Will Power wins weather-shortened ABC Supply 500 at Pocono

By Aug 18, 2019, 6:22 PM EDT
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Will Power won the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon after approaching rain and lightning caused the race to end prematurely with 128 of the 200 scheduled laps complete.

The driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet took the lead of the race on lap 107 and continued to pace the field until the yellow flag came out on lap 126. The win is the first of 2019 for Power, who extends his record of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 13.

“I’m over the moon, man,” Power told NBC Sports following his victory. “I had a few issues during the race, but we just kept coming hard.

“Full credit to the team. I kinda hung there, saved fuel, and when it was time to go I went.”

Power’s win Sunday was the third in four years at Pocono. Though he’s out of the championship hunt, Power wanted to win at least one race in 2019 to extend his streak of seasons with a victory.

“I simply just wanted to win a race,” Power said. “These guys [Power’s crew] have worked their asses off all year and just haven’t had the results.”

The afternoon was certainly an up-and-down one for the No. 12 team. After moving up to third before the first red flag of the race, Power had to pit before the race restart due to an air pressure issue, placing him at the back of the pack.

However, luck was on Power’s side when he made his first pit stop on lap 41. While Power was still in the pits,  Spencer Pigot hit the wall in Turn 1, causing the yellow flag to come out, which let Power exit the pits second behind Teammate Simon Pagenaud.

As the race continued, Power fell back to seventh place when pitting under another yellow, but he emerged from the pits with a set of fresh tires and made his way back to the lead by lap 107.

Power kept his lead over Scott Dixon through his final pit stop on lap 112 and held on through the final caution, which would quickly turn into the red flag that ended the race.

Dixon and Pagenaud finished the race in the second and third positions, while rookie Santino Ferrucci finished fourth and series points leader Josef Newgarden finished fifth.

Newgarden now leads Alexander Rossi by 35 points in the standings after Rossi was one of the five drivers collected in a multi-car accident on the first lap of the race.

All drivers would walk away from the accident safely, though Felix Rosenqvist was sent to a local hospital for further evaluations before being released a few hours later.

 

The NTT IndyCar Series now heads to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the final oval race of the 2019 season. Live coverage of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins Saturday, August 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Click here for full race results

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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).