By Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
Earlier today, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Koch Industries (Pronounced Coke) will serve as the primary sponsor for Ryan Newman and his No. 6 Ford Mustang team in the Daytona 500.
Koch Industries will make its debut on the No. 6 in the Clash at Daytona event on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway.
“We are looking forward to teaming up with Koch Industries and having them on the car for one of the most celebrated races of the season,” said Newman. “Winning the 500 is one of the biggest accomplishments of my racing career. We have really fast superspeedway cars at Roush Fenway, and we’d like nothing better than to kick off our season by driving the Koch Industries Ford into victory lane at Daytona.”
Koch Industries is based out of Wichita, Kansas and is one of the largest-private companies in America with annual revenues as high as 110 billion, according to Forbes.
The company owns a diverse group of companies that are involved in refining, chemicals, and biofuels; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; process and pollution control systems; electronics, software and data analytics; minerals; glass; automotive components; ranching; commodity trading; and investments.
With a presence in 60 countries, Koch companies employ nearly 130,000 people worldwide, with about 67,000 of those in the United States.
Since January 2009 to present day, Koch companies have earned more than 1,300 awards for safety, environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation, and customer service. For more news and information you can visit their official website at http://www.KOCHind.com
Roush Fenway has a pair of wins at the Daytona 500, with former NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth winning the prestigious event in 2009 and 2012; the latest one serving as Hall of Fame owner Jack Roush’s historic 300th NASCAR victory.
Overall, Roush Fenway has won seven times at the ‘World Center of Racing’ in at NASCAR’s highest level, with their most recent win coming in the 2017 summer race.
“Koch Industries is excited to partner with Roush Fenway and Ryan Newman in this year’s Daytona 500. As our businesses continue to manufacture the things that make life better—from fuel to electronics to automotive sensors and component parts—the partnership between Koch Industries and Roush Fenway for this race is a natural fit. Sunday at Daytona is the premier event of the season and we are proud to help represent one of racing’s brightest stars,” said Steve Lombardo, chief communications and marketing officer for Koch Industries in a team press release.
The 2020 Daytona 500 will be Newman’s 19th start in the prestigious event. Last season, he went on to finish 14th despite a late-race accident that saw his race car with significant damage.
In his 2002 Daytona 500 debut he finished seventh and has gone on to win the event with a last-lap pass in 2008. In addition, he has finished inside the top-10 on five occasions as well.
The NASCAR Cup Series season-opener Daytona will take place on Sunday February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET live on Fox.