Roush Yates FR9 Claims Second-Consecutive Daytona 500 Victory

Powers Kenseth to his second Datyona 500 win

Mooresville, NC (February 28, 2012) Matt Kenseth took full advantage of the horsepower in his Roush Yates FR9 engine to take the checkered flag early Tuesday morning in the first ever nighttime running of the famed Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Kenseth’s win granted Roush Fenway Racing its 300th all-time victory during the kick-off of the organization’s 25th anniversary of racing.

The Roush Yates Ford FR9 engines looked strong throughout Speedweeks leading up to the Daytona 500, which included Kenseth winning Thursday’s second 150-mile qualifying event. His Ford teammates, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, swept the front row for the Daytona 500 during last week’s qualifying session so it came as no surprise that Kenseth’s No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion was going to be a contender.

In all, 13 teams had Roush Yates Ford FR9 power under the hood when the green flag eventually waved to start the rain-delayed 54th running of “The Great American Race.”

“I have to give a lot of credit to Doug Yates and the guys at the engine shop,” said Kenseth in Victory Lane. “We had great horsepower. I could get a pretty good start on the bottom and either Denny or Dale Jr. could push me for awhile and then they just couldn’t stay attached and I would get away from them just in time to get in front of Greg and the two of us together could make some unbelievable speed. I have to thank Greg (Biffle). We worked together really good all day long. He had a really fast car all day as well.”

In what can be argued as one of the most bizarre Daytona 500′s, Dave Blaney was leading when a problem with Juan Pablo Montoya’s car sent him spinning under caution into a safety truck. The truck was holding 200 gallons of jet kerosene and burst into flames upon impact. The inferno took over ten minutes to extinguish and NASCAR red-flagged the race for over two hours with only 40 laps remaining.

“This is a special night,” said team co-owner Jack Roush. “It feels great. It is very fitting that Matt won the 300th victory that we have had since we started in 1988 and (crew chief) Jimmy Fennig has been with us for most of the time and Matt has been here most of the time as well. It is great to celebrate our 300th win here with the 54th Daytona 500. This is Matt’s second 500 win and that makes it special as well.”

“It has been a long but rewarding week for Roush Yates Engines,” said Doug Yates, CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “To sit on the front row, win in the qualifying races, and win the 54th running of the Daytona 500 is everything we worked for during the off season and more. I’m proud of my guys at the shop and I’m excited to give Jack his 300th all-time win in the series. This is a great way to start off the season and I can’t wait to get to Phoenix.”

Commemorative t-shirts celebrating Matt Kenseth’s win with his FR9 engine are on sale now at http://www.roushyatesparts.com/Roush-Yates-Daytona-500-Champion-Shirt-17-p/ryp-d50017.htm.
Roush Yates engines also excelled in the dirt world this week with Josh Richards, Dennis Erb Jr., and Scott Bloomquist finding Victory Lane at Bubba Raceway Park, East Bay Raceway Park, and Volusia Speedway Park. To find out more about all of Roush Yates engine packages and the drivers behind the wheel, visit www.roushyates.com.

Source: Roush Yates Engines, Press Release