February 29, 2012
(Nigel Kinrade, Autostock, 2012)
Editor-in-Chief's Note (March 1, 11:00 a.m.): In a completely unexpected development, Roger Penske is switching his allegiance to Ford in NASCAR beginning in the 2013 season. Thought to be unimpressed with the level of commitment he was seeing from the Italian owned Chrysler and its Dodge brand and questioning their future interest and involvement, Penske has found a new partner in Ford Racing and the Ford Motor Company. This is expected to be a tremendous deal for both parties. Ford gets serious, top caliber help to go up against the GM-Hendrick-RCR/Stewart-Haas juggernaut and the JGR-led Toyota boys, and Penske Racing gets focused attention from Ford Racing, known as the most committed band of enthusiasts participating in NASCAR. - PMD
DEARBORN, MICH. - March 1, 2012 – Penske Racing is coming back to Ford.
After a 10-year hiatus, Penske Racing returns its two-car NASCAR
Sprint Cup operation to Ford Racing beginning with the 2013 Daytona
500, and if its latest term is anything like the most recent one, Ford
fans will have plenty to cheer about.
Penske Racing, recognized as one of racing’s all-time great teams,
most recently spent nine seasons with Ford from 1994-2002, posting 27
wins and 33 poles among three drivers. In addition, its teams finished
in the Top 10 48.6 percent of the time (228-of-469 starts).
The organization first raced with Ford in 1976 and 1977, before coming
back in 1994. In total, through 524 NASCAR starts (509 Cup Series and
15 Nationwide Series) with Ford, Penske Racing teams earned 28
victories (27 Cup Series and one Nationwide Series) and 42 pole
positions (36 Cup Series and six Nationwide Series).
“This is an historic day for our racing program, and we are thrilled
to see another member of the extended Ford family coming back,” said
Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “Working together with
Penske Racing gives Ford another championship-level program, and we
are excited to take our racing program to all-new levels.”
Penske Racing officially takes the track with Ford in the 2013 season,
and the organization will be part of the competition debut of the 2013
NASCAR Fusion, which was first shown in Charlotte on Jan. 24, as part
of the Charlotte Media Tour.
“It was important to get this agreement in place early so that we can
plan ahead for the debut of the new 2013 NASCAR Fusion,” said Jamie
Allison, Ford Racing director. “We will work with Roush Fenway on the
final development of the new car during this season, but we want to be
able to have our teams building their new cars for the 2013 season
before the end of the year, as the transition to the new body is
taking place.
“With the operations and technology resources Penske brings from all
forms of racing, we know they will be a strong addition to our
program, and we look forward to working with them and all our teams to
create a stronger Ford NASCAR program with even greater depth.”
Added Roger Penske: “We look forward to joining the Ford Racing NASCAR
program beginning in 2013. We appreciate the long-term commitment
that Ford has made to Penske Racing and for their continued support of
the sport.”
Penske Racing was instrumental in bringing the first four-door sedan
to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the Taurus in 1998. As one of the
teams responsible for getting Taurus on track, Penske worked closely
with Ford and Roush officials in designing the car. They were rewarded
immediately as Rusty Wallace won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona in
the car’s debut race.
Wallace was Penske’s lead driver throughout the most recent time with
Ford, and it didn’t take long for them to find victory lane as they
won at Rockingham in only their second start. That was the first of 23
wins for Wallace, which ranks eighth on Ford Racing’s all-time list.
Wallace, who finished in the Top 10 in points every year during that
stretch, also dominated in qualifying, as he won 21 poles – including
a series-high nine in 2000.
The 1994 season was memorable as Wallace won a series-best eight
times, including three straight in June at Dover, Pocono and Michigan.
He also won back-to-back events at Dover and Martinsville in
September en route to a third-place finish in the point standings.
After expanding to a two-car team in 1998 through the purchase of the
No. 12 team from Michael Kranefuss, Penske oversaw the first series
wins for Jeremy Mayfield (Pocono, 1998) and Ryan Newman (New
Hampshire, 2002). Newman turned in one of the best rookie seasons in
NASCAR history as he won the All-Star Race and captured six poles
while winning top rookie honors and finishing sixth in the final point
standings.
“Penske Racing contends for the Sprint Cup title every year, and our
goal, with the addition of this program, is that Ford will compete for
the manufacturers’ title every year as well,” Allison said.
KV Racing Technology. The IndyCar racing team announced today (3/1) that Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello will compete in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series as the driver of the No. 8 BMC | Embrase - KV Racing Technology car. the team also announced that Tony Kanaan, the 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion, has signed a two-year deal. Kanaan, who joined the team days before the 2011 season opener, finished fifth in the series championship standings. He holds the IZOD IndyCar Series record for consecutive starts (148), which is ongoing. Barrichello, 39, whose Formula One career spanned from 1993-2011, is the most experienced driver in F1 history with 322 starts. He was runner-up in the Formula One championship in 2002 and 2004, and earned 11 victories, 14 pole podiums, 68 podiums performances, 106 top-five finishes and172 top-10 showings. "I am thrilled, it is something very new to me," said Barrichello, who has tested the new Chevrolet powered Dallara at Sebring International Raceway and Infineon Raceway in the past month. "I need to thank everyone involved, especially Tony because he has been involved for a long time. I would also like to thank my sponsors, BMC, Embrase and Locaweb for their help. This is a new experience, but I am very happy. With all my experience I will start as a rookie, but I think I will get better as the year progresses. My main thing is to be an addition to KV Racing Technology. They have been doing very well and Tony brought the team to a different level last year, so I hope with my contribution we can build on this and take the team to another level. I am extremely happy and have a big smile on my face."
(Nigel Kinrade - Autostock 2012)
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Best Buy Ford) celebrates winning the Daytona 500 late Monday night (actually early Tuesday morning). It was the 13th vistory for Ford Racing in the Daytona 500 and the 300th NASCAR victory for Roush Fenway Racing. It was Kenseth's second win in NASCAR's biggest race (2009) and his 22nd NASCAR victory. “It feels great," Kenseth said afterward. "We even went overtime a little bit since we didn’t quite go the whole distance the first time we won it. We had a really fast car all day and overcame a lot of adversity and problems with the car that we figured out. We had a great pit stop at the end that put us into position. It feels great. I wasn’t expecting to win when I woke up this morning so it feels good to be sitting here.” Next up for the Sprint Cup series? Phoenix next Sunday.
(Brian Czobat, Autostock USA, 2012)
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Best Buy Ford) and Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing 3M Ford) combined to lead a total of 94 of the 200 laps in their Roush entries during the Daytona 500.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Think bringing electronic fuel-injection to NASCAR was easy? Long overdue, yes, but easy? No. Read Gordon Kirby's comprehensive - and excellent - piece about it here. - PMD.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD
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