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Dearborn, Mich. — If you look long enough, chances are you’ll find what you’re lookin’ for. Need to shave another tenth off your lap time? Keep lookin’. Need a race to watch? Keep lookin’.
So went last weekend for Ol’ Sparky’s.
Never did shave another tenth off of shovelin’ the driveway—despite the many, many opportunities the multiple snowfalls allowed—but at least the Sparkster did find, well, some racin’ to watch.
Okay. It was a movie.
But there was some racin’.
Ol’ Sparky stumbled across that 1982, uh, classic, Six Pack, starrin’ Kenny Rogers as Brewster Baker, a dirt track racer who somehow ends up with six orphans as his pit crew.
And, of course, his success catches the eye of a Ford representative, and it’s off to NASCAR where, well, that’s about as far as the Sparkster stayed with it.
But, it was pretty cool to see some of the old footage.
In one scene, in the background, there stood Bill Elliott’s No. 9 Melling Ford.
Well, if Awesome Bill from Dawsonville is still racin’, then that footage couldn’t have been too old, could it?
There was some footage of the aftermath of a Ricky Rudd wreck, back when he was sponsored by Piedmont Airlines.
Okay, the footage was that old.
The best part, though, was that the Ford rep wasn’t with Ford Racing—oh, no. The rep was with Ford Motorsports.
And the hats; the hats were great.
Anybody remember those early 1980s’ hats. The foam crown was a good two stories tall, and the back of the hat was that uncrushable mesh. Anybody who wore one was instantly taller.
Those were great hats.
And, yes, the Sparkster is really missin’ racin’.
The good news is that the real racin’ starts again this weekend. The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will be run, and the Ford Racing NHRA Funny Cars are testin’ in Phoenix.
Also this week, the annual NASCAR Media Tour will be held in the Charlotte area. Journalists will get a chance to visit some race teams—including Roush Fenway, Yates Racing and the Wood Brothers—before everyone travels to Daytona next month for Speedweeks.
ENTER NOW
Ford Racing made a pretty cool announcement today during the media tour, revealin’ details for its We Race. You Win. sweepstakes. All race fans have to do is register online anytime between now and Nov. 15.
Here’s how this works: Each time a Ford Racing driver wins a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race this year, one lucky fan and a guest will win an all-expenses paid trip to Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. Then, one of those fans will be selected as the grand prizewinner of an all-new 2010 Ford Fusion.
Remember, the Sparkster has seen one of those ’10 Ford Fusions up close, and it turned a lot of heads in the garage at Homestead-Miami Speedway last November when it led the field to the green flag of the Ford 400.
The Fusion Hybrid gets 41 miles to the gallon of city drivin’, and can get better than 700 miles to a tank.
Impressed?
It gets better. It’s also won awards for its reliability and safety.
Again, every time a Ford Racing driver wins, a registered fan will win that trip. So, obviously, the sooner you register, the better.
And, as if you didn’t need any extra incentive, after the very first Ford Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup points victory of ’09, one fan will have the winning driver come to his or her hometown for a 2010 Fusion test drive and dinner.
Imagine that conversation:
Winning Fan: “So, Carl, what do you think of this 2010 Fusion?”
Carl Edwards: “I love the Fusion. I won nine times with it last year. And don’t even get me started on the fuel mileage…”
How cool would that be?
REVEALED
The other cool thing that Ford showed at the Media Tour stop was the long-awaited new Ford NASCAR engine, code-named FR9 which should see real action sometime after mid-season.
Now, the Sparkster knows fans want to know more about this new motor, but to put it in short form, it’s an all new motor—the first purpose-built NASCAR motor Ford has ever done for Cup. Spark’s sources say there’s not one thing … not one thing ... that will be carry-over from the current engine to the new one, except, of course, you consider all the brain power of guys like Ford’s Dave Simon and Mose Nowland, and Roush Yates’ Doug Yates.
If you’re wondering why the new engine won’t be at Daytona, the answer is two-fold: there needs to be more development, and well, the current engine is pretty dang good still. Either way, the new engine is officially on its way to a late 2009 debut.
While getting’ ready for some racin’, Ol’ Sparky went through this week’s mailbag.
Dear Sparky,
The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is this weekend. What’s the best way to watch a race that lasts 24 hours?
Vernon
Florida
Well-rested, Vernon. Well-rested. Forget watchin’ a 24-hour race, the Sparkster can’t imagine would it be like to compete in one. Ol’ Sparky once drove to Daytona in about 24 hours, but that was a long time ago and at least the scenery kept changin.’
This is a gruelin’ test for driver and machine, but the Sparkster expects that the Ford-powered teams owned by Michael Shank and Wayne Taylor will be up to that challenge. Andrew Caddell, who won the inaugural Ford Racing Mustang Challenge last year, will team up with Jim Click to run a Ford Mustang FR500C in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge season-opener at Daytona this weekend, and Larry Rehagen will also compete in that race. Now, if you want to stay up-to-date all race weekend, come on back to this website, and go look for Racing 'Round the Clock. Or, follow updates from Twitter's FordRacing_ITO. Or, at least that’s what people who aren’t still usin’ typewriters are sayin’ these days.
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