With wins in last 4 races, Ford Racing’s Jamie Allison sees bigger, better things ahead, especially in the Chase

By Jul 20, 2014, 10:13 PM EDT
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When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series resumes at Indianapolis this weekend, Ford drivers will be seeking their fifth straight win and eighth overall this season.

With 19 races in the books, blue oval drivers trail their Chevrolet counterparts (nine) by just one win, and far outdistance Toyota pilots, who have managed just two wins thus far in 2014.

Ford has won four straight Cup races for the first time since 2001, and the eight wins thus far are the most for the manufacturer since compiling 11 victories in 2008.

“The fans are happy,” Ford Racing director Jamie Allison said recently in a media Q&A release. “In competition, obviously we are thrilled with the fact that we’ve won 4 races in a row and 8 out of 19 races.

“That’s more races than we won all of last year. We are carrying momentum as we approach the Chase.”

Allison is optimistic about Ford’s chance in the playoffs, but is also well aware Ford has not won a Sprint Cup championship since Kurt Busch did so in 2004 in the first year of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch’s title was the second in a row for Ford, which also won the Cup crown in 2003 with Matt Kenseth behind the wheel.

Admittedly, things have been rather cyclical in the Cup series this season. Chevy won the first two, Ford won the next two, then Chevy went on a five-race win streak between Kansas and Michigan.

Since then, it’s been all Ford in victory lane the last four races. What’s more, of Ford’s eight wins thus far, four drivers from three different teams have taken the checkered flag: Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano from Team Penske, Carl Edwards from Roush Fenway Racing and Aric Almirola from Richard Petty Motorsports.

“We have four drivers who are almost guaranteed to make the Chase,” Allison said. “We’ve got our foot on the pedal and the pedal smashed all the way to the floor. We are on a mission to win races, contend for the Championship and claim our first Manufacturer’s Championship in NASCAR in over 10 years.”

Allison would love to have all four Ford drivers make up the four-driver winner-take-all and championship-deciding race in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Which, by the way, happens to be known as Ford Championship Weekend.

“We’ve won on all types of tracks,” he said. “Short track, intermediate tracks, super speedways, and road courses have all been notched by Ford drivers. It speaks to the foundation and the strength of the Ford Racing program when you have different Ford teams all capable of earning wins and succeeding across all forms of tracks.

“All the teams share the same body, the same engine and access to the same set of Ford technical tools. And at the end of the day, we have great teams and great drivers in fast Ford Fusions. Beyond chassis and race car set-up and engine performance, the Chase and Championship will come down to flawless execution on the track, in pit lane and making the right calls during the race when opportunities present themselves.”

Even though four Ford drivers are in the Chase, that doesn’t mean that’s it for the blue oval teams. Allison wants to see several more drivers make the playoffs – and would take great pleasure if that means keeping more competing Chevy and Toyota drivers from making the Chase.

“Because we’re guaranteed to be in the Chase with four drivers, the remaining seven races provide an opportunity to get other Ford drivers into the Chase, and we are well positioned to do so,” Allison said. “Marcos Ambrose can certainly win Watkins Glen.  Greg Biffle is a threat at any track. And Ricky Stenhouse is running stronger lately and only needs one win to get in, and he’s very capable of pulling that off.

“So our mission is to get the remaining Ford drivers into the Chase.  For the teams already in the Chase, this is now an opportunity for preparation, which means testing especially at Chase tracks and extensive chassis and engine development so that we’re prepared for success when we charge into the playoffs.”

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).