FUMES

April 11, 2012

The Autoextremist Interview with Jamie Allison, Director of Ford Racing.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 4/11, 1:00 p.m.) Dearborn. As Director of Ford Racing, Jamie Allison has one of the best jobs in the business. Ford is most visibly involved on several fronts with factory-supported teams in NASCAR, Grand-Am, World Rally Championship and NHRA drag racing. Ford also supports numerous motorsports programs as well.

To most enthusiasts Jamie’s job might seem to be all fun and games, but it’s not. Far from of it, in fact. Jamie does get to be involved in a lot of cool stuff and attends races all over the country and the world, but If you’re director of a global auto manufacturer’s major league racing programs it can be one of the most politically charged jobs in the company. And the dreaded ROI (Return On Investment) hangs over everything like a big wet blanket.

Jamie was nice enough to take time out of his schedule to sit with me today (9:30 a.m., April 11, 2012) to talk about all things Ford Racing. So, let’s get to it…

Jamie, Ford Racing has made some big news of late on a couple of fronts. Ford was the first of the manufacturers to unveil its 2013 Fusion Sprint Cup car, and the announcement of Roger Penske moving to Ford in 2013 was hugely significant.

Q. Let’s talk about the car first, how did NASCAR come to understand that the Car of Tomorrow was negatively affecting fan interest? And when did the manufacturers start campaigning for a change?

Jamie Allison: Well, the adage is so true that the customer is king, and in this case the fan spoke, the fan arose and the fan spoke loudly. And NASCAR does listen and I think there are a lot of people out there who feel that may not be the case, but you know, I work very closely with NASCAR, with Mike Helton at the helm and obviously with Brian (France) and all the leadership at NASCAR – when the fans spoke about the disengagement that's going on at the track between the cars that they see and the cars that they drive, that was a contributing factor to move for a change. So, I mean, this is car racing, people drive cars, people love cars, and the greatest manifestation of the bond people have with cars is in racing. And to show up at the track and to see that the cars that are raced have become amorphous, have less brand identity – kudos to NASCAR for listening, and as we the manufacturers have stepped up and also spoke loudly about the lack of brand identity in our cars, in the cars that are raced. So the voice of the fan, the voice of the manufacturers coming together – was the impetus for the new cars in 2013. In terms of a specific time line, I can tell you that the Nationwide experiment that took place a couple years ago was kind of the catalyst to accelerate the voice of the fan, the voice of the OEM, when we brought in Mustang and Dodge brought in Challenger – and the fan reaction, the media reaction and the added parties that were interested – a lot of the Mustang buff books, and so on --- those three pieces are what started the 2013.

Q. The Roger Penske decision to switch to Ford is pivotal on several levels, both on the track and off. How did that come about?

Jamie Allison: Roger lives in the community, we all live in the community, and the community is southeastern Michigan. And there are relationships, the relationship between Roger, professionally and socially – and we, Ford Racing, have not been shy about declaring publicly our interest in adding a partner. We made two attempts, two prior attempts to align with additional strong independent teams to complement the strong base that we have with Jack. So sometimes when a window closes a big door opens, and so it was the case with Roger. The addition of Roger, and Penske Racing, and the strength that he brings with participation in other forms of racing, and the escalation of technology that's going on in NASCAR, coupled with the strong base that we have, we believe is going to position us whereby our combined teams are going to be stronger, separately and together, and are going to allow us to go and compete for the manufacturer's championship – something we haven't done in about ten years. And the fans – the Ford fans – are going to enjoy it.

Q. The big question about the Penske deal is what will Roger do about engines? He has a very sophisticated engine shop and clearly builds terrific NASCAR engines, what can you tell me about that part of the agreement? Will Roger be building his own Ford engines for 2013?

Jamie Allison: I think this is a very simple answer to a very strategic question. And the simple answer is that it's going to be up to our teams. Now, we clearly have a role and we clearly have a voice as a manufacturer, but ultimately we're going to let the vetting out process take place directly with our teams. So, as you stated, we have Roush Yates, very strong, very capable, very competent, as proof of what we've accomplished with the arrival of the FR9, and hats off to Roger and the Dodge team and what they've accomplished with a couple of cars in the field. So, I think that the ink is just barely dry on this agreement to have a position on this – there are certain options out there – and we're going to let the options sort themselves out, and I think in short order the teams will make a recommendation and we'll look at it.

Q. The other component of the Penske move to Ford is that Fiat-Chrysler’s Dodge division is now searching for a new racing team partner. I understand you may be helping facilitate that for your colleagues in Auburn Hills. Is there anything you can tell me about those discussions today?

Jamie Allison: We at Ford, in the true spirit of Henry Ford, in the true spirit of what we have within the company – we are a part of the sport, we're part of the industry, we're part of the family that is called – in this case – NASCAR. And it is absolutely in all of our best interests to make sure that Dodge remains in the sport. So I think we will put forth every effort that we can to facilitate any opportunity for Dodge to stay in the sport. So obviously we're aware of other opportunities that exist out there, but this is one of those – it is absolutely up to Ralph (Gilles) and the team at Dodge to sort through any opportunities that exist. And if there's any role that we can play at Ford, we'll help facilitate that by all means. 

Q. Ford Racing has been supportive of Grand-Am and continues to be. I understand that you’re about to change the game by introducing a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine in the Daytona Prototype class. What can you tell me about that?

Jamie Allison: You know, sometimes when you have something as – we refer to it as smart technology – but something that is as appealing to the customer base and the fan base – and something that's going to be part of everything we offer – almost every product line we offer around the world is going to be available with EcoBoost – invariably when you're a car company and you go car racing, you race what you make. And so EcoBoost is going to be – and is currently in – all forms of racing. It's in the Focus STR, the Grand Am class, in WRC with the 1.6 FIA regulations on that displacement, in Formula Ford with the small EcoBoost that we're putting in there. And it's in some of the applications in off-road racing. So we are looking at opportunities to take it to the next level. The promise of EcoBoost is performance, as well as advantages in fuel economy, without giving up on the attributes that one needs in terms of performance and mileage when it comes to some of the long-distance racing events. So Grand Am endurance racing – it is absolutely right for that application – our V6 3.5 twin turbo EcoBoost engine application could find itself as an opportunity against the competition because it offers smaller displacement, equal performance and better fuel economy than a comparable V8.

Q. You’ve made a noticeable shift in NASCAR as to the visibility of EcoBoost signage on your cars. What can you tell me about using NASCAR as a marketing platform for EcoBoost?

Jamie Allison: You know, when we live in the sport, when we live with our fans, we know that our fans buy more Fords, our fans love Fords, and their antennas are tuned to what we have to offer. So we are in a space with a lot of willing recipients to the message that we have out there. EcoBoost is a new technology and like all new technology its awareness is limited. So first, you have to get awareness up – so what better way than through the scale and the reach of NASCAR – on any given weekend, through broadcasts alone – it's usually the number one, number two rated sporting event on TV. So using the scale and the reach of NASCAR's marketing platform to get the message out about EcoBoost – that's number one. Two, is to put it in context – the balance of performance and fuel economy, which is an important factor in today's purchase consideration. So at trackside more people can experience our products, we have on-display products with EcoBoost, and ultimately we want to get to the next level of using motorsports – where we have enthusiasts, whose antennas are tuned to the technology that we have to offer as a manufacturer. We want to use the platform of racing as a marketing outreach to the fan base that says 'Hey, Ford has something smarter, something cooler and you don't have to give up performance just for chasing fuel economy.' So, look for EcoBoost on the next broadcast of NASCAR – and other places!

Q. Will we ever see Ford expand its road racing programs to include the American Le Mans Series?

Jamie Allison: I tell you – there are no exclusions, period. In racing you have to have your antenna up – I have to be an position to pick up all the frequencies of all kinds of racing – current, interim and in the future. So clearly we are in places that make business sense for us, given our position in the company, but I always, always remain very close to the development of what's going on in ALMS. I like what ALMS stands for in terms of technology – I like their platforms and I think when the opportunity is right – there are no preclusions but we're just looking for the right opportunity. We did explore a couple, as you well know. But it just wasn't right for us – but when the right opportunity comes for us – absolutely.

Q. I know you and others at Ford are very intrigued with the DeltaWing project and other future racing technologies. Tell me more about that.

Jamie Allison: You know, what I love about racing, what I know you love about racing and what our leadership at Ford who is very supportive of our program love about racing – racing has served in the past as an innovation platform – a platform to advance the pace of technology. And today, racing in some form also is a form of entertainment to a broad spectrum of fans. So there are different forms of racing for different audiences. I think – I truly believe – that the DeltaWing project is one of those innovative platforms. Kudos to the team, obviously like other OEMs we've had an opportunity explore, but I continue to assert that with what's going on in the industry, that I'd like to apply some of our innovation, consideration and opportunities at the next level, which is electrification. I think that's the wild, wild west of the future of racing. It's untapped, it's wide-open for innovators and we continue to keep our antennas tuned to frequencies that come in that way. So innovations – DeltaWing is one, electrification is the next frontier and we've got our antennas up, waiting for the frequencies. In some cases, we're creating our own frequencies.

Q. Okay, our readers would love to know, what car do you have coming to drive this spring? And even though you attend dozens of races a year, if you could only attend one race in a racing season, which one would it be?

Jamie Allison: Well, the first part is a very easy answer. Literally today, tomorrow or sometime this week I'm expecting the arrival of my newborn, and the newborn is a brand-new 2013 Boss 302 Laguna Seca. Ever since I was a young boy, since high school, I developed a special desire for the then 1970 Boss 302, a special car in its own right, you know, a championship car, and all the aura that surrounds it, with Parnelli Jones championship in Trans Am that year – so that left an imprint on me. Well, fast-forward 40 years later and the arrival of a car on the production side that we at Ford Racing – with the program team – have put in racing. With the Boss 302 racing in the World Challenge – you know, to have a car that I know that I can get in it, to feel like I am at the track – and I do drive on the wild side – and to resonate back to my childhood – I am just chomping at the bit, I cannot wait. The color? Only one – in my mind it only comes in one, which is School Bus Yellow. Now, if I could only attend one race – that is the hardest question I have to think about all the time – it's like having children and they ask you which one is your favorite. I'll tell you this - when it comes to the majesty and the scale of what happens at night – it has to be Bristol. You have 160,000 fans, kind of like the Roman Colosseum, you can stand right there and almost touch the cars going by – the proximity of the action – is something that has made an imprint on me. But I won't stop there because the four-wide NHRA drag racing at Charlotte, each car churning out 10,000 horsepower, that's its own majesty. There are also special ones at Daytona, Laguna Seca when it comes to road racing, because of the car, because of what happened back in the day. So I'm not giving you a straight answer because you know what? I don't have to pick – I can go to any and all of them – and I do!

(Autoextremist photo)

Jamie Allison in his office today.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Long Beach, California, April 5, 1998. Bobby Rahal (No. 7 Bobby Rahal Racing Miller Lite Reynard-Ford) hustles around the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Rahal would finish 17th (still running) after encountering issues, but his team car driven by Bryan Herta (No. 8 Bobby Rahal Racing Shell Reynard-Ford) would finish 3rd that day behind Alex Zanardi (No. 1 Target Ganassi Reynard-Honda) and Dario Franchitti (No. 27 Team Green KOOL Reynard-Honda). Rahal won three Champ Car titles (1986, 1987 and 1992) and he was also victorious in the 1986 Indianapolis 500. Rahal also drove to victory in the 1981 Daytona 24 and the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring, and he raced in F1, NASCAR, Can-Am and the IROC during his illustrious career.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

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