burton NXS
2004-1 Biffle NXS
2005 Kenseth NXS
2009 Kenseth NXS
