Ford Racing News and Rumors
June 16, 2006:
Jack Roush honored by Ford Motor Company: Jack Roush received the highest honor Ford Motor Company can bestow on anyone in racing when he was presented with the Spirit of Ford Award in front of approximately 450 employees at Ford World Headquarters Thursday. Edsel B. Ford II made the presentation during a pep rally involving many of Ford's NASCAR drivers who will be competing in the Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck Series races at Michigan International Speedway this weekend. Roush was hired as an engineer at Ford in 1964, but got the racing bug when he joined a group called 'The Fastbacks' two years later. The group was made up of Ford employees who competed in drag racing on weekends. Since then, Roush has won championships in all three of NASCAR's top divisions, including back-to-back Nextel Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. In addition, he has three Pro Stock drag racing championships, 24 road racing titles and 10 consecutive victories in the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The Spirit of Ford Award goes to a person who has made significant contributions on and off the track to the sport of auto racing. Other stock car recipients of the Spirit of Ford Award include: Bud Moore, the Wood Brothers, Junie Donlavey, Bill Elliott, Richard Petty, the France family, and Ned Jarrett. (Ford Racing)
May 19, 2006:
Ford looking to add teams supported by manufacturer: A Ford official said Thursday that the manufacturer would like to add "a couple more cars'' to its Nextel Cup roster, although he wouldn't give a timetable. A couple more teams could help Ford keep its young drivers, something Ford and its teams haven't been able to always do. Dale Jarrett's departure to Toyota after this season opens one ride, but several Ford drivers are signed through at least 2008. That could create limited opportunities for the nearly 10 drivers being groomed by Ford's Cup teams. Ford, whose drivers have won two of the past three titles, has the fewest Cup teams competing with eight -- five with Roush Racing, two with Robert Yates Racing and one with the Wood Brothers. Toyota is scheduled to have six teams next year when it enters the Cup series. Greg Specht, manager of racing operations for Ford, says the manufacturer has a goal of more teams. "Ideally, we'd like to have 10-12,'' he said. "We're really looking at our current teams to see how can we expand and grow at a rate that is going to maintain quality.'' Specht wouldn't say if Ford would have additional teams for next season. (Roanoke.com)
May 13, 2006:
Ford upset with lose of Jarrett: Ford officials are none too pleased with the apparent loss of Dale Jarrett, who will announce his decision to join Michael Waltrip Racing later this weekend (check it out live on SPEED, Saturday morning at Noon ET). All but two of Jarrett's 32 career Cup wins have come behind the wheel of a blue-ovaled automobile, as did his 1999 Winston Cup title. In addition, Jarrett's father, Ned, won both of his Cup titles as a Ford factory driver, and Dale Jarrett Ford is one of the largest Ford dealerships in the country, located in Monroe, N.C. about one hour north of Darlington. (FOXSports.com)
Nov. 2, 2005:
Ford sues over device: Ford Motor Co. sued a North Carolina equipment supplier Tuesday, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets, breach of contract and trademark infringement. The case centers on the Ford Racing Kinematics Rig - a device Ford says it developed to collect, process and display data from the chassis systems of NASCAR race cars. According to a complaint filed in federal court in Detroit Tuesday, Ford's racing division contracted with L&H Technologies of Charlotte, N.C., last year to produce the device for Ford's exclusive use. As part of that contract, Ford says it provided L&H with technical details for the device and worked with the supplier to develop the device. Ford also says it provided L&H with components for the rigs and loaned the supplier Ford Racing cars to test the equipment. In its lawsuit, Ford says L&H produced the units for Ford as requested, but then began offering the same device to other NASCAR teams, using Ford's logo in its marketing materials. (Detroit News) markets is down 7.1% from 4.2 last year. (NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)
Oct. 9, 2005:
Ford Fusion debuts as pace car: Ford's new Fusion, which will replace the Taurus as the company's Nextel Cup entry next year, will debut as the pace car today. Setting a different pace: If the pace car looks a little different this weekend, that's because it is. The Ford Fusion, which will replace the Taurus next year as the manufacturer's racing entry for Nextel Cup and Busch events, made its on-track debut before Saturday's United Way 300 in the Busch Series and will also be the pace car for Sunday's Nextel Cup race, the Banquet 400. "We got a great response from the public when we unveiled our NASCAR Fusion race car in Charlotte earlier this year," said Burt Diamond, the global marketing manager for Ford Racing Technology. "We've got high hopes that this car will be a winner on the track and in dealer showrooms." The new Fusion also will serve as the pace car next month at Homestead - in the Ford 400, naturally. (Ford Racing PR)
Aug 25, 2005
Ford Fusion named the Pace Vehicle for Championship Weekend: Ford's new "Face for the Chase" is now pacing the race. The all-new 2006 Ford Fusion - set to make its NASCAR racing debut at Daytona in Feb. 2006 - will serve as the official pace car for Ford Championship Weekend, November 18-20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which includes the season finales of both the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, the Ford 300 and Ford 400, respectively. The Ford Fusion, which will be available in dealer showrooms this fall, breathes a fresh attitude into the mid-size car market. It distinguishes itself with its standout exterior design and engaging driving dynamics, and brings to the segment good fuel economy, advanced safety, clean emissions and roomy interior space - all at an attractive value. Today's announcement was highlighted by a special unveiling of the 2006 Ford Fusion pace car in South Florida involving Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors, and Curtis Gray, President of Homestead Miami Speedway. Ford Championship Weekend, November 18-20, is Ford's keystone racing event, comprising the final races in NASCAR's top national series, the NEXTEL Cup Series (Ford 400), the Busch Series (Ford 300), and the Craftsman Truck series (Ford 200) on the same weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway. (Homestead/Miami PR)
Aug 3, 2005
Ford's Fusion Step towards "Car of Tomorrow": A couple of weeks ago, Ford Motor Company announced to the world that the Fusion would be its replacement for the venerable Taurus in NASCAR competition. That was step one in the process toward getting the new car to be noticed by the public. Step two took place on Tuesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the first track test for the new mount, and Dale Jarrett handled the driving duties, while Wood Brothers Racing supplied the car. Ford's test Tuesday took place in front of NASCAR officials, and it was a critical part of the approvals process for NASCAR and Ford. Following the test, which took place at around 1:15 p.m., the car was scheduled to go to the Lockheed wind tunnel in nearby Marietta, where it underwent the third and final step of the approvals process. Jarrett, who is also a car dealer of fairly major proportions (those of you in Charlotte have heard commercials for Dale Jarrett Ford, the "88th Wonder of the World") had this to say after his maiden run in the new racer: "I think what we've done with the Fusion is that we built a car that's going to be very nice on the race track, but it's going to be one that the public will go to a dealership and want to buy," he said. "That's what we want to achieve --something we can win with on Sunday and the public will buy on Monday." (More at NASCAR.com)
July 21, 2005
Ford Fusion Prototype looks to hit the track at Atlanta: NASCAR and Team Ford Racing will get their first on-track look at the new Fusion in two weeks in a team effort. Wood Brothers Racing will run a prototype with former Nextel Cup champion Dale Jarrett of Robert Yates Racing testing at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Aug. 2. The 1.5-mile track south of Atlanta is available despite almost $40 million in property damage from a recent tornado. “As of right now [the Sunday morning of the recent New England 300 at Loudon, N. H.], we’re still planning to test the new Ford and the new Chevrolet that day,” said Robin Pemberton, a former crew chief and Ford Racing official, and now NASCAR’s vice-president for competition. “They were hit pretty hard, but they’re cleaning up and making progress.” With small variations, it will go something like this: The Chevy and Ford haulers will arrive at AMS early in the morning. The team that tests first—that hasn’t been determined—will wait for the other team to leave the premises before unloading and testing. Once its test is done, NASCAR officials will accompany the car to the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta. The second car won’t be unloaded and tested until the other car is off the premises. Once its on-track test is completed, officials will accompany the second car to the wind tunnel at Marietta. (Ford Racing)
July 14, 2005
Ford Introduces the Fusion: Ford Motor Co. unveiled a prototype Thursday of the model that will replace its Taurus on the NASCAR circuit. The Fusion, a model debuting for Ford in 2006, will make its first start in next season's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. Ford plans to phase out production of the Taurus over the next few years. Driver Dale Jarrett is expected to test the Fusion at Atlanta Motor Speedway next month as NASCAR completes its approval process for the car. "We've worked hand-in-hand with NASCAR on the development of this car, and we can't thank them enough for helping us bring the Fusion forward," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "Our guys did a terrific job of getting the NASCAR Fusion to where it needed to be, and we actually were ahead of schedule in getting it to NASCAR." The Fusion is Ford's first all-new nameplate car for NASCAR racing in 38 years. The last was the 1968 Ford Torino. The Taurus already was in production when it debuted in NASCAR competition in 1998. (Detroit Free Press)
July 11, 2005
Ford names the Fusion to NASCAR Racing: Ford Motor Co. is putting a new face on its NASCAR Nextel Cup entry next year. The automaker is expected to announce as early as this week that the Ford Fusion will replace the venerable Taurus on North America's most popular racing circuit, said people familiar with the plan. After 20 years, Ford is pulling the plug on Taurus production early in 2006, and NASCAR rules require that race cars be based on showroom models. The Fusion arrives on dealer lots this fall. Fusion will enter the midsize car segment, where the competition dwarfs even the longtime rivalry between Ford and Chevy on the racetrack. In the midsize car market, it's Ford vs. Chevy vs. Toyota vs. Honda vs. Nissan. NASCAR fans are extremely loyal to brands that support the series, and Ford is banking on the affiliation to immediately establish Fusion in the marketplace. The 280,000 members of the Team Ford Racing club own, on average, 1.8 Ford vehicles per household, the automaker claims. Compared with other brand owners, they are nearly three times as likely to stick with Ford. (Detroit Free Press)
July 3, 2005
Ford wants women in Cup victory lane: Ford executives have put a new twist on the female side of the NASCAR diversity program, by declaring it a battle now to become the first Detroit automaker to put a woman into victory lane at a Nextel Cup race. That considerably ups the stakes in the Ford-vs.-Dodge-vs.-Chevrolet campaign among women drivers. Dodge's Erin Crocker, set to make her Busch tour debut at Richmond in September, appears to have the upper hand at the moment. (Salem-Journal)
June 27, 2005
Chevy and Ford submit prototypes: Ford and Chevrolet have submitted prototypes to NASCAR for the 2006 season. Ford's car is expected to be named the Fusion, and Chevrolet will retain the Monte Carlo brand. The big question surrounds Toyota. The NASCAR rulebook says "any new car model to be considered for approval for competition in the 2006 season must be submitted by the manufacturers to NASCAR for initial consideration not later than July 1." NASCAR officials will not confirm Toyota's intention to offer a stock car. There has been talk that Toyota will pull out of the Indy Racing League at the end of this season, which frightens the big three American automakers currently competing in NASCAR because of the generous budgets the Japanese company devotes to racing. An announcement regarding Toyota's intention could come as early as this weekend at Daytona--perfect timing for the July 1 deadline. (The Sporting News's Lee Spencer)
May 22, 2005
Ford Vs. Kahne in Court: A case in U.S. District Court in Michigan provides an inside look at NASCAR contracts between teams and drivers. Ford has sued Kasey Kahne for breach of contract for leaving a Ford-backed team to drive Dodges for Evernham Motorsports in 2004. Kahne had a five-year contract with car owner Robert Yates and a supplemental contract with Ford before joining Evernham. Kahne's lawyers argue that Ford could not provide a suitable ride for him, allowing him to seek a ride elsewhere. Kahne's contract with Yates was submitted May 12 by Kahne's attorneys, who seek a summary judgment. The case is scheduled to go to trial in August. Kahne's contract with Yates shows it was signed Feb. 4, 2002, and was for the 2002-04 seasons. Yates' team had the option to extend the contract through 2006. More at (News-Rocord)
May 16, 2005
Ford Fusion in 06? Ford was to test its 2006 Nextel Cup model this week at a wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga. The test will determine how close Ford is to submitting the car to NASCAR. A name has yet to be announced, but sources say the car could be the Fusion. (SportingNews)nk, should it start half an hour earlier or something, I'm not sure. (Roanoke.com)
April 25, 2005
Ford to Roll Off Last Taurus in 2006: The last Ford Taurus will roll off the assembly line in the first three months of 2006, ending a 21-year run that has racked up nearly 6.7 million total U.S. sales. The news was relayed to employees at Ford Motor Co.'s Atlanta plant in an April newsletter distributed by United Auto Workers Local 882. With its jellybean shape, the debut 1986 model helped revolutionize American car design and pull Ford out of a financial tailspin. By 1992, it was the country's best-selling car -- a title it held for five consecutive years. (Detroit News)
Feb. 26, 2005
Ford Confirms new Entry: Ford Motor Co. officials confirmed Friday the manufacturer is planning on a new entry in NASCAR competition and expects to meet the July 1 submission date. Chevrolet has already announced plans to submit a new version of its Monte Carlo for 2006 and Dodge introduced its new Charger model this season. Ford, however, will not return with the Taurus, which has been its NASCAR race car of choice since 1998. "We expect to have a new car in 2006. The decision on branding is being decided," said Ford spokesman Kevin Kennedy. The most often mentioned entries for Ford are its Ford 500 or the Ford Fusion. (Mercury News)
