''Roush Racing: Driver X'' was a television show on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

that documented the selection of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

drivers for

Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana * J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...

. During occasional years,

Jack Roush Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises. Roush Enterprises is the ...

, the owner of Roush Racing, auditioned drivers from around the world to hire a driver in the NASCAR

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

. This audition was informally known as '' The Gong Show''. In 2005, the Discovery Channel decided to film and air these tests as ''Roush Racing: Driver X''. The show aired every Monday at 7:00 p.m. EST and at 11:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. CST and at 10:00 p.m. CST on the Discovery Channel. ''Roush Racing: Driver X'' was produced for Discovery Channel by Brainbox Entertainment.

Background

For many years, Roush Racing recruited its developmental drivers through an elimination style of testing entitled ''The Gong Show''. The first competition was held in 1985 for Roush's road racing program. The first combine for the stock car program was held in 1999. The process would begin when Roush solicited applications from thousands of drivers from all levels or racing. They would then put through a series of tests, gauging not only driving skills, but also

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talent and personality traits. Eventually, the field would be narrowed down to an elite group who are allowed to race Roush vehicles, often Truck Series vehicles, in an attempt to assess driving ability. Those with the fastest times progress, and ultimately the best drivers are awarded with a contract to drive for Roush in the Truck Series or Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). Winners of the program include

Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...

, Carl Edwards and

David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on Fox ...

. The term "Gong Show" comes from the 1970s

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''" The Gong Show."''

2005 competition

In 2005, the process was documented in the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

''Roush Racing: Driver X'', which followed the stories of those involved in the 2005 Gong Show.

Drivers

Results and other development deals

The 2005 winner was Erik Darnell, who won a full-time ride in the NASCAR

for Roush Racing in the #99 Ford F-150. He scored two wins over three Truck Series seasons with Roush, and would later run seven races in the Cup Series for fellow Ford team

Yates Racing Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...

in 2009. David Ragan drove a limited number of races in the #6 Ford F-150 in 2006. He earned two Cup Series victories with Roush and

Front Row Motorsports Front Row Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partners ...

before retiring at the end of the 2019 season. Danny O'Quinn won a ride in the #50

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Ford Fusion for Roush in the next level up in NASCAR, the Busch Series. Pete Shepherd was signed to a driver development deal with Roush Racing, running in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2006. Also, Matt McCall signed with Yates Racing (then known as Robert Yates Racing) after the show concluded to co-pilot the #90 Ford in the NASCAR Busch Series for 2006. He is currently a crew chief for

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...

. In 2008, Justin Allgaier won the ARCA Series Championship, and signed a deal to race for Penske Racing in the Nationwide Series (formerly the Busch Series). He went on to get his first win in 2010, and later competed for

HScott Motorsports HScott Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, the K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Racing Series. The organization was owned by North Carolina bus ...

in the Cup Series; he currently races for

JR Motorsports JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Par ...

in the now- Xfinity Series.

Previous ''Gong Show'' winners

References

External links

Roush Racing website
{{RoushRacing 2000s American reality television series 2005 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings 2005 in NASCAR American sports television series NASCAR Truck Series Discovery Channel original programming NASCAR on television