Jack Roush is far removed from his days of campaigning the Gapp & Roush Pro Stocker. That doesn’t mean that he hasn’t watched drag racing develop over the years.

He’s watched the development of 14-time champion John Force into a drag racing legend.

“I started in drag racing – I’m pretty much a generation older than John,” admitted Roush. “I started drag racing back in the sixties and spent a decade drag racing, which really formed the foundation of my motorsport knowledge and my judgment as it related to sponsorships and race teams and things. I’d like to think that if I’d stayed in drag racing and grown up, I’d have been able to survive in John Force’s shadow. John has certainly been an inspiration to me by maintaining the continuity of his effort for all the decades and all the championships he’s won. He’s been a great supporter and a great advocate for all the sponsors, including Ford, and I still enjoy keeping track of what John is doing.”


Jack Roush is far removed from his days of campaigning the Gapp & Roush Pro Stocker. That doesn’t mean that he hasn’t watched drag racing develop over the years.

He’s watched the development of 14-time champion John Force into a drag racing legend.

“I started in drag racing – I’m pretty much a generation older than John,” admitted Roush. “I started drag racing back in the sixties and spent a decade drag racing, which really formed the foundation of my motorsport knowledge and my judgment as it related to sponsorships and race teams and things. I’d like to think that if I’d stayed in drag racing and grown up, I’d have been able to survive in John Force’s shadow. John has certainly been an inspiration to me by maintaining the continuity of his effort for all the decades and all the championships he’s won. He’s been a great supporter and a great advocate for all the sponsors, including Ford, and I still enjoy keeping track of what John is doing.”

This weekend’s inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, NC., will command a great deal of Roush’s attention. Just like Force, he’ll have his daughter and son-in-law racing.

“I’ve got great empathy and support for him with his family’s involvement and the other things,” Roush explained. “At this first race that we’re going to have in Charlotte with the NHRA this weekend, my daughter and my son-in-law will be racing Stock [eliminator] cars down there. My daughter is in a Mustang and my son-in-law is in an antique Falcon that I used to race many years ago that I restored. They’ve both won races and they’re both a factor in the National Mustang Drag Racing Association as well as the NHRA, and the involvement that they’ve got means as much to me as anything else that I’ve got going on.”