DEARBORN, MI – January 9, 2020 – No, Hailie Deegan conceded with a wide grin, she never expected that her competitive debut on the famous Daytona International Speedway high banks would come in a sports car.

But judging by the smiles and ease she showed Saturday afternoon speaking with reporters at Daytona between Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona practice sessions, she’s eager and mentally prepared for her IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race debut at the grand track on Jan. 24. The in-car skills and sports car initiation is coming together too, she said.

“I never thought I’d race a road course especially at Daytona, that was new for me,’’ Deegan said. “I always thought my first time at Daytona would be in an ARCA car but I’m happy to be here on the road course.’’

Deegan‘s ARCA Menards Series season debut at Daytona will follow the Rolex 24 race weekend and comes only weeks after the 18-year old Californian was formally introduced as a Ford Performance development driver. She will co-drive a Ford Mustang GT4 with NASCAR Xfinity Series frontrunner Chase Briscoe in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Daytona later this month.

In February, Deegan will compete in the season-opening ARCA Menards Series race that essentially opens Daytona Speedweeks – the green flag to a much-anticipated full season of stock car racing. All three of these young NASCAR stars say they are grateful for the chance to begin their season early, confident that the extra laps will only help their skillset.

“I’m really excited just to gain experience in these new cars,’’ Deegan said. “Just everything’s new. A fresh start. It’s waiting to get planned out, meeting new people, new faces, new relationships. I’m excited to grow the relationships in the Ford family and everyone that’s a part of it.

“One thing I haven’t really touched on in my career is road courses, pavement road course type stuff. Coming here and filling that base of what I’m missing as a driver as a hole is definitely going to help me be all around as a driver.

“I feel what makes a good driver is a driver that’s not just good at ovals or road courses they are good at everything and have that skill set. I think if I can just keep getting better skill sets to bring to my career, it will help even more.’’

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – March 25, 2020 – For now, NASCAR’s plan is to return to racing with the May 8-9 weekend at Martinsville Speedway, a Mother’s Day weekend that is scheduled to feature the first full NASCAR Cup Series race under the lights at Martinsville, the sport’s shortest track.

But whether it will be back racing May 9th is still somewhat uncertain. When it’s time to get back to racing, we’ll be ready.

“We’re concentrating on getting back to racing at Martinsville,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said last Tuesday in his only news conference following the postponement of races. “We’ll have to do scenario planning that will look different than that. Right now, our priority is to get back to racing.”

* Courtesy NASCAR 

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – January 22, 2020 – When Hailie Deegan makes her official Ford Performance competition debut next week in the IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race at Daytona International Speedway, she’ll be doing it in a throwback paint scheme of a Ford IMSA star that helped pave the way for women in racing.

Ford Performance unveiled the paint scheme today for the No. 22 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 that will be driven by Deegan and co-driver Chase Briscoe in the four-hour event Friday, Jan. 24.   The red, white and blue paint scheme is a modern throwback to the Jack Roush-owned Mustang IMSA GTO car driven by Lyn St. James in her breakout season of 1985, when she captured three victories, including the first IMSA GT win by a woman driving solo.

“We’re certainly excited to have Hailie officially kick off her competition career with Ford,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance.  “She had a great test a couple weeks ago and the pairing with Chase is ideal since he was in her shoes as a sports car rookie just a couple of years back and the experience has made him a more complete racer.

“To have the two of them in a Mustang GT4 with a Lyn St. James throwback scheme is very appropriate.  Lyn was a pioneer for women in racing, a winner on the track and a great Ford spokesperson for many years, so this is a bit of a tribute to her and her contributions to our Ford sports car programs in the past.”

“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this Mustang,” said Deegan. “My anticipation and excitement level was already sky high, making my debut for Ford in my first ever road race in IMSA, but now we add this cool throwback scheme honoring the only woman to win a major IMSA race solo and it is just that much cooler. I have a ton of respect and admiration for what Lyn St. James did to pave the road for racers like me. It will be really cool to drive a car inspired by her 1985 IMSA GTO Ford Mustang.”

“I think it is a really cool way that Ford Performance has chosen to honor its racing legacy,” said Chase Briscoe. “There have been a series of throwback schemes in different racing series by Ford and I just love the look of this one and the way it ties into Hailie being in the car with me and the success that Lyn had in this series with Mustang. I am excited to be a part of it.”

“I’m delighted that Ford is doing this throwback scheme,” said St. James.  “The whole goal of every race driver is to win races, and going into that 1985 season I was on the cusp of winning, and to get my first three IMSA wins that year really meant so much to me because they say that once you win once, the others follow, and that was true for me.

“I am certain Hailie and Chase felt the same way after winning their first stock car races.  You just want to win more.  Sports car racing may be different than what they normally do, but the mindset is the same.  I am excited to see them race and get to the winner’s circle.”

St. James captured six IMSA GTO wins in her career, all with Ford, including two GTO class wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.  She also competed in Indy car, including seven starts at the Indianapolis 500.  She was a consumer advisor for Ford Motor Company from 1981-96, and has been a tireless ambassador for women in sports, especially auto racing.

The four-hour, multiclass MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race at Daytona starts at 1:00 pm ET on Friday, January 24. The event can be viewed in its entirety via live streaming – TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold domestically and at IMSA.tv globally.

*Images courtesy of Ford Performance

FORD JOIN FORCES TO SPEED PRODUCTION OF RESPIRATORS AND VENTILATORS FOR CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS

DEARBORN, MI – March 26, 2020 – Ford Motor Company, joining forces with firms including 3M and GE Healthcare, is lending its manufacturing and engineering expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting coronavirus.

In addition, Ford plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week and leverage its in-house 3D printing capability to produce components for use in personal protective equipment.

“This is such a critical time for America and the world. It is a time for action and cooperation. By coming together across multiple industries, we can make a real difference for people in need and for those on the front lines of this crisis,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman. “At Ford, we feel a deep obligation to step up and contribute in times of need, just as we always have through the 117-year history of our company.”

Powered Air-Purifying Respirators

Ford team members are working with 3M to increase the manufacturing capacity of their powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) designs and working jointly to develop a new design leveraging parts from both companies to meet the surge demand for first responders and health care workers. This new respirator could be produced in a Ford facility by UAW workers.

To go as fast as possible, the Ford and 3M teams have been resourcefully locating off-the-shelf parts like fans from the Ford F-150’s cooled seats for airflow, 3M HEPA air filters to filter airborne contaminants such as droplets that carry virus particles and portable tool battery packs to power these respirators for up to eight hours.

Ford is looking at how it might produce these new-generation PAPRs in one of its Michigan manufacturing facilities, helping 3M boost production potentially tenfold.

“Working with 3M and GE, we have empowered our teams of engineers and designers to be scrappy and creative to quickly help scale up production of this vital equipment,” said Jim Hackett, Ford’s president and CEO. “We’ve been in regular dialogue with federal, state and local officials to understand the areas of greatest needs. We are focusing our efforts to help increase the supply of respirators, face shields and ventilators that can help assist health care workers, first responders, critical workers as well as those who have been infected by the virus.”

“We’re exploring all available opportunities to further expand 3M’s capacity and get healthcare supplies as quickly as possible to where they’re needed most – which includes partnering with other great companies like Ford,” said Mike Roman, 3M chairman of the board and chief executive officer. “It’s crucial that we mobilize all resources to protect lives and defeat this disease, and I’m incredibly grateful to Ford and their employees for this partnership.”

Ventilators

In addition, Ford and GE Healthcare are working together to expand production of a simplified version of GE Healthcare’s existing ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing caused by COVID-19. These ventilators could be produced at a Ford manufacturing site in addition to a GE location.

“We are encouraged by how quickly companies from across industries have mobilized to address the growing challenge we collectively face from COVID-19,” said GE Healthcare President & CEO Kieran Murphy. “We are proud to bring our clinical and technical expertise to this collaboration with Ford, working together to serve unprecedented demand for this life-saving technology and urgently support customers as they meet patient needs.”

Work on this initiative ties to a request for help from U.S. government officials.

Respirators and Face Shields

Meanwhile, Ford’s U.S. design team also is quickly creating and starting to test transparent full-face shields for medical workers and first responders. The face shields fully block the face and eyes from accidental contact with liquids and when paired with N95 respirators can be a more effective way to limit potential exposure to coronavirus than N95 respirators alone.

The first 1,000 face shields will be tested this week at Detroit Mercy, Henry Ford Health Systems and Detroit Medical Center Sinai-Grace Hospitals. Roughly 75,000 of these shields are expected to be finished this week and more than 100,000 face shields per week will be produced at Ford subsidiary Troy Design and Manufacturing’s facilities in Plymouth, Mich.

Ford is leveraging its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Mich., and in-house 3D printing capabilities to manufacture components and subassemblies for use in personal protective equipment.

Ford is evaluating a separate effort not involving GE Healthcare with the U.K. government to produce additional ventilators.

In China, Ford of China joint venture partner Jiangling Motors also has donated 10 specially equipped Transit ambulance vans to hospitals in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began. Ford is also reacquiring 165,000 N95 respirators from China that were originally sent by Ford to China earlier this year to help combat coronavirus.

Ford has also kicked off a working team to help hospitals locate and secure urgently needed surgical and N95 respirators. Ford has so far committed sending Henry Ford Health Systems 40,000 surgical masks while it locates additional supplies.

Additional companies and individuals who are interested in contributing to this effort can submit their information here at www.fordnewideas.com.

Ford, along with the companies it is supporting, will provide additional updates as these special projects progress.

*Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

BRISTOL, TN, May 29, 2020 – There is no driver more proud to be associated with Ford Motor Company than NASCAR’s Clint Bowyer, but this weekend that feeling will take on additional meaning for both he and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Mustang.

That’s because “Built Ford Proud” will be highlighted with decals appearing on the hood, decklid and both rear quarter panels of his Mustang during Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I have had the privilege of driving for each of the manufacturers currently in NASCAR and each of them like to call themselves family.  When you drive for Ford and you look up you see Edsel Ford standing by your car – he’s the actual Ford family. This isn’t lip service. This is THE family,” said Bowyer, who is now in his fourth year driving with Stewart-Haas Racing.  “I think that everyone connected with Ford sees and feels this. That’s why ‘Built Ford Proud’ means so much. It’s people who really care about their work and take pride in what they do, whether that is building vehicles or helping out their fellow Americans.”

The race, which will be televised live on FS1 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, is the ninth of the season and fifth since NASCAR returned to action on May 17.

“We’re honored that Stewart-Haas Racing and Clint Bowyer will run a ‘Built Ford Proud’ paint scheme in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Bristol,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service.  “Ford has always been a company that has risen up to help Americans in time of need, and we are very proud of the efforts of our employees who have stepped up to create PPE, ventilators and respirators for medical and first responders across this country.

“Clint and all the Ford Performance drivers have personally helped reach out to their fan bases with messages on what they can do to stay safe during this time,” continued LaNeve.  “We’re thankful they have joined us in this effort to help America.”

Since turning its attention to helping front line workers, Ford has developed new powered air-purifying respirators approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Ford has produced more than 400,000 reusable surgical gowns manufactured from material used to make airbags and other durable fabrics, and shipped them around the U.S. In addition, the company makes more than 1.5 million face shields a week and has shipped more than 20 million shields to all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Guam.

The company also just announced it finalized an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to donate 200,000 face shields to military bases across the U.S. and abroad.

On the track, Ford leads all manufacturers in Cup Series wins this season and has 37 all-time victories at Bristol, which is the self-proclaimed ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’ with drivers regularly turning laps in 15 seconds or less.

“You would have to really sell hard for me not to believe that short-track racing is our best product. It just is, and the reason I say that is because it’s so much fun, so demanding inside the car. The workload is through the roof for the driver and the excitement is there for the fans,” said Bowyer, who will be making his 29th career Bristol Cup start.  “You’re really wheeling that thing, trying to keep the grip under your tires, forward bite.  Trying to keep the thing turning.  Fighting the balance of the cars.  Fighting your crew chief all race long because you’re whining in the car, and he is tired of hearing you whine.  But all those things come together to win that race and be successful.”

Bowyer has been running competitively since the sport’s return to action, becoming the first driver this season to win the first two stages of an event when he did that in the second Darlington event last week.  He led a race-high 71 laps before hitting the wall with 34 laps remaining and finishing 22nd.

“The way we are running I think we can pounce on one and get one here,” said Bowyer.  “And trust me, there’s not a team that will party as much as the old 14 car.”

*Courtesy of Ford Performance and Stewart-Haas Racing 

DAYTONA, FL – August 28, 2020 – NASCAR heads to Daytona International Speedway for the second time in three weeks, but this time the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY drivers will be on the traditional oval as opposed to the road course they maneuvered previously.  It will be the final regular season event for the Cup Series with three playoff spots still up for grabs.  Here’s a look at some Ford notes going into the weekend.

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT DAYTONA
· Ford has 37 all-time series wins at Daytona.
· The Wood Brothers are tied for the most wins among car owners at Daytona with 15.
· Ford’s first win at Daytona was by Tiny Lund in the 1963 Daytona 500.

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT DAYTONA
· Ford has 6 series wins at Daytona.
· Ryan Reed has two of those wins (2015 and 2017).
· Austin Cindric captured the inaugural road course race two weeks ago.

FORD IN THE NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT WWT
· Ford has 2 series wins at WWT Raceway.
· Greg Biffle (1999) and Terry Cook (2001) have those victories.
· Grant Enfinger has one series pole at the track (2018).

SIX FORD CUP DRIVERS IN PLAYOFFS
As the series heads to Daytona for the final race of the regular season, Ford has six drivers that have clinched positions in the field of 16.  Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer and Aric Almirola are in while Clint Bowyer has a 57-point cushion for one of the last three spots.  Matt DiBenedetto is also battling to advance and goes into Saturday night’s race holding the next-to-last position.  He’s four points ahead of William Byron and nine points in front of Jimmie Johnson, who is currently the first driver on the outside looking in.

HARVICK WINS REGULAR SEASON CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
Kevin Harvick’s series-best seventh win of the year didn’t only give Ford its 700^th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory, but also clinched the regular season championship.  As a result, Harvick will get 15 bonus points toward his playoff total.  Harvick is now tied with Kyle Busch for ninth on the all-time NASCAR Cup win list with 56 victories and has posted 21 Ford triumphs in less than four years since joining the manufacturer with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2017 campaign.

FORD STILL ON FIRE
Sunday’s Dover sweep in the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series continued a torrid stretch of winning for Ford since the sport returned to action on May 17 at Darlington Raceway.  Since then, Ford has won 12 of the 21 Cup points races (57%) and 10 of the 17 XFINITY events (59%).  Overall, Ford leads each series in total wins (14 in Cup and 11 in XFINITY), and also tops both in the manufacturers’ standings.

FORD HIGHLIGHTS

ALMIROLA TAKES THE KING BACK TO VICTORY LANE
The first victory of Aric Almirola’s NASCAR Cup Series career came in the 2014 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.  The win, which came after rain forced a halt to the event after 112 laps, came 30 years after his car owner, Richard Petty, won his record 200^th series race in the same event.  Almirola had held the lead for seven laps and 14 of the previous 15 circuits when the rain began falling.  NASCAR waited 56 minutes before calling the race official.  The win marked the first for the famous No. 43 since 1999 and the first time it had been to victory lane with Ford since The King’s only season with the manufacturer in 1969 when he won nine times.

RAGAN RECOVERS FROM 500 SETBACK
Only five months after suffering heartbreak in the 2011 Daytona 500, David Ragan bounced back to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the July event at Daytona International Speedway.  Ragan, who was leading the 500 on a green-white-checker restart, was assessed a penalty by NASCAR after getting ahead of Trevor Bayne and then changing lanes before the start-finish line.  The penalty cost him a chance at victory, but he made up for that in July as he passed Ryan Newman with eight laps to go and held off Matt Kenseth on the final lap to win for car owner Jack Roush.

A FIRST FOR THE BIFF
Greg Biffle made his rookie season a memorable one when he registered his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in the July race at Daytona International Speedway in 2003.  Making only his 23^rd career start, Biffle played the fuel-mileage game to perfection while his closest pursuer, Bobby Labonte, ran out on the final lap.  In a race that saw the last 81 laps go green, Biffle assumed the lead on lap 140 and held it for the final 21 laps.  Jeff Burton finished second and Ricky Rudd third as Ford swept the top three spots.

FIRECRACKER GOES TO FIREBALL
When Daytona International Speedway hosted the very first Firecracker 400 in 1963, the first man across the finsh line was Fireball Roberts, who led a Ford Motor Co. sweep of the top five spots.  Roberts passed Fred Lorenzen on the final lap to win the race with Marvin Panch third.  All three of those drivers were in Fords while fourth-place finisher Darel Dieringer was in a Mercury.  Ned Jarrett rounded out the top five in his Ford.  This marked the fifth overall event in July for the speedway, which opened in 1959, but the first four were 250-mile features.  The fans got their money’s worth on this day as the race featured 39 lead changes between six drivers, but the best was saved for the end as Roberts and Lorenzen waged a major battle that saw them exchange the lead four times in the final five laps before Roberts earned his third July win at Daytona.

JUNIOR AND CALE DOUBLE DOWN
Junior Johnson and Cale Yarborough hold the distinction of being the only two men who have won at Daytona International Speedway in a Ford as both driver AND owner.  Johnson won a qualifying race at the speedway in 1965, but had on his owner’s hat when Lee Roy Yarbrough won twice in 1969 and Jimmy Spencer in 1994.  Yarborough won the Firecracker 400 in 1967 as a driver and watched John Andretti take his Ford to victory lane in 1997.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES SUMMER RACE WINNERS AT DAYTONA
1963 – Fireball Roberts
1965 – A.J. Foyt
1967 – Cale Yarborough
1969 – LeeRoy Yarbrough
1970 – Donnie Allison
1983 – Buddy Baker
1988 – Bill Elliott
1989 – Davey Allison
1991 – Bill Elliott
1994 – Jimmy Spencer
1997 – John Andretti
1999 – Dale Jarrett
2000 – Jeff Burton
2003 – Greg Biffle
2007 – Jamie McMurray
2011 – David Ragan
2014 – Aric Almirola
2016 – Brad Keselowski
2017 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT DAYTONA
1995 – Chad Little
2004 – Mike Wallace (2)
2015 – Ryan Reed (1)
2016 – Aric Almirola (2)
2017 – Ryan Reed (1)

FORD NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOORS SERIES WINNERS AT WWT RACEWAY
1999 – Greg Biffle
2002 – Terry Cook

*Courtesy of Ford Performance