Archive for June, 2019

CUSTER WINS POCONO

Posted on: June 3rd, 2019
Location: post
LONG POND, PA – June 3, 2019 – Cole Custer won the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Pocono Green 250 in a thrilling overtime performance at Pocono Raceway. The No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang recorded its third win of the season.
“Congratulations to Cole, Tony, Gene, and the No. 00 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Cole did an amazing job, chasing down Tyler Reddick and passing him on the final lap for the win. It’s such a privilege to be part of the Ford Performance team and help support these talented drivers with the power under the hood for the Ford Mustangs.”

After starting from the pole position on Saturday, Custer won the first stage of the race, on his way to leading a race high 58 laps out of the 103-lap race.

As a late race caution caused the race to go into overtime, Custer showed patience and maturity. Although, the No. 00 was passed on the restart, Custer made a veteran move, going low as Tyler Reddick took the final turn wide. Custer was able to pass Reddick on the inside, taking the lead and the checkered flag, .226 seconds ahead of Reddick, and clinching his first victory at the 2.5-mile track.

“We are hitting our stride,” commented Custer, when asked about the team in Victory Lane. “We have really fast cars and it is just a matter of doing it week in and week out and we have been doing it. We just need to keep going out there and execute.”

Ford teammates Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric also raced hard, to finish P3 and P7 respectively.
In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series five Ford Performance drivers raced their way into the top-10; Brad Keselowski P2, Clint Bowyer P5, Joey Logano P7, Daniel Suárez P8 and Aric Almirola P10.
The NASCAR teams will head to Michigan to race the first of two races at Michigan International Speedway this season. Reference the full 2019 schedule on www.roushyates.com.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 361 WINS – 334 POLES!

LOGANO WINS MICHIGAN WITH FORD PERFORMANCE

Posted on: June 11th, 2019
Location: post

BROOKLYN, MI – June 11, 2019 – Joey Logano won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, FireKeepers Casino 400 in a manufacturer’s shootout at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang recorded its second win of the season and Ford Motor Company secured the Michigan Heritage Trophy for the third consecutive race.
“Congratulations to Joey, Roger and the entire No. 22 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Joey drove an amazing race, keeping the No. 22 Ford Mustang out front for the majority of the race! We say it all the time, but it’s true, it’s a privilege to be part of the Ford Performance team, to support Ford Motor Company and provide the power to these Ford Mustangs every week. To win the pole and race in Michigan, in Ford’s backyard, is extra special to achieve this for the Ford family.”
During qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the fast Ford Mustangs set the pace with 8 out of the top 10 qualifiers. Logano with Team Penske won the pole, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola P2, Kevin Harvick P3, and Clint Bowyer P5, Paul Menard in P6 with Wood Brothers Racing, Brad Keselowski P8 with Team Penske, Daniel Suarez in P9 with Stewart-Haas Racing, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in P10 with Roush Fenway Racing.
After starting from the pole position on Monday night, Joey Logano won the first stage of the race, proving the No. 22 would be hard to pass, on his way to leading a race high 163 laps out of the 203-lap race.
As a late race caution took the race into overtime, Logano proved once again to be the leader of the race in the two-lap manufacturer’s shootout. Logano took the lead on the restart and never looked back as he took the checkered flag .147 seconds ahead of Kurt Busch to clinch his 23rd career victory.
Ford Performance marked history once again, winning the first ever race at Michigan International Speedway in 1969 with Cale Yarborough (Mercury) and Wood Brothers Racing, and on the track’s 100th anniversary Joey Logano and Team Penske recorded Team Penske’s 70th cup win with Ford.

“It feels so good,” commented Logano, when asked about the win in Victory Lane. “Winning at Michigan means so much to Team Penske and Ford, being able to pull into this victory lane and see everybody means so much.  A day like that, you don’t get all the time, best car, best team, we executed perfectly all the way through and ultimately to bring this Shell Pennzoil Ford into victory lane. I just can’t thank everyone at the shop enough, everyone that built this thing Roush Yates Engines, Money Lion, SKF, everyone that helps out during this whole thing.”
“It is easy to say that the Mustang has dominated MIS this year so far,” commented Pat DiMarco, NASCAR Program Manager, Ford Performance when asked about the team collaboration in post-race interview. “Kudos to our teams, collectively and collaboratively for developing the Mustang, along with our Ford Performance aerodynamics team and of course Roush Yates Engines. That is a common denominator to our success here among all the teams. We have the best engine in the garage and that power under the hood is a huge part of our team successes.”

Six Ford Mustangs finished in the top-10. Following Logano was Suarez P4, Keselowski P6, Harvick P7, Ryan Newman P8, and Ryan Blaney P9.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series this past Saturday, Paul Menard started from the pole position and led a race high 56 laps before finishing P4, along with Ford Performance teammate Chase Briscoe in P7.
The Xfinity teams will head to Iowa this weekend to race on Sunday. Reference the full 2019 schedule on www.roushyates.com.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 362 WINS – 336 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR media

WHERE HISTORY and DESTINY MEET – LE MANS

Posted on: June 12th, 2019
Location: post

LE MANS, France – June 12, 2019 – When the 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway later this week (June 15-16) more than 50 years of racing history and destiny will meet once again for Ford Performance.

Ford and the Chip Ganassi Racing team will face their biggest rivals and compete on the world stage at Le Mans for the conclusion of the 2018-2019 WEC (World Endurance Championship) Super Season.

This is a race like no other, bringing the best manufacturers and drivers, from around the world, together to compete in this historic 24-hour endurance race. The Circuit de la Sarthe (also known as Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans) is 8.467 miles long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world, comprised of partial race track and public roads including, 38 turns and the epic Mulsanne Straight.  Drivers, teams, and equipment will be put to the test like no where else. This is where legends are made!
With up to 70% of the lap time spent on full throttle, seeing speeds up towards 190 mph (306 km/h) down to 60 mph (96.6 km/h), putting immense stress on engine and drivetrain components, the reliability and performance of the Ford EcoBoost engine is more critical than ever in this 24-hour environment.
Ford will go up against the best manufacturers in the world; Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Chevrolet, and BMW. The LM GTE Pro class will be packed with 17 cars and 51 of the world’s finest drivers. In addition, this year the Ford GT will also be entered in the LM GTE Am (amateur) class with the No. 85 Keating Motorsports entry.
To celebrate Ford’s success at Le Mans a special series of liveries were created to mark Ford’s “Au Revoir” (“until we meet again”) to its factory Le Mans program.

Each of the four factory Ford GTs will bear a livery that celebrates the success of the manufacturer at Le Mans, both past and present, representing historic wins and podium finishes in 1966, 1967, and 2016.
In the fourth year of its successful Ford GT race program, which has seen Ford Chip Ganassi Racing win Le Mans in 2016, finish runner-up in 2017, and third in 2018, the US manufacturer aims to reclaim the top spot on the podium once again to write their name in the history books.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway on Saturday, June 15 at 9:00 AM ET (15:00hrs CET).

Fans will be able to follow the race from inside the cockpit of the factory Ford GTs as Ford’s popular Le Mans Livestream returns for its fourth consecutive year. You can tune in at www.fordperformance.tv.
Don’t miss a minute of the action!

*All photos courtesy of Ford Performance

FORD CHIP GANASSI RACING TO LEAD FORD EFFORT IN 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

Posted on: June 16th, 2019
Location: post

LE MANS, France –  June, 14, 2019 – The four-car factory effort from Ford Chip Ganassi Racing will start second, sixth, ninth and 10th in GTE Pro for the 87th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2019 edition of the race features the final works entries of the current Ford GT program that began in 2016, a combined effort by Ford’s UK and USA-based teams.

Leading the quartet of Fords was the No. 67 Team UK GT at the hands of Harry Tincknell (UK), setting a lap time of 3:48.112, just .112 off the GTE Pro pole. The red & white No. 67 is a tribute to Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt’s 1967-winning GT40.

“I’m happy,” said Tincknell. “We’re on the front row at Le Mans. I’ve been so focused on this race all year and ever since the test day I have felt like I’m really in the rhythm. The car did everything I asked of it and if you think back to this time last year we were practically turning the car inside out between sessions, but this time we have a really solid platform. It’s a good race car and a good qualifying car and although it’s a shame to make a little mistake to miss out on pole, I’m delighted with second. All three of us are fast so we have a great chance ahead of us.”

Tincknell, who set the provisional pole in the first round of qualifying on Wednesday night before falling to second on Thursday evening, is joined by co-drivers Jonathan Bomarito (US) and Andy Priaulx (UK).

With a time of 3:49.116 set late in Q3, the No. 68 Team USA entry will start sixth as Sebastien Bourdais (FR), qualifier Dirk Müller (GER) and back-to-full-health Joey Hand (US) seek a repeat of their 2016 victory and their paint scheme is back to what the team ran during the win.

“I think we accomplished what we wanted today because we ended up P6,” said Hand. “We thought we would like be in the top-eight because you don’t want to get too deep in the field. This is a tough group of GTE Pro guys and cars. It’s a 24-hour race, but it’s a 24-hour sprint race now. We’d like to move it closer to the front early in the race. It’s so tough to get a clean lap in during the night here. To get one clean lap is so tricky. We did work on set ups to get a good race car today, so we think the pace of the car is there. The key thing for this race is still not to make mistakes. You still have to run a perfect race here to win.”

Starting ninth in class will be the other Team UK entry, the black and white No. 66 shared by Olivier Pla (FR), Stefan Mücke (GER) and Billy Johnson (US) that honors Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon’s 1966 victory.

“I did a qualifying run at the beginning of that last session but had to abort my quick lap when there was a slow zone,” said Mücke, who set the car’s top time of 3:49.511. “We worked on our race set up for the rest of the session before Olivier had another go at the end. Unfortunately, he caught traffic so we are starting somewhere in the middle but we know our pace is better than that. We will now review everything to make sure we maximize our race set up and to be as prepared as we can possibly be for the race.”

One spot lower on the leaderboard in 10th is the No. 69 Team USA GT driven by Ryan Briscoe (AUS) and Richard Westbrook (UK), as well as Scott Dixon (NZ), who qualified the car with a time of 3:49.546.

“It was a little frustrating,” said Briscoe. “I think we had a P3 time going early in the session, but we got caught up in traffic and never could get back to that in the night with the traffic and yellows and such. The car was strong on new tires, so it’s disappointing to be where we are because we had some speed. We need to work on the set-up a little more, but the important thing was the speed was there, and that was promising.”

The No. 69 pays homage to the 1966 second-place finisher of Denny Hulme and Ken Miles, which took part in the iconic 1-2-3 victory photo that helped amplify the tone for Ford’s Le Mans program.

Leading that program today is Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.

“We really worked today on getting the cars to be set up to race well come Saturday,” said Rushbrook, “You always want to qualify well, but it means less in a 24-hour race. Having a car that races well in long stretches is what these races are about. We have decent pace, but the secret to winning Le Mans is having a mistake-free race. We are excited. We will be ready.”

Also competing in Saturday’s race is the solo GTE Am Ford entry, the No. 85 Wynn’s GT of Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Felipe Fraga. The trio will start ninth in class.

*Courtesy of Ford Performance