pandr
03-02-2012, 04:52 PM
Penske charts NASCAR course with Ford
By Jim Utter -charlotteobserver
Thursday, Mar. 01, 2012
Penske Racing has not driven Fords lately, but it will next season.
In an announcement that caught many in NASCAR by surprise, Penske announced on Thursday it would move to the Ford camp beginning in the 2013 season.
Penske’s two-car operation in the Sprint Cup Series has been the staple of Dodge’s involvement in NASCAR the past two seasons, and Penske has done much of the work developing Dodge’s new 2013 Cup entry.
Now, the organization that helped developed that car will instead be driving a competitor’s next season.
“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.
Penske Racing most recently spent nine seasons with Ford from 1994 to 2002, posting 27 Cup wins and 33 poles among three drivers.
Penske’s contract with Dodge expires at the conclusion of the 2012 season, but most observers believed renewal was just a formality, especially considering the work put into the design of the 2013 race car, which is still slated to be unveiled next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Team owner Roger Penske said he and Ford have been conducting low-key negotiations the last several weeks, with no involvement from the drivers involved.
“When you take the contract ending, I think the chance for us in this particular case to be able to benchmark against someone like Roush and Roush Yates will give us a chance to be sure that we can be a leading team in NASCAR in the future,” Penske said.
“We needed to have a benchmark and I think that having that additional technical information flow through the process as Ford has outlined it to us, I think, was very important to us.”
Jaime Allison, Ford Racing director, said it was important to get an agreement done early.
“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,” he said.
Ford formally unveiled its 2013 car during the annual media tour in January.
The Penske move was also made to help Ford contend with Chevrolet, which has won the last nine manufacturer championships in the Cup series and 35 overall.
“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.
Dodge said it would continue to work with Penske the rest of the season in hopes of winning races and championships.
Penske has two full-time teams in the Cup series, with Brad Keselowski and A.J. Allmendinger, and two in the Nationwide Series with Sam Hornish Jr. and ride shared by Keselowski and Parker Kligerman.
“Our motorsports involvement isn't limited to NASCAR. We do value our NASCAR program and will be evaluating the opportunities available moving forward,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of SRT Brand and Motorsports.
“As those opportunities materialize, we'll reveal our 2013 plans, not only in NASCAR but in other forms of motorsports.”
C/P Thats Racin
By Jim Utter -charlotteobserver
Thursday, Mar. 01, 2012
Penske Racing has not driven Fords lately, but it will next season.
In an announcement that caught many in NASCAR by surprise, Penske announced on Thursday it would move to the Ford camp beginning in the 2013 season.
Penske’s two-car operation in the Sprint Cup Series has been the staple of Dodge’s involvement in NASCAR the past two seasons, and Penske has done much of the work developing Dodge’s new 2013 Cup entry.
Now, the organization that helped developed that car will instead be driving a competitor’s next season.
“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.
Penske Racing most recently spent nine seasons with Ford from 1994 to 2002, posting 27 Cup wins and 33 poles among three drivers.
Penske’s contract with Dodge expires at the conclusion of the 2012 season, but most observers believed renewal was just a formality, especially considering the work put into the design of the 2013 race car, which is still slated to be unveiled next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Team owner Roger Penske said he and Ford have been conducting low-key negotiations the last several weeks, with no involvement from the drivers involved.
“When you take the contract ending, I think the chance for us in this particular case to be able to benchmark against someone like Roush and Roush Yates will give us a chance to be sure that we can be a leading team in NASCAR in the future,” Penske said.
“We needed to have a benchmark and I think that having that additional technical information flow through the process as Ford has outlined it to us, I think, was very important to us.”
Jaime Allison, Ford Racing director, said it was important to get an agreement done early.
“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,” he said.
Ford formally unveiled its 2013 car during the annual media tour in January.
The Penske move was also made to help Ford contend with Chevrolet, which has won the last nine manufacturer championships in the Cup series and 35 overall.
“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.
Dodge said it would continue to work with Penske the rest of the season in hopes of winning races and championships.
Penske has two full-time teams in the Cup series, with Brad Keselowski and A.J. Allmendinger, and two in the Nationwide Series with Sam Hornish Jr. and ride shared by Keselowski and Parker Kligerman.
“Our motorsports involvement isn't limited to NASCAR. We do value our NASCAR program and will be evaluating the opportunities available moving forward,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of SRT Brand and Motorsports.
“As those opportunities materialize, we'll reveal our 2013 plans, not only in NASCAR but in other forms of motorsports.”
C/P Thats Racin