On
March 12 Jack Roush was given one of the highest honors in
the hot rod world, when he was presented with the Robert E. Petersen
Lifetime Achievement Award. The ceremony took place during the grand
opening breakfast of the 12th Annual HotRod & RestorationTrade
Show, in front of nearly 1,000 attendees at the Indiana Convention
Center in Indianapolis.
“Being named a recipient of the Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement
Award is obviously a tremendous distinction and something completely
unexpected,” Roush said. “I remember Robert (Petersen) always being a
great ambassador for the auto industry and hot rods. It is an honor to
be mentioned among the many legendary names who have received this
award in the past.”
The Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented
annually since 2002. Previous recipients include Wally Parks (NHRA),
Carroll Shelby, George Barris, Vic Edelbrock, the Ford family, Alex
Xydias (So-Cal Speed Shop) and “Speedy” Bill Smith (Speedway Motors).
“We are very excited to have Jack Roush as the recipient of our 2010
Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award. This is one of the most
prestigious awards in our industry because it is only given to true
pioneers like Jack, whose love of technology and the automobile has
been a benefit to all of us who crave performance,” said Travis Weeks,
group publisher, HotRod & Restoration magazine.
In addition to the highly-visible NASCAR entries of Roush Fenway
Racing, Jack Roush also has a number of automotive-related companies in
his hometown of Livonia, MI. Among them is ROUSH Industries, a Tier
One supplier of engineering, testing and manufacturing services to all
the “Big Three” manufacturers, and ROUSH Performance, which produces
high-performance vehicles, parts and exotic crate engines. The crate
engines can be highly customized per owner preference and are the
choice of many hot rod and Cobra replicar builders such as Chip Foose,
Roy Brizio, the RingBrothers and Superformance.
Roush was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall
of Fame (2010), the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (2008), the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2006), the Mustang Hall of Fame
(2002) and the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame (1992).
Earlier this year Roush also was one of five recipients of a coveted
2010 Distinguished Service Citation from the Automotive Hall of Fame in
Dearborn, MI. This award recognizes an individual who has
significantly improved the industry or their respective organization.
Roush’s numerous educational and philanthropic activities include
establishment of the Jack Roush Motorsports Scholarship fund at Clemson
University, which is dedicated to supporting graduate and undergraduate
students in their pursuit of motorsports-related degrees.