March 19, 2024

Ford looking for titles with upgraded NASCAR lineup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ford’s courtship of Stewart-Haas Racing was nothing short of clandestine.

No matter how Ford crunched the numbers, it was at a significant deficit in car count.

It hindered the manufacturer’s ability to win a championship — Ford last won a Cup title in 2004 — and new leadership recognized an immediate need to add a top-tier team.

With sights set on SHR, the Ford brass quietly went to work on luring a lifetime Chevrolet team to a rival manufacturer. It was never going to be that easy, but the Ford duo of chief technical officer Raj Nair and global director Dave Pericak didn’t know the lengths they’d have to take to court the team.

“The first time we visited, we had to stop in some lady’s front yard and change our clothes,” Nair told The Associated Press. “She’s looking out the window like she’s going to call the police.”

SHR held the meetings in its Formula One shop, which is detached from its NASCAR building. SHR officials made it clear early how serious they were about secrecy.

“When we would go in, they said, ‘Look guys, don’t be driving a Ford. Don’t be wearing branded stuff,’” Pericak recalled.

“But we’re wearing branded stuff because we’re meeting with other teams, as well. So we are literally changing shirts in this lady’s yard just to get into the building.”

Ford pulled off a deal, luring stalwart Chevy guy Tony Stewart into the blue oval brand and significantly upgrading its existing lineup.

The team gained 2004 champion Kurt Busch, the last driver to win a Cup title for Ford, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick, along with Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer, the replacement for retired driver Stewart.

The new partnership puts Ford at 13 entries in a 40-car field, and a fighting chance against Chevrolet and Toyota. Ford had just eight wins last season — seven came from the Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano — and only three drivers in the 16-driver playoff field.

In Chevys a year ago, SHR drivers combined for six wins and three spots in the playoffs. Toyota, meanwhile, had 15 wins and five slots in the playoffs.

Confident its roster is now on par with its rivals, Ford Performance has lofty goals for its NASCAR program.

So far, everything has gone to plan on the list of goals set by Nair.

He wanted new production cars, and succeeded with the GT350, the Raptor, the Focus RS and the Ford GT.