Legendary racing team owner Jack Roush is presented a proclamation from the City of Covington by Daniel Klenetsky, NASCAR’s Senior Manager, Public & Government Affairs. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images, used courtesy of NASCAR.)
COVINGTON, Ky. - You don’t have to be a NASCAR fan to have heard of Jack Roush.
After all, the acclaimed engineer and entrepreneur is only the most successful team owner ever, with his Roush Fenway Racing having won eight championships in NASCAR’s top three divisions, a record 325 races, and 230 pole awards while fielding over 5,900 entries.
But here’s something even a lot of fans didn’t know about Roush, who Friday night became one of only 50 people named to NASCAR’s Hall of Fame: He’s a Covington native.
Roush was born April 19, 1942, on Euclid Avenue in the Peaselburg neighborhood.
Given that history, the City of Covington worked with NASCAR to name Feb. 1, 2019, as “Jack Roush Day” and sent the racing league a proclamation from Mayor Joe Meyer, which was presented to him at the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Other bits of trivia about the NASCAR legend:
- He graduated from Berea College with a Mathematics degree and a minor in physics.
- He started his career as an engine development engineer with Ford Motor Company.
- He helped create the “roof flaps” that keep cars from going airborne in crashes.
- And he’s nicknamed the “Cat in the Hat” for his trademark hats.
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