Founded in 1988, the NASCAR program is built around having multiple cars and providing engine, engineering and race car build services to other NASCAR teams fielding Ford branded vehicles. The multi-team aspect of the company allows for information and resources to be shared across the enterprise, improving the performance of all of the teams. Since the 2004 season, engines for the cars have been provided by Roush-Yates Engines, a partnership between Roush Fenway Racing and now-closed rival Yates Racing, with Doug Yates as head engine builder. Roush-Yates also provides engines, cars and parts to other Cup teams, including Wood Brothers Racing, Team Penske, and Front Row Motorsports.

Between 1998 and 2000 and 2003–2009, Roush Racing operated five full-time Cup teams (6, 16, 17, 26/97, 99), more than any other organization including Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, which have both operated as many as four full-time teams. Beginning in 2001, after years of operating in separate facilities, the teams were moved into a single shop in Concord, North Carolina to improve performance and communication. Roush Racing set a NASCAR record by putting all five of its race teams in the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2005. Following the 2009 season, Roush Fenway was ordered by NASCAR to shrink its operation to four Sprint Cup Series teams, ceding the No. 26 team. The team would later shrink to three teams after the 2011 season, and would shrink again to two teams after the 2016 season.

After several months of speculation, Roush-Fenway announced on 20 July 2021, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that the 2010 Nationwide Series and 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski would depart from Team Penske after the 2021 season to join the organization as a driver (replacing Ryan Newman in the No. 6) and co-owner.

Cars Car No. 06 history Todd Kluever and David Ragan (2006)

The No. 06 attempted ten races led by crew chief Frank Stoddard during the 2006 season to prepare Roush Racing's development drivers for future Cup careers, and eventually replace Mark Martin in the No. 6 car. Todd Kluever originally served as the sole driver, but was replaced with David Ragan at the end of the season. The team debuted with Kluever behind the wheel at Chicagoland on July 9 with a sponsorship from 3M. Kluever also drove the car at Michigan, Kansas, Charlotte, and attempted to start races at Fontana, Phoenix, and Homestead. David Ragan, with a sponsorship from Sharp Aquos, ran the No. 06 at Dover and Martinsville in the fall, and missed the second 2006 race at Texas and also being forced to withdrawal from the second 2006 race at Atlanta. Kluever and Ragan combined 10 races and made six with the best finish being by Ragan at Martinsville with a 25th-place run. They posted zero wins, zero Top 5's, zero Top 10's, an average finish of 37th, four DNQ's (including one withdrawal), and three DNF's.

Car No. 06 results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts 2006 Todd Kluever 06 Ford DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI41 NHA POC IND GLN MCH43 BRI CALDNQ RCH NHA KAN32 TAL CLT39 PHODNQ HOMDNQ 55th 334 David Ragan DOV42 MAR25 ATLWth TEX

Car No. 6 history

Mark Martin (1988–2006)

The 6 car began as Roush Racing's original foray into NASCAR, debuting in the 1988 Daytona 500 as the No. 6 Stroh's Light-sponsored Ford. With then-short-track-driver Mark Martin at the wheel and future NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton as crew chief, the team finished 41st after experiencing an engine failure after 19 laps. However, performance quickly improved, with Martin winning a pole position later in the season and achieving ten top ten finishes. With a year of experience under their belt, Roush and Martin went on a tear in 1989, winning six poles, earning eighteen top ten finishes and winning for the first time at Rockingham. The team finished third place in championship points.

Garnering new sponsorship from Folgers in 1990, Martin won three each of races and pole positions, as well as finishing in the top tens in all but six races. Martin held the points lead for a majority of the season, but lost momentum in the final races. In the end, the team lost the championship to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points. Martin would have won the championship had he not been docked 46 points in the second race of the season following a rules violation. Regardless, the team hoped to carry the momentum into 1991. Disappointingly, Martin finished sixth in points, and did not win until the season finale at Atlanta.

In 1992, Valvoline joined to sponsor the car, but the team's position in points still did not improve. Finally, they recaptured the magic of before in 1993, as Martin notched five victories and finished third in points. 1994 found Martin and the No. 6 team finishing runner-up to Earnhardt in points once again. In 1995, Martin defeated former teammate Wally Dallenbach Jr. to win at Watkins Glen and won the most money of his career at that time: $1,893,519. However, the team's performance slumped sharply in 1996, as Martin finished the season winless. He would win again in 1997, with an additional four victories and finishing third in championship points. In 1998, Martin and the No. 6 team had their most dominant season yet, winning seven times, but finished second in points yet again, this time to Jeff Gordon. The 1998 season was marked with a black spot when Martin's father Julian died in an aviation accident. Although 1999 saw Martin winning only twice, he finished in the top ten in 26 out of 34 races.

After winning only one race in 2000, primary sponsor Valvoline left for MB2 Motorsports, and Pfizer and Viagra became the team's new financial backers. In addition, throughout the season Martin served as co-owner/mentor of rookie driver Matt Kenseth. However, Martin failed to win again, and ended up 12th in points; this was his lowest finish since 1988. The team won only one race in 2002 but was narrowly defeated by Tony Stewart for the championship. 2003 was another season of lackluster performance for the team with no wins and a 17th-place finish in the final standings. 2004 brought improved performance, with a win at Dover and a fourth-place finish in points. Prior to the next season, Martin stated that 2005 would be his last year in full-time Cup competition. The team conducted a "Salute to You" farewell tour to his fans highlighting many of Martin's career accomplishments. Martin finished fourth in points and went to victory lane once, along with achieving 19 top ten finishes. Due to contract issues, Roush was left without a driver for car No. 6 in 2006. After learning of the situation, Martin announced his return to car No. 6 for one more year. The team extended the "Salute to You" tour after modifying its paint schemes to reflect the team's new sponsor, AAA. Martin went winless, but had seven top fives and 15 top tens en route to a ninth-place points finish in his final year for Roush. He moved to Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. part-time for 2007 and 2008, then did run several more full seasons for Hendrick Motorsports and two partial seasons with Michael Waltrip Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Stewart–Haas Racing, retiring for good after 2013. Martin earned 35 of his 40 career wins in Roush's number 6.

David Ragan (2007–2011)

Todd Kluever was originally scheduled to drive the No. 6 car in 2007, running several races in the No. 06 Cup car in anticipation, but due to lackluster performance in the Busch Series, Roush Racing decided to put Truck Series driver David Ragan in the car full-time. In his rookie season, Ragan had three top-tens and finished 23rd in points, but with numerous crashes. The following season, Ragan's performance dramatically improved. He had fourteen top-ten finishes and competed for a spot in the Chase for the Cup, before finishing 13th in the points standings.

AAA left the No. 6 team after the 2008 season for Penske Racing, with UPS taking over sponsorship for Ragan's car for 2009. Ragan only had two top-ten finishes and finished 27th. The next year, the team started off on a mixed note by nearly winning the 2011 Daytona 500, only to be penalized for an early lane change. The team then won at Daytona in July, their first since 2005. Despite the victory, UPS left the No. 6 team and moved to an associate sponsor for the No. 99 team. Jack Roush announced that RFR would not field the No. 6 team in 2012, forcing the team to reassign or lay off nearly 100 employees. Ragan moved to Front Row Motorsports' No. 34 car, and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer moved to Richard Childress Racing.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2012) After being RFR's flagship since 1988, the team became a part-time R&D team in 2012. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove at the 2012 Daytona 500 with crew chief Chad Norris, qualifying 8th in time trials. He started 20th in the race and finished 21st. Without sponsorship, the team planned to close down after the Daytona 500, with Jack Roush selling the team's top-35 owner points to former RFR crew chief Frank Stoddard and his FAS Lane Racing team. However, Stenhouse did race in the No. 6 car in three more races at Dover, Charlotte and Homestead in the fall.

2013–2014 hiatus and Trevor Bayne (2014–2018)

The No. 6 car did not run in 2013. In the fall of 2014, it was announced that 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne would drive the car full-time in 2015, with Xfinity Series sponsor AdvoCare covering the full season. In preparation, Bayne attempted the 2014 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte in the No. 6 car (in addition to his part-time ride with Wood Brothers Racing), but posted the 38th fastest time and failed to qualify, RFR's first DNQ since 2006.

After a very weak start for Roush's standards, Bayne recorded his first top-10 of the year in June at the rain shortened race at Michigan. He recorded another top ten at Daytona in July after being in contention for the win at the end of the race. The No. 6 would struggle for most of the season, ending 29th in owner points. In 2016, Bayne garnered five top tens and two top fives en route to a 22nd-place points finish.

2017 was mostly the same for Bayne, as he again finished 22nd in points. The team tried to pick up a tire strategy win at Indianapolis but a caution came out erasing Bayne's lead and Bayne ended up being part of one of the many crashes that took place in the final laps.

Trevor Bayne & Matt Kenseth (2018)

On April 25, 2018, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Matt Kenseth will return to the team and share the No. 6 with Bayne on a part-time basis, with Wyndham Rewards as his primary sponsor. He made his return at the 2018 KC Masterpiece 400 in Kansas and participated in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race in Charlotte. On September 12, 2018, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Bayne will not return to the team in the 2019 season. Bayne's final race with RFR was at the 2018 AAA Texas 500 with a 21st-place finish. A week later, Kenseth scored the No. 6's highest finish of the season with seventh place at the 2018 Can-Am 500. This was bested by a sixth-place finish in Kenseth's final race for the team at the season-ending 2018 Ford EcoBoost 400.

Ryan Newman (2019–2021)

On September 21, it was reported that Ryan Newman will take over the No. 6 car. On October 23, 2018, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Scott Graves will become Newman's crew chief. On January 10, 2019, it was announced that Oscar Mayer, which previously sponsored Kenseth and Kurt Busch during the 2000s, will be the main sponsor of the No. 6 car.