SCC: Rousch Jr. - Ford interview 2010-03-11

This Week in Ford Racing
March 11, 2010

Jack Roush Jr., and co-driver Billy Johnson won the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Homestead 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway this past weekend. The win marked the 400th all-time victory for Jack Roush Sr. in road racing and NASCAR combined. Roush Jr. talks about getting the milestone win for his father.

JACK ROUSH JR. - driver, No. 61 Roush/Valvoline Ford Mustang GT

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GET YOUR DAD HIS 400TH WIN? "It's obviously a really big deal for me. I think it's neat to have my own racing program and have a significant win for my Father. That's something I'm really honored about and I feel really privileged about. I started racing when I was six with my Dad go-kart racing. Each season that we competed in, we never lost a championship. As an adult I started road racing in 2006 without having to do any other full-size vehicle road racing and that was in the same series that I'm in now. There's been a huge learning curve for me, especially in a series that is so competitive. For us to consistently run strong and now have a few wins under our belt, that does have a lot of meaning for us. The 400th win I think is interesting, because soon after I started go-karting my dad had his own road racing programs, and as a child I was at many of the races where he had some of his earlier wins. To now have a spot in that chain is pretty cool."

IS THIS WIN MORE SPECIAL THAN YOUR FIRST WIN IN THE CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR SERIES THAT YOU EARNED LAST YEAR? "Well, it's the second win that I've had in the Continental Tire Series. Last year we won at Miller Motorsports Park and that was also a really big deal because it was our first. This one, I think our team has got some momentum and we're getting better and better at what we're doing as a whole. We're really figuring out the best strategies that we want to use. As a driver I'm also continuing to develop. Hopefully we'll get quite a few more, but being the first and second win, obviously it has a lot of significance for us."

AFTER NOT FINISHING AT DAYTONA WAS IT NICE TO COME BACK WITH A WIN AT HOMESTEAD? "Homestead is a good track for Mustangs and Daytona was as well. It was kind of heartbreaking that we had some issues that prevented us from finishing the race there. I think we would have had a very strong finish there as well. We are trying to do well at all of the tracks that we possibly can. I think there are a few that will be much more challenging for us, like Lime Rock. One of the things that I love about our series is that we're racing Ford Mustangs against some cars that people think are true sports cars and look down on some of the American cars. I personally love the fact that we're racing the Ford Mustang against many other manufacturers and we're doing very well."

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOING INTO ANY OTHER RACING SERIES? "It's really hard to say where my career will go. I really have a passion for road racing in particular. I've never circle track raced, and I'm looking at doing my first one later in the month. I don't know what other series I'll end up doing, but maybe some of the higher levels of road racing could be a possibility."

-source: ford racing