The 2017 race season has started out strong for Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines. In their 14th year as partners, collaborating on the development of championship caliber race engines, this dynamic partnership has won 18 races and 17 poles across the NASCAR and road racing programs since the start of 2017. This impressive beginning to the year has been due to the success of 12 different drivers and eight different Ford Performance organizations, across all six series.
The racing season kicked off red hot in Daytona Beach, Florida, where five out of the six series started their seasons. Ford Performance proved they were on a MISSION to win from the season-opener, capturing three out of the five wins at Daytona International Speedway.
In the IMSA season-opener, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing reunited the four Ford GT teams to run in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Building on the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans victory, the Ford GTs did not disappoint the fans, taking the pole and the checkered flag in the first IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship endurance race of the 2017 season. The No. 66 team of Joey Hand, Dirk Müller and Sébastien Bourdais mirrored their 2016 Le Mans victory to win consecutive 24-hour endurance poles and races within a span of six months.
In the inaugural IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSC) race for the Ford Mustang GT4, the No. 59 of Dean Martin and Cameron Maugeri from KohR Motorsports, made history by capturing the pole position at Daytona and recording the Mustang’s first Grand Sport (GS) pole victory.
NASCAR shifted into high gear in February, during Daytona Speedweeks and so did the 27 Ford Performance teams, including new comer Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart-Haas Racing is a title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America.
The No. 22, Joey Logano of Team Penske found himself in the right place at the right time to win the Clash at Daytona International Speedway. Logano, became the sixth Ford driver to win the season-opening non-points events.
During the second week of Speedweeks, Roush Fenway Racing found its way to victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) with the No.16 Ryan Reed, winning his first race at the legendary speedway.
The Daytona 500 proved to be a drag race of horsepower between fellow Ford Performance teammates, Kurt Busch of Stewart-Haas Racing and Ryan Blaney of Wood Brothers Racing. Busch went on to win his first MENCS Daytona 500 and first for SHR under the Ford Blue Oval. This also marked the fifth consecutive restrictor plate win for Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines.
Powering Daytona | Roush Yates Engines
The No. 4, Kevin Harvick of SHR, captured his career 18th Cup pole and the first of the year for Ford Performance, while the number 2 deuce, Brad Keselowski from Team Penske achieved his first Cup win of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
During the West Coast swing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Logano drove the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang to victory lane and achieved his 28th career NXS win.
Team Penske teammate, Keselowski also found success in the dessert, capturing his 13th career Cup pole in Las Vegas.
In Sebring, Florida the Ford Mustang GT4 took its first podium in the IMSA CTSCS. The No. 60 KohR Motorsports car, piloted by Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell started from the pole position and made history as they achieved the 50th Grand Sport class win for Ford Performance.
From behind the wheel of the No. 67 Ford GT, Ryan Briscoe followed up the Rolex 24 At Daytona pole, by earning the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, GTLM pole at the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Logano added to his NASCAR pole count, winning poles at both Phoenix Raceway and at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
On Roger Penske’s 1000th NASCAR start, Keselowski brought home his second win of the season at Martinsville Speedway and marked the 56th victory of all-time for Team Penske and Ford.
Harvick leveraged the horsepower of the Ford FR9 engine to collect his 19th career pole at Texas Motor Speedway.
In Texas, driving Team Penske’s No. 12 car, Logano posted a speed of 192.768 mph in the final round of qualifying to earn his 33rd Xfinity career pole.
In April, the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – UK sister-cars started the FIA World Endurance Championship Series (WEC) season by qualifying on the pole and ultimately capturing the win in the Six Hours of Silverstone. Harry Tincknell, with fellow drivers Andy Priaulx and new comer Pipo Derani took the checkered flag, in the No. 67 Ford GT to win the season opener.
On Logano’s 300th NASCAR start, he captured his first 2017 Cup win at Richmond by beating fellow Team Penske teammate Keselowski to make it a 1-2 Ford finish.
In Talladega, Aric Almirola captured his first 2017 Xfinity win of the season in the No. 98, Biagi DenBeste Ford Mustang.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Roush Fenway Racing made it a clean sweep at Talladega Superspeedway. He captured his first career Cup pole, at a speed of 191.547mph and first career Cup win. This Talladega win accounted for Jack Roush’s 324th overall NASCAR win.
The No. 21 Wood Brothers’ Racing Ford Fusion captured the 6th Ford Performance Cup pole of the season at Kansas Motor Speedway with Blaney behind the wheel. Marking Blaney’s first career Cup pole.
In Charlotte, Blaney carried this momentum, where he won Ford’s fourth Xfinity race of the year in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang.
Charlotte Motor Speedway paid dividends for Stewart-Haas Racing, where Harvick captured his third pole of the year and Ford’s seventh over-all.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie, Chase Briscoe found success in Dover, as he drove the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing truck to his first pole in the series.
Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines horsepower dominated Pocono as the hard charging Keselowski swept both stages of the Pocono Green 250 in the NXS on his way to making a last lap pass to take the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang back to victory lane for the first time in 2017.
Young gun Blaney would make his own history at Pocono by winning his first ever career Cup race with the legendary Wood Brothers’ Racing team and the No. 21 Ford Fusion. This marked the Wood Brother’s 99th overall NASCAR win.
Chase Briscoe continued to rack up poles as he edged out John Hunter Nemechek by .020 of a second to win his second pole of the season at Gateway Motorsports Park.
On the way to capturing his first win of the season, the No. 4 Harvick led a Ford 1-2-3 sweep at Sonoma Raceway. Harvick became the fifth Ford driver to secure a spot in the NASCAR play-offs, joining Busch, Keselowski, Stenhouse Jr., and Blaney.
In Watkins Glen, NY - The No. 59 Ford Mustang GT, KohR Motorsports’ won their second IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in the Continental 120 at Watkins Glen International and marked Roush Yates Engines’ milestone 300th overall race win since 2004.
Joey Hand qualified the No.66 Ford GT on the pole for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen in thrilling qualifying session, making this the Ford GT's second-consecutive GTLM pole at Watkins Glen International.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway and accomplished the sixth consecutive restrictor plate race win for Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines. No manufacturer has dominated the restrictor-plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega more than Ford Performance, which has won 15 of the last 27 MENCS events at these two tracks.
We will take this momentum into the second half of the year and stay focused on the mission.
Robert Yates was recognized for his accomplishments, legendary career and contributions to the sport of NASCAR by being voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the five-member Class of 2018.
Yates took everything he learned as an engine builder and transitioned into a Champion Team Owner. Yates’ two car team proved to be one of the most invincible opponents in the NASCAR garage. Winning a total of 57 races and 48 pole positions. Robert Yates Racing provided championship race cars and engines for legendary drivers Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan, Rick Rudd, Elliott Sadler and David Gilliland.
He has proven that hard work, dedication and passion are the perfect formula for success and a legendary career.
Born in 1957 in Belgium, it was after a trip at the age of seven that my love for NASCAR caught hold of me! It was the 1964 World 600 in Charlotte. Since NASCAR it's my life! A large collection of objects and papers make up my personal little NASCAR museum.
Passionate about the history and statistics of NASCAR, I have contributed to numerous magazines and websites mainly in French language (Europe and Canada). One of my greatest pride is my full-time collaboration at racing-reference.info from 2003 to 2021.
Today I continue to write for fun and it's with joy that I join nascarracemom.com as contributor. .
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