Two-thousand and nineteen NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominee Jack Roush has had his fair share of success in the NASCAR All-Star Race; winning the event on four occasions and placing his Fords in the race every year for the past 30 seasons. In 1998 Roush and Hall-of-Fame driver Mark Martin scored the team’s first All-Star win with a surprise victory in the annual All-Star event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
On the 20th Anniversary of the monumental occasion, Matt Kenseth and the No. 6 Ford will carry a #DoYouKnowJack Retro 98 All-Star win paint scheme during this weekend’s All-Star Race. This will mark the second race in the No. 6 for Kenseth, who scored Roush’s second All-Star win in 2004. The scheme also plays homage to Roush’s career and accomplishments in NASCAR as well as his 2019 Hall of Fame nomination.
“Our paint scheme this week is a nod to Jack’s first All-Star win in 1998 with Mark (Martin). Obviously those two have meant so much to my career, and it’s cool to honor both of them this weekend.”
Martin who went on to win the 2005 All-Star Race as well, remembers the 1998 victory fondly.
“The 1998 All-Star Race was really cool for me,” said Martin. “We were running third with two laps to go and passed Bobby Labonte coming off of four for the white flag. Jeff Gordon was gone up front and about the time I passed Bobby, Jeff pulled over to the inside and slowed. I was like wow, all of the sudden we were in the lead. We had no idea we were going to win the race and it happened just that quickly. Those can be some of best wins, because you just never see it coming.”
Kenseth, who will be running his first All-Star in the No. 6 Ford, will be making his 18th consecutive start in the All-Star race – the longest streak of any active driver. He won the All-Star event in 2004 in the No. 17 Ford and has seven top-five and 12-top 10 finishes in the All-Star, along with two poles.
Carl Edwards posted Roush Fenway’s fourth win in the All-Star, outlasting the field in a dramatic 2001 victory.
Roush Fenway will look for its fifth All-Star win this weekend at Charlotte, with two entries in the field with Kenseth and the No. 17 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and with a revised rules package it could be anybody’s race come Saturday night.
“The All-Star Race has gone through a lot of changes over the years,” said Kenseth. “But the addition of the restrictor plate may be the biggest. I honestly don’t know what to expect other than the cars will be slower. We’ll just have to see how it plays out this weekend.”
The 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class will be announced next Wednesday, May 23rd. Fans are encouraged to vote for Jack Roush by clicking here VoteJackRoush.
RFR PR
