Top 20 Countdown: No. 16 Jeff Burton (Yahoo! Sports)
January 27, 2012
Editor’s note: Yahoo! Sports is counting down the best 20 drivers of the 2012 season, as predicted by the Yahoo! Sports NASCAR staff: Jay Hart, Jay Busbee, Nick Bromberg and Geoffrey Miller. The countdown will conclude Feb. 17 with the unveiling of the No. 1 driver.
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(Getty Images) 2011 statistics Finish Poles Wins Best five Prime 10 20 two five The countdownNo. 20: Marcos Ambrose   |   Profession statsNo. 19: Kurt Busch   |   Profession statsNo. 18: Martin Truex Jr.   |   Profession statsNo. 17: Juan Pablo Montoya   |   Profession statsNo. 16: Jeff Burton   |   Profession statsNo. 15: Revealed Monday, Jan. 30
2011 finish: 20th
Our 2012 predictions:&bull Jay Hart: 14th&bull Jay Busbee: 20th &bull Nick Bromberg: 18th&bull Geoffrey Miller: 13th
Crew chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Offseason action: Lost Clint Bowyer as a teammate gained Blickensderfer as his new crew chief.
2012 outlook: Was everyone more excited for the 2011 season to end than Burton?
Without having question, 2011 was one particular of the worst seasons in Burton’s 18-year Cup profession. His 1st top ten didn’t come till Aug. 15, he only had four more following that and wound up 20th in the standings &ndash his lowest finish considering that his sophomore season back in 1995.
In brief, it was a nightmare from starting to pretty much the end for a driver used to operating up front.
The “almost the end” portion is the fantastic news for Burton. Mainly because although the initial eight and a half months were miserable, Burton posted top 10s in 4 of the final 5 races of 2011, which includes a close to win at Talladega in October.
To get back to running up front, Burton must gel with new crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, who’s a bit of an enigma himself. Blickensderfer won his initial two races as a Cup crew chief, including the 2009 Daytona 500 with Matt Kenseth, but due to the fact then has skilled a rocky road. Jack Roush yanked him from Kenseth’s pit box just a single race into the 2010 season, relegated him to the Nationwide Series, then gave him yet another Cup chance with David Ragan.
Now Blickensderfer is on the move to Richard Childress Racing, which is one auto lighter with the departure of Clint Bowyer and the No. 33, which presumably indicates Burton and the 31 will get that much much more attention.
The question Burton faces in 2012 is regardless of whether 2011 was an aberration or, at 44, are his expertise on the decline? Contemplating he’s produced the Chase in 4 of the last six years, Burton deserves the advantage of the doubt.
Point of interest: Burton’s winless streak sits at 113 races. His final win came at Charlotte on Oct. 11, 2008.
Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Ward Burton to race NASCAR Truck Series at Daytona
January 27, 2012
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton is acquiring back behind the wheel in NASCAR. He’s bringing his son along, too.
Burton signed with Hillman Racing and will drive in next month’s season opening Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Hillman also agreed to start off a driver development system for Burton’s 19-year-old son, Jeb.
Jeb Burton has been racing in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series and ultimately will drive Hillman’s No. 27 Chevrolet in the Truck Series.
Ward Burton final competed in a Sprint Cup race in 2007. He has made 375 begins at NASCAR’s leading level, earning 5 wins and 24 prime-5 finishes. Burton also has 4 Nationwide Series victories in 161 starts.
Driver specifics for the rest of the season will be announced later.
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Dalziel captures pole for 24-hour race at Daytona
January 26, 2012
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Ryan Dalziel’s qualifying efficiency wassomewhat surprising.
He knew his vehicle was fast, but given that the team had just two weeks to tuneit and then failed to turn a lap in the 1st practice session since of enginefailure, sitting on the pole was hardly expected.
Nonetheless, Dalziel bested Max Angelelli, Chip Ganassi’s two-auto powerhouseteam and IndyCar regular Ryan Hunter-Reay on the road course at DaytonaInternational Speedway.
Dalziel turned a quick lap of 1 minute, 41.119 seconds in Thursday’squalifying session. He will lead the field to the green flag for the 50thrunning of the about-the-clock occasion. The race begins Saturday and ends Sunday.
“To get the pole is very rewarding, but it’s a long race,” mentioned Dalziel,who drives for Starworks Motorsport. “The pole doesn’t mean too considerably. It provesto us that we have a rapidly car, but we already knew we had a trustworthy car and hada great crew.”
Angelelli will be on the outside pole. Scott Dixon will start off third in oneof Ganassi’s two entries.
Ganassi’s other auto, the one driven primarily by two-time defending serieschampions Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, will commence close to the back of the class.The car blew an engine in practice and failed to make a qualifying lap in the DPclass.
Hunter-Reay qualified ninth following landing a last-minute deal to driveanother car for Starworks. It looked as if Hunter-Reay, who had been slated todrive with IndyCar regulars Tony Kanaan and E.J. Viso, would miss the eventafter funding fell via. But team owner Peter Baron asked Hunter-Reay to stepinto an additional ride.
Andrew Davis topped qualifying in the GT class, edging Jeff Segal and NASCARrookie of the year Andy Lally.
The GT class could have as numerous as 46 vehicles in the starting lineup. The DPclass is considerably smaller at 14, and Dalziel believes his team can competewith anybody.
Dalziel gained confidence last September when he and teammate EnzoPotolicchio won the Grand-Am finale in Lexington, Ohio, giving StarworksMotorsport its third victory in seven seasons.
“Last year, we deserved to get far more outcomes than we did,” Dalziel mentioned.“I consider from time to time the underdogs are not expected to beat the powerhouse teams.But what’s occurred with Starworks the past 4 or five months is we’ve triedto create a powerhouse team. I consider we’ve hired all the appropriate persons and puttogether an unbelievable vehicle.
“I believe the (No. 
car is going to be a contender not only this weekend,but it’s going to be a contender for every single race this year. I don’t consider we havea weak link in our chain. I actually am pretty excited about this.”
Starworks got the new Ford Riley chassis in December, had the body fitted inJanuary and only got an hour of seat time just before qualifying.
“I assume everyone’s a small bit unsure what to expect at this point,”Dalziel said. “I’m certain we’re going to find out fairly quickly when we getstarted right here. It’ll be interesting to see if everybody genuinely did run flatout.”
Angelelli, who has completed second in the series the past two years, wasdisappointed with his qualifying effort.
“I wasn’t expecting ending in P2,” he stated. “I nonetheless really feel our auto isreally good, is truly rapid. I nevertheless really feel for the 24 hour, we’ll be the auto tobeat.”
Like Dalziel, Angelelli also isn’t positive what to anticipate with so several new carsmaking their Grand-Am debut.
“We have no thought what’s going to take place or what could happen,” Angelellisaid. “We’ve never run longer than a single hour and we’re going to have yet another 23to go. So I’m expecting troubles for everyone. I can’t believe we’ll see carsfinishing the race with out an concern.”
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Judge tosses verdict against New Hampshire track
January 26, 2012
CONCORD, N.H. (AP)—A judge has thrown out a verdict that would haverequired New Hampshire Motor Speedway to spend nearly $1 million to cancel itscontract with Motor Racing Network.
A jury awarded MRN $993,724 last September simply because New Hampshire did notmeet a 3-year notice of termination when Speedway Motorsports Inc. boughtthe track in 2008. SMI wanted its radio network—the Efficiency Racing Network— to broadcast NASCAR events at the track.
New Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard McNamara presided more than the trial,but threw out the verdict in a Wednesday ruling.
McNamara wrote the jury based its award on MRN’s projected lost earnings, andthat can’t be a basis for damages.
International Speedway Corp., which owns MRN, mentioned in a statement it willappeal the ruling.
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RPM forms Nationwide team for Michael Annett
January 26, 2012
CONCORD, N.C. (AP)—Richard Petty Motorsports has formed a Nationwide Series team for Michael Annett. His auto will be sponsored by Pilot Flying J and will run for the Nationwide championship.
Annett spent last season with Rusty Wallace, Inc. He had 13 top rated-10 finishes and was ninth in the final championship standings. RWI announced earlier this month it does not have the sponsorship to race this season.
RPM fields vehicles in the elite Sprint Cup Series for Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose.
Annett began racing in the ARCA Series in 2007 and won at Talladega in only his fourth begin. He moved to the Nationwide Series in 2009 with Germain Racing and spent two seasons there prior to joining RWI.
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Pruett looks to make history in Daytona’s 24 Hours
January 25, 2012
Scott Pruett will aim for the record books in the course of the 50th anniversary ofthe Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Pruett, a 4-time Rolex 24 winner, will attempt to tie Hurley Haywood’s recordfive victories this weekend. Pruett was component of final year’s race-winning team inthe headlining Daytona Prototype class. Along with teammate Memo Rojas, he isthe two-time defending Grand-Am Series champion.
“Tying Hurley’s record would be outstanding,” Pruett said. “It’s alwaysexciting—no matter what the sport—to be in a position to get close and then tie oreven surpass 1 of the wonderful records. Looking at the high quality of the teams thisyear, the Rolex 24 has turned out to be an extraordinary show.
“It’s going to take a lot of effort, and a bit of luck, to be able towin.”
Qualifying starts Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. Thetwice-around-the-clock race begins Saturday.
Pruett is once more element of the star-studded entries from the Chip GanassiRacing with Felix Sabates organization. He’s teamed in the No. 01 BMW/Riley DPentry with Rojas, IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal and sports automobile veteran JoeyHand.
The No. 02 team from Ganassi is made up of NASCAR drivers Juan Pablo Montoyaand Jamie McMurray and IndyCar stars Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.Franchitti and Dixon have combined to win six of the final nine IndyCarchampionships.
A year ago, the race came down to a fight between the two Ganassi vehicles.Pruett pulled away from Dixon on a smooth final restart to beat his teammate by2.42 seconds. It gave team owner Ganassi a Grand Slam of sorts in auto racing—it was his fourth significant victory in the United States in the course of a 1-year period,adding to the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Except for the Rolex win, Ganassi drivers were shut out of all these racesin 2011.
The Ganassi teams this year will be challenged by a five-vehicle contingent ofnew Corvette DPs, which was unveiled late final year amid excellent hype due to the fact ofbody styles inspired by Chevrolet’s production Corvette.
Two other heralded automobiles will debut this weekend with the Corvettes: TheFerrari 458 Italias and Audi R8s had been both built especially for Rolex Seriescompetition. Two-tome Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will co-drive 1 ofthe Ferraris, along with X-Games star Travis Pastrana, Rob Kauffman and RuiAguas.
The entry is a joint effort of the Italian sports vehicle team AF Corse andMichael Waltrip Racing.
“It’s Daytona, and there’s no place I’d rather race,” Waltrip stated. “TheDaytona 500 will often be the most essential race to me, but this weekend’srace is actually unique. I’m looking forward to seeing all the drivers fromaround the world. It’s like all the drivers you have heard about or seen ontelevision gather for this one particular race. Plus, I can’t wait to spend the week withRob, Rui and Travis. This is going to be a lot of enjoyable.”
Pastrana has never ahead of had the opportunity on his schedule to try therace.
“This is a prestigious occasion that I have generally watched and followed ontelevision,” Pastrana stated. “Friends like Jimmie Johnson and Boris Mentioned racedin it and it’s one thing I wanted to attempt. It’s often been held on the sameweekend as the first round of Rally America, so this is 1 of the 1st time’sI’ve had the chance to be element of the Rolex 24.
“Rob asked me to join the team and it didn’t take long to answer.”
The star-studded race consists of three-time F-1 winner Giancarlo Fisichella ofItaly and NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger. Representing the celebrities, it’s GTclass regular Patrick Dempsey of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and AC/DC lead singer BrianJohnson, a long-time historic/vintage racer who is co-driving a BMW/Riley in theDaytona Prototype class.
Last year, Dempsey shuttled back and forth from the race and the SundanceFilm Festival, capping the weekend with a prosperous premier of a new movie anda profession-finest third-location finish in the GT class.
On Tuesday, the occasion lost a star-studded entry when IndyCar driver TonyKanaan posted on Twitter that sponsorship had fallen via on the DP entry heplanned to drive. Kanaan was to make his race debut along with fellow IndyCardrivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and EJ Viso.
“Guys, however I will not race at the Daytona 24H this Saturday,”Kanaan posted on his Twitter page. “The funding that the Starworks Motorsportsteam had went away.”
It will be the 1st 24 Hour race that Hunter-Reay has missed since 2006.
In honor of the 50th anniversary, Daytona International Speedway hasgathered 29 of the previous 49 winning vehicles. On Friday, the parade of cars willbegin close to the Daytona beach and travel to the track.
Two-time Rolex 24 winner A.J. Foyt is Grand Marshal of the race.
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Kentucky Speedway still adding more parking
January 25, 2012
CONCORD, N.C. (AP)—Kentucky Speedway officials promised much more improvements Wednesday to stop a repeat of the parking and site visitors issues that tarnished last year’s inaugural Sprint Cup race.
The track expects to accommodate in between 12,000 and 18,000 a lot more cars at this year’s race.
Parking was problematic at final year’s race, and thousands of fans had been stuck for hours in site visitors. Numerous never made it to the track, and these that did arrive couldn’t come across parking.
SMI has provided a ticket exchange to anybody who missed last year’s Cup race. The unused Kentucky tickets could be applied for entry into any events at SMI tracks last season, or swapped for entry into the race on June 30.
Track officials have committed at least $11 million to infrastructure and parking improvements.
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Top 20 Countdown: No. 18 Martin Truex Jr. (Yahoo! Sports)
January 25, 2012
Editor’s note: Yahoo! Sports is counting down the leading 20 drivers of the 2012 season, as predicted by the Yahoo! Sports NASCAR staff &ndash Jay Hart, Jay Busbee, Nick Bromberg and Geoffrey Miller. The countdown will conclude on Feb. 17 with the unveiling of the No. 1 driver.
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(Getty Images) 2011 statistics Finish Poles Wins Leading 5 Leading 10 18 1 3 12 The countdownNo. 20: Marcos Ambrose   |   Career statsNo. 19: Kurt Busch   |   Profession statsNo. 18: Martin Truex Jr.  |   Career statsNo. 17: Revealed Thursday, Jan. 26
2011 finish: 18th
Our 2012 predictions:&bull Jay Hart: 19th&bull Jay Busbee: 17th&bull Nick Bromberg: Not ranked&bull Geoffrey Miller: 17th
Crew chief: Chad Johnston
Offseason action: Gained new teammates in Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin.
2012 outlook: Is this a put-up-or-shut-up season for Martin Truex Jr.? The answer largely depends on what Clint Bowyer, Truex’s new teammate at Michael Waltrip Racing, does.
When Truex signed with MWR prior to the 2010 season, it was seen as a watershed moment for the fledgling organization. Truex was that year’s prime totally free agent, and the reality that MWR landed him was a coup.
But in the two seasons given that, Truex has been mainly disappointing: no wins, a whopping four top-fives and finishes of 22nd and 18th in the standings. Hardly franchise-driver numbers.
Are the underwhelming outcomes the fault of the driver or the organization?
To this point, Truex has mostly been given a pass due to the fact he’s driving for a team that’s but to prove itself. Even so, that could all adjust with the arrival of Bowyer, regarded 1 of the greater young talents in the sport. If MWR’s newest franchise driver comes in and posts solid results suitable off the bat, Truex will be under the gun if he doesn’t do the same.
It really should be noted that Truex truly had a greater 2011 than his outcomes showed. He led laps in 16 races and posted only two fewer best-ten finishes (12) than newcomer of the year Brad Keselowski.
Truex’s greatest issue was failing to finish what he started. Too several occasions, he was in position to snag a solid finish, if not a win, only to have one thing go wrong in the closing laps.
Was that his fault or his team’s? Maintain an eye on Bowyer in 2012 and you’ll find out.
Point of interest: Truex is in the final year of his contract with MWR, as is primary sponsor NAPA. Whilst this year’s free of charge-agent field isn’t nearly as deep as last year’s, there’s 1 driver who will make any potential opening exciting: Kurt Busch.
Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Ganassi celebrates run of championships
January 25, 2012
CONCORD, N.C. (AP)—The celebration of Chip Ganassi’s success was supposed to be a surprise, an opportunity to collect his terrific champions and toast their exceptional runs.
The surprise was ruined, but the celebration will remain etched in Ganassi’s memory.
“It was one of the a lot more special moments of my racing profession,” Ganassi stated Tuesday, searching for the words to adequately describe his emotions.
Longtime partner Target final week brought Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti together for a two-day occasion in Minneapolis honoring their title runs. Vasser gave Ganassi his first championship in 1996, Zanardi added two a lot more in `97-98, and Montoya produced it four consecutive Ganassi titles in 1999.
Dixon started one more four-year run for Ganassi in 2008, and Franchitti added the final three IndyCar championships to the extraordinary reign.
The core group had an enthusiastic reunion dinner on the 1st day, and a huge luncheon with their Target partners the subsequent. The luncheon included a tribute video to the late Dan Wheldon, who drove for Ganassi for three seasons in IndyCar.
“So a lot of years, and so numerous championships for Chip, and so several friendships,” Montoya mentioned.
It was an emotional two days for virtually everyone involved for a variety of factors. Vasser and Zanardi built an incredibly tight friendship during their time as teammates, and despite the fact that Zanardi now lives in Italy, the two remain close even although they don’t see each other typically.
“Other people could reside 1,000 years and not expertise the intensity or the emotions of the 3 years I spent with Jimmy driving for that race team,” Zanardi stated. “It is by far the greatest memories of my racing career.”
For Dixon and Franchitti, it was a likelihood to sit back and watch the comedy routine of Vasser and Zanardi. Whilst it was a walk down memory lane, it was but yet another move toward getting on with small business once more right after Wheldon’s fatal accident in the Oct. 16 season finale. Each were close good friends with Wheldon, and his accident lingers more than the championship, Franchitti’s fourth overall, and the ninth for Ganassi’s open-wheel teams.
“We’ve reflected on the championship, and when I went to the Christmas party with the complete Target team, there was a lot of congratulating each and every other and all these sort of items,” Franchitti said. “But I don’t believe we celebrated it. When we consider about it, we are generally going to be connected (with Wheldon). That’s just the way it’s going to be.
“So celebrating or not celebrating is not that important. We’re genuinely just motivated to go out and win yet another.”
Motivation to win races and championships has often been what’s driven Ganassi, and he’s nevertheless looking for that formula in NASCAR. It’s the only series he’s however to locate constant good results, and last season was a black eye for an otherwise banner Ganassi year.
Aside from Franchitti’s title in IndyCar, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas combined to win their second consecutive Grand-Am title and were the anchors on but a different Ganassi victory in the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona sports vehicle race.
However, Ganassi’s NASCAR teams went winless. Montoya finished 21st in the final Sprint Cup standings, Jamie McMurray was 27th and Ganassi on Tuesday known as the general organization effort “just pathetic for a team with our potential and resources.”
“It undoubtedly wasn’t the initially year I’ve had accomplishment on one side and not on the other,” said Ganassi, who ordered sweeping organizational adjustments to his NASCAR operation. He released 3 top executives, hired market veteran Max Jones as basic manager, chose John Probst as technical director and lured Chris Heroy, a coveted employee at Hendrick Motorsports, to be Montoya’s crew chief.
Ganassi expects early and immediate improvement, and indicated he’s not done shaking things up if the outcomes don’t turn about.
“It was naturally time to make a adjust and we had to do it, we had to fix it,” Ganassi said. “We took a huge swipe at it, and I’m definitely content with the persons that we have now. But if much more modifications will need to be accomplished, we’ll do that as nicely.”
Nobody doubts he signifies it.
Franchitti known as Ganassi a single of the greatest motivators he’s had in his profession.
“He’s the driving force. A lot of the accomplishment we have comes from Chip’s determination,” Franchitti stated. “He hires the right folks and then puts them in the appropriate position and then gets on with it. He doesn’t micromanage. If you win and do well, he’s incredibly appreciative. If you don’t win, he’s not shy, he pushes you to get on with it and choose it up.”
And Zanardi, who came to the U.S. with the hardened individualist mentality so prevalent in European racing, credits Ganassi for opening his mind to a team atmosphere,
“When I started to drive for him and win the races, I had picked up a major head, you know, consider you are the ideal,” Zanardi stated. “It was always clear he gave me a fantastic opportunity, but I also thought I was helping him. I look at him now and realized he changed my life. Yes, we were winning and having great achievement, and at the time, I didn’t give significantly credit to Chip for having designed all that.
“But it’s his perseverance, his dedication to what he does, he pours everything into his racing … he surely altered my life absolutely for the superior.”
Ganassi deflected all person credit on Tuesday.
He instead praised his sales team, which on Tuesday announced partnerships with Banana Boat, Belkin goods and LiftMaster garage doors and filled all the main sponsorship for his two NASCAR teams. Anything is sold to the point that across all Ganassi’s organizations, the IndyCar races for Franchitti in Edmonton and China are the only opportunities for a possible new major sponsor.
Attempt pinning Ganassi down on what he does to make his organizations productive on the race track and in the business world, and he defers.
“It’s like laying bricks. One particular brick would be me. Yet another brick would be Vasser. Another brick would be Zanardi. One more brick was the management team,” he mentioned. “Those are all bricks that you build and 1 day you look up, you’ve added Montoya, Dixon and Franchitti, suddenly what began out as a brick is now a wall. A powerful wall.
“That’s what it’s about. It’s not about me at all. I in no way drove the vehicles, I never changed a tire, I in no way installed the engine or rebuilt anything. I don’t do any of that stuff.”
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Ford unveils 2013 Ford Fusion
January 24, 2012
CONCORD, N.C. (AP)—Ford on Tuesday became the initially manufacturer in NASCAR to unveil its 2013 car, rolling out a Fusion that closely resembles what fans can acquire off the showroom floor.
“The NASCAR Nation is made up of automobile enthusiasts, and NASCAR fans certainly really like to pull for a brand or make of automobile second only to getting in a position to pull for their preferred driver,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. “Today is a quite considerable landmark for us. It brings back the relevancy of NASCAR on the race track to what fans have in their homes and in their parking lots and garages and at their parking spots at operate.”
NASCAR officials worked with representatives of its four auto producers to attempt to make the Sprint Cup automobile much more closely resemble every single manufacturer’s production vehicles.
Ford’s Fusion was a joint project among the Ford Design Center and Ford Racing.
“We wanted Fusion to be the automobile that helped return `stock auto’ to NASCAR,” mentioned Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing. “I assume fans, when they see the vehicle, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to re-engage them with the sport and make the sport far better mainly because there is just a thing natural about seeing race cars that appear like vehicles in their driveways.”
The 2013 Ford Fusion mirrors its production auto. It is the third time Ford simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The very first dual launch came in 1968 with the Torino, the second was in 2006 with the newly introduced Fusion.
The 2013 Fusion has a redesigned silhouette and an identifiable front finish grill. The general proportion of the race vehicle now reflects proportions of the showroom Fusion, and the race auto has brand and style cues in the side of the car.
“It’s a fairly sexy looking race car,” stated driver Greg Biffle, who was behind the wheel of the Fusion for its unveiling and turned laps in the car around Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“My blood is flowing correct now. I am actually excited. I can’t wait to start out racing them and testing them.
Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have not stated when they will unveil their 2013 automobiles. NASCAR allowed the four automakers to remodel their race cars to make them much more brand identifiable, and Allison is particular the new vehicles will stand apart.
“The automobiles will not appear something like each and every other,” Allison said. “The car’s identity, the automobile’s definition, it occurs at eye level. Every vehicle will now look identifiable as its production sibling.”
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