Jack Roush is the founder, CEO, and co-owner along with John Henry of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is Chairman of the Board of Roush Enterprises. Rarely seen without his trademark Panama hat, Roush is known on the NASCAR circuit as "The Cat in the Hat". Roush was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 27, 2006. In 2008, Roush was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and will be inducted on Sept. 13, 2010, in Novi. In 1984, Ford tapped noted performance guru Jack Roush to custom-build cars for the Tran-Am series. Roush Racing responded with the Roush-Protofab Capri, using an approximation of the slow-selling Mercury's skin to bring some glory to the Lincoln-Mercury division. This car's V-8 engine featured an SVO four-bolt-main block with aluminum heads and an 830-cfm four-barrel Holley carburetor; Gloy took it on to win the all-important Trans-Am race associated with the hometown Detroit Grand Prix. A Roush-built Mustang also won its class in the over-2.5-liter IMSA GTO series at the last three-hour race of Daytona. The Mustangs that Roush Racing built for the 1985 season were bodied as Fords. The car on these pages, owned by Chris Hartwig of Appleton, Wisconsin, is the number 65 car that won its class in the 1985 24 hours of Daytona, as well as being named the 1985 IMSA GTO champion. This car, serial number 03, was primarily campaigned by John Jones and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Motorcraft was the car's primary sponsor, and a period Motorcraft advertisement discusses this Mustang's winning ways: '"The critics said the cars were too boxy. They said the engines wouldn't last. We knew they were wrong.' So says Jack Roush, who, along with Charlie Selix and Gary Pratt of Roush Protofab in Detroit, built last year's championship-winning Trans-Am Motorcraft Capris. "Those cars were so fast, so agile that the team set about designing an equally nimble IMSA GTO contender--a 550-horsepower, 190 mph Mustang sponsored by Motorcraft Quality Parts. The goal: Win the coveted 1985 IMSA GTO-division crown and secure for Ford the GTO manufacturer's title. To do that, two young drivers were handed the driving chores: John Jones and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. "Nineteen-year-old John Jones, from Thunder Bay, Ontario, won the fiercely competitive Mid-Canada Series in 1982, then switched to a F2000 car in which he convincingly captured Walter Wolf and Canadian Tire championships in both '83 and '84. Twenty-one-year-old Wally Dallenbach, Jr., son of the legendary Indy-car veteran, has, in his first four years of racing, made a habit of capturing rookie-of-the-year titles--initially in a modified short-track series, then in the '82 SCCA series and, finally, in the '84 SCCA Trans-Am series. "Immediately comfortable in the Motorcraft Mustangs, the drivers launched a so-called 'Florida Invasion.' The invasion included Mustang victories in the grueling 24 Hours of Daytona, at the Miami Grand Prix and at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Three weeks later, the young driving duo again won resoundingly, not in Florida but at Road Atlanta. '"We can't predict we'll keep our unbroken winning streak intact,' says Jack Roush. 'But we expect those southern races to set the pace for IMSA GTO cars throughout 1985. Both Dallenbach and Jones are perfect long-distance partners--easy on equipment, consistent and reliable, lap after lap, hour after hour.'" Ford had a big presence in the GT classes back in the mid 80s through the early 90s. In Trans Am they ran Mercury Capris (Mercury version of the Mustang) in 1984-85, with Tom Gloy winning the title in 1984 in the Lane entry and Wally Dallenbach Jr. winning in 1985 for Roush. They switched to Merkurs for the Trans Am in 1986, winning the title with Scott Pruett in 1987. Roush also ran a Capri alongside the Merkurs for Deborah Gregg. The Merkurs were four cyl turbos, but in 1988 they put a pushrod V-8 in a Merkur for Pruett to run on occasion. In 1989 the switch was made to Mustang as the preferred Ford entry and won the title with Dorsey Schroeder. Meanwhile, and parallel, in the IMSA GTO category there also were Fords running. Roush ran Mustangs, winning the title in 1985 with John Jones, and in 1986 and 1988 with Scott Pruett. In 1989 Roush switched to Mercury Cougars and won with Pete Halsmer and I believe in 1990 with Dorsey Schroeder. As far as the Ford Thunderbird, I recall one running IMSA in the mid eighties entered by Brooks Racing for various drivers including Bruce Jenner and Willy T. Ribbs.

John Jones and Wally Dallenbach Jr won the 1985 IMSA GTO Championship.