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Jack Roush, owner and founder of Roush Enterprises was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame earlier today at a ceremony in Talladega, Alabama.



Roush will be part of the “Class of 2006” which also includes seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, race promoter H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, Janet Guthrie who was the first female driver in Daytona 500 and Indy 500 history, and stock car racing legend Harry Gant. The induction ceremony will be televised on SPEED Channel with a one-hour special airing May 1 at 10:00 p.m. eastern.



Roush is honored for his many contributions to so many different forms of motorsports. His career in the sport initially began in 1966 in drag racing, stemming from a job he had with Ford Motor Company. Eventually, in 1970 he partnered with Wayne Gapp and over the next five years, the duo attracted national attention by winning events and one championship each in NHRA, IHRA and AHRA with their Pro Stock racer.



In 1976, Roush ended his partnership with Gapp and formed Jack Roush Performance Engineering. Roush’s success at the track and his reputation as a performance engineer helped deliver project after project to his doorstep. He stopped operating the drag racing team, but kept doing race business for other teams, primarily engine builds.



In 1982 Roush formed a partnership with Zakspeed Racing to run GTX and GTP cars for Ford in the United States. Zakspeed had much success racing in Europe and wanted to partner with Roush for the US races. Some of their drivers included Kevin Cogan, Bobby Rahal and European superstar Klaus Ludwig.



In 1984, Roush returned to competition in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) road racing series and a legend was born. In the first year, he won the manufacturer's title for Lincoln-Mercury. Since then, ROUSH Racing has claimed 24 national championships and titles in the two series, including 12 manufacturer’s championships. Some of the drivers who helped Roush achieve his 119 road racing victories are Tommy Kendall, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Scott Pruett, Willy T. Ribbs and former Craftsman Truck team general manager, Max Jones.



Roush has also earned 10 consecutive 24 Hours of Daytona sedan class championships. Some of the drivers who competed for Roush are Kendall, Dallenbach, Pruett, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Robby Gordon, Pete Halsmer, Lyn St. James, as well as actor Paul Newman and Olympian Bruce Jenner.



In 1988, Roush moved south and expanded his racing business to include a NASCAR Winston Cup team with driver Mark Martin. During the team’s inaugural season, Martin won one pole and earned 10 top-10 finishes. In October 1989, Roush and Martin claimed their first NASCAR Winston Cup victory at North Carolina Motor Speedway.



Today, ROUSH Racing, arguably the most visible of his companies, has claimed championships in the elite NASCAR Nextel Cup (formerly Winston Cup) level, as well as the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series, making ROUSH Racing one of the few organizations to have captured titles on all three of NASCAR’s top divisions. With more than 300 wins to their credit, the organization runs five full-time NASCAR Nextel Cup teams with drivers Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Additionally, full and part-time teams participate in Busch Series and Craftsman Truck races.



“To me, being inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame is an honor that I never even would have dreamed of happening all those years ago,” said Roush. “It is something that never could have been done though without all the support, dedication, and incredibly hard work performed by the team members, engineers, and everyone involved with all my racing endeavors over the years. This honor really should be shared by all those people also.”



Roush’s numerous educational and philanthropic activities include establishment of the Jack Roush Motorsports Scholarship fund at Clemson University, which is dedicated to supporting graduate and undergraduate students in their pursuit of motorsports-related degrees. Roush is also a member of the governing board of The Great Race, an annual vintage car road rally event.



Jack Roush was born in 1942 in and grew up in Manchester, Ohio. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Physics from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, and a Master's Degree in Scientific Mathematics from Eastern Michigan University.



ROUSH Enterprises is comprised of several divisions and employs nearly 2,000 people in more than 50 locations throughout North America, Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom. Corporate headquarters are based in Livonia, Mich.



ROUSH Industries is a Tier One supplier of fully integrated engineering and development support services. ROUSH Performance effectively combines the engineering expertise of ROUSH Industries with the motorsports experience of ROUSH Racing to produce complete performance vehicles, modular engines and high-performance parts. ROUSH Manufacturing provides prototype and production parts, tooling and paint services.



Source: RoushPerformance.com