Published on December 19, 2012
NASCAR drivers continue to give feedback from testing of the 2013 models, and Ford Racing released a video on Wednesday featuring driver and technician reaction from the October test session at Talladega as teams grind toward the season-opening race at Daytona.
Sam Hornish Jr., who will be driving for Penkse Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, said that he liked the way the Fusion sticks to the brand identity of the showroom Fusion.
?Ford probably did the best job in terms of what NASCAR wanted,? said Hornish, who handled driving duties at the test for Penske Racing. ?NASCAR gave them the opportunity to give their race car a little bit more of the look of the actual street car. If you basically slinked up your car and made it into a street race car, this is what it could look like. I think they did a really good job of that and bringing out the character of the car.?
Vice President of Operations for Penske Racing, Mike Nelson, added, ?We?re excited about the Fusion and the way it looks. There?s a lot of buzz about it in the garage and in the shop, so it?s been good so far. It means a lot to the fans and it means a lot to us as well. It?s nice to be able to look at the street car and look at the race car and see the similarities between the two. They?re identical and it?s cool for everyone.?
That individual brand identity among manufacturers was a key element toward instituting this new-generation car, but questions about components like the cooling system was one of the main reasons for having the Talladega test.
?It?s been a challenge to get all the correct features in the car within the design parameters and still having the car competitive,?
said Ford Racing aerodynamicist Bernie Marcus. ?At the end of the day you can have the best-looking car, but if it doesn?t work on the track, that?s not going to be good so we have to have both. We have to have the looks and the performance.?
Finding the right balance that will allow the cars to remain competitive and put on a good show for the fans is NASCAR?s ultimate goal while making it to victory lane and winning championships is the primary focus for Ford Racing officials and its teams.
?There?s been cooperation to get to the end goal of making the cars look the same on the race track,? said Pat DiMarco, Ford Racing NASCAR program manager. ?We?ve done that over the past few months and now we?re working towards our goal of winning the Daytona 500.?
Ford Racing has won the Daytona 500 two straight seasons and three of the last four overall. The next chance for teams to test their superspeedway cars will be Jan. 10-12 at Daytona International Speedway.
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