Roush Racing Buys into Rypien Motorsports
18 August 1997
ROUSH RACING TO ACQUIRE INTEREST IN RYPIEN MOTORSPORTS BROOKLYN, NY - Roush Racing will acquire an interest in Mark Rypien Motorsports which is located in Mooresville, NC and currently fields the #97 John Deere Pontiacs driven by Chad Little on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. Little has signed a multi-year driver contract but the team has not yet made any announcement regarding car manufacturer or sponsor affiliations for the 1998 season. "When we were approached by Rypien Motorsports, we first had to consider what our role could or would be, without disrupting other objectives regarding our current Winston Cup teams, sponsors, and affiliations," said owner Jack Roush, whose team currently consists of three Ford Thunderbirds driven by Mark Martin, Ted Musgrave, and Jeff Burton. "When we looked at their program, we found that we could participate not only on a supplier level as their engine builder, but we also felt that we could help their motorsports program as a whole. Ultimately, those dicussions led to an investment in the team." Current Mark Rypien Motorsports owner Greg Pollex will assume an executive role with the team and remain as a shareholder.