Fusion Quickly Blends In With NASCAR Fans
Dodges have won three of the last four NASCAR Nextel Cup races, but the new Ford Fusion also appears to be blending nicely into stock car racing’s top series that’s here this weekend.
Nine drivers are racing the Fusion and two of them, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth, are among the top 10 in the Cup points chase after seven races. Two more, Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler, are 11th and 12th, respectively.
Kenseth also won the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway in February for Roush Racing, and nearly won two weeks later in Las Vegas before being passed on the final lap by Jimmie Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Another Fusion driver, Greg Biffle, led the most laps at Fontana and led 49 of the first 82 laps at Texas Motor Speedway early this month before a crash with Kurt Busch ended his day.
“The Fusion has had a chance to win every single race this year,” Sadler said Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway, which hosts the Nextel Cup’s first night race of the year, the Subway Fresh 500 on Saturday.
“Circumstances have not allowed that, but the wins will come,” said Sadler, who drives the No. 38 Fusion for Robert Yates Racing.
Ford Racing rolled out the Fusion early this year, replacing the Taurus, at the same time its parent company, Ford Motor Co., introduced its new Fusion production sedan to the public.
It was the first time Ford had taken that step since 1968, when it unveiled the Torino for racing and sales.
In 2004, Ford Racing knew the Taurus’ days were numbered in racing, and that the Fusion was being developed for the public.
“When we saw the potential of the two happening together, we seized on it,” said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology.
The marketing ploy underlined how Ford and the other automakers still believe that what NASCAR fans see on the track influences buying decisions in the showroom. That’s true, even though today’s Cup cars are built strictly for racing and bear little resemblance to their street cousins.
“We know the brand loyalty is there,” Davis said.
“Our whole job is to help Ford sell products.”
That’s not lost on Toyota Motor Corp., which plans to start fielding a Nextel Cup car next year to bolster its already surging U.S. car sales.
Ford’s campaign could have backfired if the Fusion race car had run into trouble early this year. But the car seems to have seamlessly taken the baton from the Taurus -- which won 100 races from 1998 to 2005 -- and sidestepped the problems that have hobbled new entrants in the past.
For example, Ford itself struggled when the Taurus replaced the venerable Thunderbird, with drivers such as Martin complaining that the car wasn’t ready for competition. Chevrolet had problems when it introduced the Lumina in the late-1980s; Chevy now uses the Monte Carlo.
Dodge, meanwhile, brought the revamped Charger to Cup racing starting last year, but also allowed teams to keep using a 2004 version of the Intrepid, whose street version is no longer in production.
Some went with the Charger, some -- like Penske Racing -- stayed with the Intrepid, with both versions producing mediocre results.
But this year Kasey Kahne won at Atlanta and Texas in a Charger for Evernham Motorsports, and Busch drove a Charger to victory at Bristol, Tenn., for Penske. Now, Dodge has told its teams to use the Charger only.
“We’ve been able to polish the Charger,” Busch said Thursday before qualifying for the Phoenix race. Dodge’s three wins so far this year, he noted, “equal the number of wins Dodge had last year.”
Busch’s Penance
Busch this week completed his 50 hours of community service in the Phoenix area for a highly publicized reckless-driving citation he received near this track last November.
His work included a public-service announcement to encourage “safe driving in the community,” a pitch that was made jointly with the Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who was publicly critical of Busch after his citation.
Busch -- the defending winner of the spring race here and the 2004 Nextel Cup champion -- also held autograph sessions for kids and helped organized more than $10,000 of donated sports equipment for the area’s youth sports.
“The overall atmosphere with Kurt Busch in this community is definitely all buttoned-up,” Busch said, but he acknowledged that he still rubs many race fans the wrong way. Asked his reaction to the boos, Busch said, “It’s motivation to go and win the race.”
Southland Scene
* Racing resumes Saturday night at Ventura Raceway with five classes of cars, including sprints and modifieds. The program begins at 5 p.m., and adult admission is $14 with discounts for seniors, military personnel and students. Kids 6 and under are free.
* A week after reigning champion Tim Huddleston won the late-model season opener, the division will highlight a five-race program Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway.
Races are also scheduled in the super stock, mini stock, West Coast pro truck and pure stock divisions. The program starts at 7 p.m.
