Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Daytona
The 2021 regular season comes to a close Saturday night at ‘The World Center of Racing’ as both Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher will be part of the group battling for the last spot in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs. Odds have been in favor of the RFR Fords as Jack Roush has 11 wins overall at Daytona, five of which came in the summer race.
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Saturday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. ET
NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
- Ryan Newman, No. 6 Coke Zero Sugar Ford Mustang
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang
Michigan Recap, Daytona Preview
· Buescher survived much of the late chaos in Sunday’s 400-mile race at Michigan to bring home a 15th place finish in the Castrol Ford.
· Newman had his eyes set on a top-10 late before a multi-car pileup collected the ITsavvy Mustang, ultimately relegating him to a 24th-place finish.
· Fifth Third Bank – who was on the car for Roush’s last win at Daytona – returns to Buescher’s No. 17 this weekend.
· Newman will carry the new look of Coke Zero Sugar on his Ford Mustang as part of the brand’s rollout of its new flavor and packaging.
Confidence? No Problem
It is no secret that the Superspeedway program Jimmy Fennig and Roush Fenway have built is stellar. Go back to the 2017 campaign which saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win twice on Superspeedways, and Jack Roush’s Fords have been in the hunt in nearly every race since. At Daytona alone, Roush has four top-10s in the past five races, including two each from Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher.
Early crashes caught both RFR Fords in the 2021 Daytona 500, and the 2020 summer race ended similarly for Newman, while Buescher finished that chaotic event in ninth. The 2020 version of the Daytona 500 has been well documented, a horrific ending that saw Buescher finish third, but was most notable for Newman ending the event on his roof only to walk out of a Florida hospital two days later.
Take the same time frame at Talladega and Roush has five top-10s, including a very close second-place finish by Newman in the 2019 fall event. Buescher and Newman finished sixth in the spring and fall 2020 events, respectively, and overall an RFR Ford has led laps in five straight Talladega races.
Shining Bright in the ‘Sunshine State’
In 216 NCS starts at Daytona, Roush Fenway has recorded seven wins, 41 top-fives, 78 top-10s and has led 832 laps. Stenhouse earned the win in this race three years ago, the organizations most recent win overall. RFR also has five poles in the Cup series at Daytona, with the most recent coming in 2016 with Greg Biffle.
Two Trips to Victory Lane in 2017
Just two years after earning his first ever NASCAR win, Ryan Reed survived a wild kickoff to the 2017 season. He survived multiple on-track incidents after starting on the outside of the front row and led only nine laps, but the final two, en route to the win over a host of Cup regulars.
Then, in July of 2017, Stenhouse found himself in victory lane for the second time after leading 17 laps in his Fifth Third Ford. Stenhouse first led at lap 86, and from there survived a total of 14 cautions for 51 laps in what was his second win of the season.
Born in the USA
Roush Fenway has recorded five victories in the July event at Daytona, including the organization’s first at the high-banked oval with former driver Jeff Burton in 2000. Former Roush Fenway drivers Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan earned victories in 2003, 2007 and 2011, respectively. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. earned the fifth in 2017.
Roush Fenway Daytona Wins
2000-2 Burton Cup
2003-2 Biffle Cup
2004 Edwards Truck
2006 Martin Truck
2007-2 McMurray Cup
2009-1 Kenseth Cup
2011-2 Ragan Cup
2012-1 Kenseth Cup
2015-1 Reed NXS
2017-1 Reed NXS
2017-2 Stenhouse Jr. Cup
