After drag racing through the 1970s, Roush got a taste of sports car racing when he entered and partnered with Zakspeed to build Ford-based GT and prototype cars for Ford in 1982 and 1983. For 1984, Roush partnered with Charlie Selix and Gary Pratt and competed in the SCCA Budweiser Trans-Am Series. Greg Pickett and mid-season addition ***** T. Ribbs each won four races in Roush Protofab Mercury Capris, while Tom Gloy won three races and the championship in a Roush Protofab-built Capri.

With the SCCA season complete, Roush turned his attention to the IMSA Camel GT season finale – giving fans at Daytona International Speedway a sneak peek at the team that would race there the following February.