Archive for the ‘2019 Press Releases’ Category

FORD GT WINS AT LIME ROCK WITH DOUBLE PODIUM

Posted on: July 22nd, 2019
Location: post
LAKEVILLE, CT – July 22, 2019 – Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe drove the No. 67 Ford GT to a heart pounding win on Saturday, in the IMSA Northeast Grand Prix, making it back-to-back wins for Ford Performance at Lime Rock Park. The No. 66, driven by Joey Hand and Dirk Müller, made it a double podium winning weekend, finishing third overall.
“Congratulations to Chip, Ryan, and Richard,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Ryan and Richard drove an incredible race and the team strategy was executed perfectly, under extremely hot track conditions, to get the win. Our team, at Roush Yates Engines, is proud to help deliver the engines and team support for the Ford Performance sport car program. This is a great sport we get to participate in with talented teams and drivers.”
It was a chess match of strategies on Saturday afternoon, most teams choosing a two-pit stop strategy, but the No. 67 took a different approach and choose a three-stop strategy, which proved to be the winning formula. Briscoe, pulling a long stint at the beginning of the race, kept the pressure on the leaders in the field.
Westbrook took the wheel for the last portion of the race, taking the lead for the first time on lap 116 and kept digging to build a lead on the field, preparing for the last pit stop of the race. After completing the final pit stop to get new tires, the No. 67 re-entered the field just behind the leaders. As the race time counted down, Westbrook made a stellar move to the outside of the leader and regained the lead on lap 175 with less than six minutes left, to lead the last eight laps of the race and cross the finish line 7.003 seconds ahead of the No. 912 Porsche.
“Ryan made my day a lot easier,” said Westbrook in Victory Lane. “He did an amazing stint and got all the hard work out of the way early. We knew we’d finish on better tires (than the leaders). The car was amazing. It really was. We did everything perfect today. The three-stop strategy; pit stops by the crew. I just can’t say enough about Ford CGR and this Ford GT.”
On a split-team strategy, Hand and Müller drove a solid race on a two-pit stop strategy, stretching their tires and fuel to the limits and finished P3 overall.
In addition, in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, the Ford Mustang GT4s ran a strong race with both cars finishing in the top-10. The No. 60 KohR Motorsports team of Nate Stacy / Kyle Marcelli finished P6 and the No. 40 PF Racing team of James Pesek / Jade Buford P9.
IMSA will have the week off before heading to Road America.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 366 WINS – 343 POLES!
* Photos courtesy of Ford Performance

STEWART-HAAS RACING PROMOTES CUSTER TO CUP

Posted on: November 19th, 2019
Location: post

MOORESVILLE, NC – November 15, 2019 – Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) announced they will promote Cole Custer from its NASCAR Xfinity Series team to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, whereupon the nine-time Xfinity Series race winner will drive the team’s No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.

“I was asked last year about this time what Cole needed to do to earn his place in the NASCAR Cup Series, and I said he needed to win,” said Gene Haas, co-owner of SHR with three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. “Well, Cole has done that – a lot. He showed that he’s ready to compete at the next level and we’re giving him that opportunity.”

Custer finished second in this year’s Xfinity Series championship, and 2019 has proven to be a breakout campaign for Custer. He came into the season with two wins – one in 2017 and another in 2018. This year alone, he has claimed seven victories, six poles, 16 top-fives, 23 top-10s and led 907 laps. Custer’s seven wins are the second-most this year, behind only Bell with eight wins. Custer’s six poles ties him with Bell for the most poles this season.

Custer, Bell and Reddick will resume their rivalry in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, with each earning a promotion from their respective teams to NASCAR’s premier racing series.

“Cole has certainly earned his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020,” Stewart added. “He’s consistently running up front, leading laps and winning races. The level of competition increases dramatically in the NASCAR Cup Series, but it’s where Cole belongs after having proven himself in the Xfinity Series.”

Custer has steadily advanced through NASCAR’s stepping-stone divisions, finding success in the NASCAR K&N Series, followed by the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. Being promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series is a natural evolution of his racing career, especially after such a strong 2019 season.

“This is the moment I’ve worked for ever since I first started racing,” said Custer, who began racing quarter midgets at age five. “I’ve learned a lot in these last three years in the Xfinity Series, and to be able to stay within Stewart-Haas Racing will make a steep learning curve a little less steep. I know the people, the culture and what’s expected of me. I’m ready for this challenge.”

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media

PRIAULX & TINCKNELL TAKE THE POLE AT SPA

Posted on: May 3rd, 2019
Location: post
  • Andy Priaulx (GB) and Harry Tincknell (GB) take pole position in the #67 Ford GT for tomorrow’s ‘6 Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps’
  • The British duo also took pole at Spa during the opening round of the 2018-19 WEC Super Season
  • The #66 Ford GT of Stefan Mücke (GER) and Olivier Pla (FRA) will start from sixth place
  • Wintry weather looks set to play a part in tomorrow’s race
  • The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps starts this Saturday at 13:30 CET

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, May 3, 2019 – Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell drove the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT to pole position at Spa today, taking the extra point for pole and setting themselves up for a strong start to tomorrow’s six-hour World Endurance Championship race. This is the second pole position at Spa for the British duo during the WEC Super Season. The #66 Ford GT of Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla – the race winner last time out at Spa – will start from sixth place on the grid.


Wintry weather is forecast at Spa overnight, which could make for an interesting race day for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps but whatever the weather, the #67 Ford GT will start from the front.

“Today’s result is actually a bit of a surprise!” said WEC Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell. “When we saw the time the BMW did we thought we couldn’t match that but the strategy of doing three runs paid off very well and Andy and Harry both did mega laps, delivering a fantastic result for the team. It’s a shame #66 didn’t quite get the perfect lap but I’m really happy with the team’s performance.”

Priaulx and Tincknell know how to get the job done at Spa and two poles in a row will give them a lot of confidence going into tomorrow’s race.

“I’m so pleased with that, I’m shaking!” said Tincknell. “The car felt unbelievable in that session, as if it was running on rails. We’ve had a pretty quick car in the dry all weekend. We tweaked it a bit after each practice session and it still needed a little bit more after the last session this morning and I have to say that Wilks (David Wilcock, Race Engineer) and the engineering team hit the nail right on the head.

“We went all out to get pole today and we’re happy to take the extra point,” he continued. “It’s supposed to snow overnight and then it’s supposed to rain but let’s just see what happens tomorrow. We know the car is quick in the dry and we know that if we can turn the tyre on in the wet we have a fast car there too. We’re starting from the front which is always the best view, especially when it is wet!”


The 6 Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps underway tomorrow, May 4 at 13:30 CET.

*Courtesy of Ford Performance

BRISCOE WINS HIS FIRST RACE OF THE 2019 SEASON WITH STEWART-HAAS RACING WITH FRED BIAGI

Posted on: July 29th, 2019
Location: post
NEWTON, IA – July 29, 2019 – Chase Briscoe won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race this season, winning the U.S. Cellular 250 at the Iowa Speedway in the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi Ford Mustang.
“Congratulations Chase, Tony, Gene, and Fred Biagi,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Chase drove a great race at Iowa. He showed great patience and maturity as he positioned himself for the final pass. We are proud to partner with Ford Performance to provide the power for the No. 98 SHR Ford Mustang and could not be happier to see Chase back in Victory Lane.”
Briscoe, in the No. 98 Ford Mustang, worked hard to overcome a penalty at lap 151, for running over his air hose, that sent him to the tail end of the lead lap cars. Crew Chief, Richard Boswell made the call to take four fresh tires during the last caution of the race. Restarting behind race leader Christopher Bell, Briscoe battled hard to clear the field and stay close to Bell. The No. 98 made a veteran move off the bumper of the No. 20 and took the lead at the line, on lap 244 to lead the last 7 laps (244-250) of the race. Briscoe built a slight lead, taking the checkered flag 1.069 seconds ahead of Bell.
“Wow, it feels so good to finally break through and get this 98 car in Victory Lane,” said Briscoe. “I couldn’t believe all those guys used their final set of tires with almost 100 laps to go – Boswell made the perfect call and we had the tires we needed at the end. I can’t thank this team enough for all their hard work and for believing in me. They deserve this win.”
In addition, at Pocono Raceway, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole winner Kevin Harvick, from Stewart-Haas Racing, led 63 laps in the Gander RV 400 and finished P6. Ford teammates Brad Keselowski finished P8, Ryan Blaney P10, and Clint Bowyer finished just outside the top-10 in P11.
This weekend will be a double-header of road racing, as NASCAR heads to their second road course of the season, Watkins Glen, and the IMSA teams head to Road America.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 367 WINS – 344 POLES!
* Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media

Ford Performance, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Unveil Special Historic Liveries for Rolex 24 At Daytona

Posted on: January 10th, 2019
Location: post
DEARBORN, MI, – January 10, 2019 – Reigning Rolex 24 At Daytona champions Ford Performance and Ford Chip Ganassi Racing will compete with two special liveries on their Ford GTs at the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 26-27, 2019.

Both celebrate important moments in sports car racing history as IMSA kicks off its 50th anniversary year.

The No. 66 Ford GT of Joey Hand, Dirk Müller and Sébastien Bourdais will wear the colors of the Roush Racing Motorcraft Ford Mustang that John Jones, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Doc Bundy drove to a GTO victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1985. Jones won the IMSA driver’s championship title in the GTO category after dominating the competition that year.

The No. 67 of Richard Westbrook, Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon will carry a throwback tribute to current race team partner Castrol. The iconic green and red stripes are accented with the Castrol Edge logo and adapted to the Ford GT’s lines. It’s the first time the Ford CGR Ford GTs will sport special liveries.

“We’re excited to show off our Ford GTs in a new way, and at the same time join IMSA in celebrating its 50th anniversary,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.

The Ford GTs will revert to their traditional red, white and blue liveries following the race.

Ford CGR has won the Rolex 24 GTLM title two years in a row, bringing Ganassi’s Rolex victory total to eight. Last season, the No.’s 67 and 66 finished p1-2 for a double-podium after the No. 66 drove to the win in 2017. Ford claimed the IMSA WeatherTech manufacturer’s championship for GTLM at Petit Le Mans last year after Ford CGR earned five wins in the Ford GTs third full year of competition.

“I’m really excited and proud that Ford is doing something to celebrate the 50th anniversary of IMSA,” Westbrook said. “Ford and Castrol had a lot of successful history in those years, so for the two to come together and do something as eye-catching as these new liveries, I’m going to be really proud driving that car. I’ve seen enough footage of cars in that livery going around Daytona before the bus stop chicane was put in, which was a very iconic period of IMSA racing, so to be in an iconic car in that livery trying to defend our title will be something really special.”

Briscoe has a special connection to the new livery.

“Castrol was one of my first official sponsors ever, when I started racing karts,” Briscoe said. “It’s been great to have them on our Ford GT as a partner, but to run a Castrol livery like this is really something special. It would be amazing to get a win for them.”

The No. 66 team Hand and Müller also earned the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup (TPNAEC) title for the best-performing GTLM drivers in IMSA’s endurance races (Daytona/Sebring/Watkins Glen/Petit Le Mans).

“It’s always cool to have something new after running the same colors for three years. I love the red, white and blue, but it’s always cool to have something new,” Hand said. “Just having the cars in all white at the test, they looked great. I think it’ll be fun to have a throwback Motorcraft theme on the car, with those colors, I think people are really going to love it. For me, it’s kind of funny, because it’s a throwback theme, but at the same time, my grandpa owned an auto parts store and so did my dad, so I remember seeing the shelves full of Motorcraft parts and selling those parts to customers as they came in, then going back and getting parts off shelves and looking at parts numbers. It works out for me that I’ll drive a Motorcraft car at the Rolex 24.”

*Courtesy Ford Performance

Partnership Renewal | RKL eSolutions & Roush Yates Engines

Posted on: May 16th, 2019
Location: post

MOORESVILLE, NC, May 16, 2019 – Roush Yates Engines announced today it has reached a multi-year technology partnership extension agreement with RKL eSolutions.

RKL eSolutions has been an integral part of providing business management software solutions to Roush Yates Engines, since 2015 with the implementation of the Sage X3 (formerly known as Sage Enterprise Management) ERP system. This system has helped track over 4,000,000 parts during the past four years, making sure the right parts are in the right engines for race day.

“Sage’s integrated functionality has enhanced our ability to extract information from our data at a faster rate than ever before,” said Todd English, VP Strategic Partnerships and Marketing, Roush Yates Engines. “RKL eSolutions’ team continues to think outside the box to help us streamline our operations and provide accurate information back to critical aspects of our business including inventory management, purchasing, finance, and assembly, creating more accurate and efficient cost roll ups, a key aspect of business today.”
They are part of our winning formula, helping us track, manage, and develop accurate costing of our race winning engines, like Kevin Harvick’s 2018 All-Star win in Charlotte, NC. Roush Yates Engines and RKL eSolutions have won over 125 races together since 2015.
With more than 40% of our engine parts machined internally at Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, it is imperative that our ERP system has flexibility, traceability, and enhances our company’s productivity and bottom line.
“RKL is the complete, closed loop package,” commented Kevin Reyes, Director of Information Systems, Roush Yates Engines. “They are a true partner! We have worked together to develop best practices and solutions. We recently upgraded our SAGE X3 system from version 7 to 12 and the entire team at RKL, from operations to finance, provided a seamless transition.”
“With the increased business visibility from Sage X3, we have been able to sustain and overcome cost containment measures and changes within the NASCAR model,” stated Mary Ann Mauldwin, Chief Operating Officer, Roush Yates Engines. “We now get powerful and accurate information daily to direct key initiatives within our company.”
Joe Noll, President of RKL eSolutions stated, “RKL eSolutions is excited to renew its partnership with Roush Yates Engines. Sage X3 provides the platform for us to help Roush Yates Engines optimize its business operations, from accounting through production, efficiently and cost effectively. With collaboration from Roush Yates Engines, we look forward to enhancing the software solutions and services we offer to all of our manufacturing customers and prospects.”
About RKL eSolutions
Founded in 2002 in Lancaster, PA, RKL eSolutions simplifies technology by representing a range of solutions including; Finance & Manufacturing software from Sage, Human Capital Management (HCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and the most widely-used network and IT products from Cisco, VMWare and Microsoft. When necessary, its software development experts customize solutions that pick up where “out-of-the-box” technology leaves off, delivering a turnkey solution for your company.From sales to accounting, in the warehouse or on the shop floor, and from the server room to the Cloud, RKL eSolutions offers the resources and expertise to support all of your technology needs – software, IT, and custom development all under one roof.For more information about RKL eSolutions visit https://www.rklesolutions.com or contact them at (717) 735-9109.

AUSTIN CINDRIC WINS HIS FIRST CAREER XFINITY SERIES RACE

Posted on: August 5th, 2019
Location: post
WATKINS GLEN, NY – August 5, 2019 – Austin Cindric won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series race this season, winning the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang. Cindric, became the youngest driver in series history to win at a road course at age 20.
“Congratulations Austin, Tim, Roger and Brian Wilson,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Austin drove an incredible race and displayed his driving experience in those last nine laps. Brian and Austin were well prepared with their race strategy and they executed flawlessly for the win. It’s great to see all three Ford Performance drivers with wins this year as we approach the 2019 Xfinity Series playoffs.”
Cindric in the No. 22 Ford Mustang was in the lead on lap 69, when his crew chief called him to pit road during the sixth caution of the race for fresh tires. After restarting in ninth, on lap 73, Cindric began working his way through the field. After another quick caution on lap 76, Cindric restarted sixth and quickly moved into second place behind the race leader. On lap 81, during an intense battle, Cindric was able to nudge the leader and took the lead.

“AJ is a hell of a race car driver, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy even if we got there with way newer tires,” Cindric said. “I’m just so blessed and appreciative of this kind of an opportunity at this stage, racing these types of race cars, and I hope this is first of many.”

All four Ford Performance drivers finished in the top 10 at Watkins Glen International, Team Penske teammates Austin Cindric in P1 and Ryan Blaney in P4 while Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Chase Briscoe finished P6 and Cole Custer P7.
In the Monster Energy NASCAR Series Race, Ryan Blaney, from Team Penske, finished P5 in the GoBowling at the Glen. Ford teammates Kevin Harvick finished in P7, Brad Keselowski in P9, and Aric Almirola in P12.
This weekend the MENCS returns to Michigan International Speedway while the Xfinity Series races at Mid-Ohio. Reference the full 2019 schedule on www.roushyates.com.

23 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 368 WINS – 344 POLES!
* Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media