By Peter M. De Lorenzo
Detroit. Chip Ganassi, whose teams have not only won the Daytona 24 Hour sports car race five times, but seven of the last 10 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype Championships, will switch to the new Ford EcoBoost sports car racing engine package beginning next January with the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the opening race of the 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship season. The announcement was made Tuesday, November 5th, during the Ford press conference at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.
“We are very excited to be switching to Ford power for our sports car program,” said Chip Ganassi. “Over the last 10 seasons we have been able to experience a great deal of success in GRAND-AM and now with the dawn of the new United SportsCar Championship we feel that Ford power will be a key ingredient to writing the next chapter of our sports car program. I can’t wait for the 24 hours of Daytona to get here.”
The Telca/TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Riley Daytona Prototype will utilize Ford’s 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost® racing engine for the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (USCC), with Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas returning as the team's drivers. Pruett and Rojas have combined for 27 victories since 2007.
“We’re excited about Chip Ganassi Racing choosing Ford EcoBoost power going forward in sports cars,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “We believe they will be the perfect partner going forward to work with us to further develop the advantages of our EcoBoost engines.”
Ford EcoBoost - which is the company brand name for its direct fuel-injected and turbocharged production engines - has appeared on various Ford race cars around the world the past two seasons as part of a strategy to raise brand awareness of the growing Ford line of production engines, which are now available in 1.0-liter, 1.5-liter, 1.6-liter, 2.0-liter and 3.5-liter versions. Ford EcoBoost engine are available in 90 percent of the vehicles Ford offers to consumers.
"This opportunity with our racing program will highlight the core advantages of Ford’s EcoBoost technology -- its unbeatable combination of performance and fuel economy,” said Jim Farley, Ford executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service and Lincoln. “Chip’s sports car team is a champion in the sport, and we look forward to having Scott Pruett behind the wheel of a Ford again showcasing the modern technology and advantages of EcoBoost, on and off the track.”
The fact that the 3.5-liter V6 racing engine is production-based is a very big deal to Ford, because the direct transferrance of technology - from racing to the street and back again - is not only critical to this project, but for all future racing programs that the company gets involved in.
“This new Ford EcoBoost race engine shares 70 percent of its parts with the 3.5-liter V6 engine that a customer can buy today in their Taurus SHO,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. “This is Ford engine technology at is best – direct injection, turbocharging and high efficiency. And there may not be a better place to continue to develop and improve it than endurance sports car racing.”
“Partnering with Chip and his championship-caliber organization in this new sports car series is a critical ingredient to our Ford EcoBoost program in USCC,” Allison continued. “Chip's team has a legacy of winning in endurance sports car racing, excellent technical capabilities, and race proven experiences – all elements we were looking for to field our Ford EcoBoost racing program. All of us at Ford and Ford fans are thrilled to have Scott Pruett return to Ford at this stage of his career. He is a champion, and his record as a driver speaks for itself, and we know he will be a great asset as we develop this program in the coming years.”
Pruett returns to Ford, where he started in 1985 with two races in the IMSA GTO series. He was signed to run full-time as a Ford factory driver in 1986 and promptly won four IMSA and SCCA Trans-Am championships in three years before moving on to Indy car racing. His two career Indy car wins also came with Ford power, and his one full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series came behind the wheel of a Ford Taurus.
“Coming back to Ford is the perfect way to bookend my career,” said Pruett. “To be honest, without Ford, there is no Scott Pruett. Ford gave me the chance to drive my first real race car – the front-engine Mustang GTP in 1983 – and then they were willing to take a chance on me when no one else did in 1985 and 1986. It’s exciting to be back with them to work on an exciting new program like the Ford EcoBoost engine effort. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel in off-season testing and feel what I have been hearing all about.”
Michael Shank Racing was the first team to sign up to campaign the racing-prepared Ford EcoBoost engine, and MSR recently took the engine and the new-look Daytona Prototype car – created with Ford corporate design influence – to Daytona, where driver Colin Braun set a new closed course speed record of 222.971 mph, as well as FIA records for standing start 10-mile and 10-kilometer runs.
What does this mean in the Big Picture of things? The fledgling United SportsCar Championship has added another major engine manufacturer to its roster of competitors, in this case the Ford Motor Company. Ford has been in Grand-Am before this, of course, but the addition of Ganassi's team raises the company's profile considerably.
The Dearborn-based automaker, which has a long and illustrious history in motorsports, was said to have seriously considered a front-line GT program - a consideration that went right down to the eleventh hour - but the decision was made not to pursue that competitive direction. Instead, the company plans on showcasing its EcoBoost engine technology in a proven racing entity in Chip Ganassi Racing.
Is this move a precursor to Ford eventually making a serious effort to go back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and race for the overall win? The likelihood of that happening is slim and none, at least for now.
Is the Ford EcoBoost racing engine going to make its way into INDYCAR? The chances of that happening are even less likely than Ford returning to Le Mans.
Will the Ford EcoBoost racing engine give Chip Ganassi a shot at another overall win at Daytona and a championship in the new USCC?
That's why they play the game... and we'll see come January.
(Courtesy of Ford Racing)
The 3.5-liter Ford EcoBoost V6 racing engine.
(Photo courtesy of Ford Racing)
The 2014 Telca/TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates FordEcoBoost-powered Riley for the 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship.
(Photo courtesy of Ford Racing)
Scott Pruett checks out the Ford EcoBoost racing engine at one of Ford's dyno cells in Dearborn. With him is James Mazuchowski, Ford Motor Company’s Manager of New V-6 Engine Programs.
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
(Photo courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Daytona Beach, Florida, February 7, 1966. Dan Gurney (No. 97 Shelby American Ford Mk II 427) races ahead of Pedro Rodriguez (No. 21 North American Racing Team Ferrari 365 P2) and Jochen Rindt (No. 22 North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 LM) on Sunday morning during the Daytona 24 Hour Race at Daytona International Speedway. Gurney would set the fastest lap of the race in the pre-dawn hours, but would finish second (with co-driver Jerry Grant) that day, while Rodriguez would finish fourth (with co-driver Mario Andretti) and Rindt would finish ninth (with co-driver Bob Bondurant). The No. 95 Holman & Moody Ford Mk II 427 driven by Mark Donohue and Walt Hansgen, would finish third. The No. 98 Shelby American Ford Mk II 427 driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby would dominate the race - leading the 1-2-3 Ford sweep - winning by eight laps. Watch a (very) brief video here.
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