Dustyw85 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) INDIANAPOLIS -- Carl Edwards' 11-year run with Roush-Fenway Racing will end after this NASCAR season. The confirmation by Roush officials Sunday that Edwards will not be back in the No. 99 Ford had been long rumored but not substantiated because Edwards refuses to publicly discuss contract negotiations. He's believed to be headed to Joe Gibbs Racing in a new fourth car, but his contract with Roush does not permit him to announce his plans until September. Read More It's a good thing Ford got Penske, Roush is falling apart. Biffle, Stenhouse Jr, Bayne are mediocre drivers at best. Edited July 27, 2014 by Dustyw85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 If Ford pulled out of NASCAR would anyone notice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 If Ford pulled out of NASCAR would anyone notice? The France family would sure miss the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 If Ford pulled out of NASCAR would anyone notice? I doubt anyone would notice too much , since Toyota/Joe Gibbs and RCR are the big dogs. Toyota has picked away most of the good guys from ROUSH in the past seasons and the sponsors have followed. Ford leaving , similar to Fiat/Dodge, would hardly make a ripple. Attendance continues to drop at the NASCAR events and it will probably continue that way since the changing generation of American culture is not that interested anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coupe3w Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Now if Honda, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai and maybe BMW steep in then the changing generation might be interested. As long as they could use NOS, turbos, and a fart can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 If Ford pulled out of NASCAR would anyone notice? Quite a few, as a walk around the vendors at any major NASCAR event will demonstrate. The various manufacturers have legions of loyal fans, many of which have worn their various loyalties proudly for decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 INDIANAPOLIS -- Carl Edwards' 11-year run with Roush-Fenway Racing will end after this NASCAR season. The confirmation by Roush officials Sunday that Edwards will not be back in the No. 99 Ford had been long rumored but not substantiated because Edwards refuses to publicly discuss contract negotiations. He's believed to be headed to Joe Gibbs Racing in a new fourth car, but his contract with Roush does not permit him to announce his plans until September. Read More It's a good thing Ford got Penske, Roush is falling apart. Biffle, Stenhouse Jr, Bayne are mediocre drivers at best. Biffle's been good enough to win championships in both the trucks and the Nationwide series, and to be in "the Chase" pretty constantly. I'd say he's far above mediocre. As for the others...Ricky won back-to-back championships in Nationwide, and Trevor has Nationwide wins plus a Daytona 500 win at the Cup level. Right now, I'd say Roush needs to find whatever details are hurting their chassis, because even "falling apart" they have two wins and Car's guaranteed a spot in the Chase...again. I think JGR is slumping, losing some of their edge and visibility. Penske certainly has stepped up at Roush has faltered, but having seen Roush come back from rough patches previously (across a few different racing series), I won't give up on him anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydro Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 They should pull out and use that money to further their rally and other road racing ventures. It would probably be wise to try and wrestle the AMA Supercross away from Toyota. Sold out stadiums every event and it would probably would cost less than one Nascar team for the whole season. There's no R&D, you just display what is currently on sale, use a Raptor for half time stunts and bring the Ford Interactive Diesel to the events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Given that the Fusion is Ford's entry in the Sprint Cup series, and its sales have been rising, I'd hate to pull that much advertising of Ford's bread-and-butter sedan away from millions of eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coupe3w Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Why race at all? They should just take that money and put it into R&D at the corporate level to improve the production cars to take over the number one spot from Toyota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Quite a few, as a walk around the vendors at any major NASCAR event will demonstrate. The various manufacturers have legions of loyal fans, many of which have worn their various loyalties proudly for decades. Of course they do, and they'll continue to be loyal fans whether or not Ford is in NASCAR. Given that the Fusion is Ford's entry in the Sprint Cup series, and its sales have been rising, I'd hate to pull that much advertising of Ford's bread-and-butter sedan away from millions of eyes. Given that the Fusion in NASCAR has nothing whatsoever to do with the real production version (and everyone knows it) I question the value of that "advertising". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) Well, gosh...Ford seems to find value there, and if we trust their plan in terms of the slow-but-steady approach with Lincoln, and the lack of rwd platforms, why doubt that they get their investment returned in NASCAR?After all...just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's not good for Ford.I should add that I find it strange how often people here insist that car buyers don't even know which wheels drive their cars, yet "everybody knows" the differences between production and racing Fusions.Kinda boggles the mind.Whatever the case, Ford obviously had continued to find value there since returning from an almost-complete hiatus in the early 80's. Bill Elliott and the "aero bird" won races, set speed records, and I feel safe in thinking those elements helped to move some cars. Ditto the Taurus, and more recently, the Fusion.Both the Fusion and the Mustangs that run in the Nationwide series are among the most attractive cars (IMHO, the most attractive by far) in their respective series. That certainly doesn't hurt the corporate image. Edited July 28, 2014 by ZanatWork 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Time for my periodic "Ford family" speculation: The Ford family is in Nascar to take care of people that took care of Ford back when racing had a meaningful impact on sales. That's why Ford is still with Roush, Yates and--especially--the Wood Brothers. Is there any reason other than loyalty for Ford to continue to provide factory support to the Wood Brothers? Ford is in Nascar because of people, not because they're seeing any magnificent return on investment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stentgraft95 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I don’t mind Ford participating in racing, in fact I like it and I feel proud when they have success but I would be more than thrilled if they told the France family to shove it. The problem here is NASCAR. Growing up I was a loyal NASCAR fan long before anybody outside of the South had even heard of it. Growing up in Indianapolis I was a big stock car fan and could barely stomach open wheel racing, the Indy 500 was the most boring race around for decades. I went to my first Winston Cup race in 73’ at Talladega. The problem is that NASCAR is obviously biased towards GM in their rule tweaks and they continue to run a dated and unrealistic drive train for the selected cars. I understand the tubed frame and roll cage and that doesn’t bother me but the other crap makes the sport ridiculous IMHO. They complain that they’ve not recovered from the economic downturn and as such cite the empty seats but the staunch reality is they have a shitty product. I'll use myself as an example, I totally quit watching 7 years ago due to their blatant biased rules and bogus, inconsistent yellow flags. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Time for my periodic "Ford family" speculation: The Ford family is in Nascar to take care of people that took care of Ford back when racing had a meaningful impact on sales. That's why Ford is still with Roush, Yates and--especially--the Wood Brothers. Is there any reason other than loyalty for Ford to continue to provide factory support to the Wood Brothers? Ford is in Nascar because of people, not because they're seeing any magnificent return on investment. Well Richard, I hope you are right. And I would add, I look at the human side of Ford, (as Lee Iaccoa once said.."don't forget whose name is on the building" ) and that is one reason for my continued loyalty. What a unique entity in this day and age. As for NASCAR itself, I watch it, but if there was no blue oval in the field, I would not. And I always felt they lost something when the term "Stock" became totally meaningless. Think of the cost reductions that would br possible if they ever did revert to some reasonable definition of stock-no tube chassis, no non production blocks etc. Never happen, but perhaps Nascar should look at another class of racing. Something that might bring back validity to..."Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Think of the cost reductions that would br possible if they ever did revert to some reasonable definition of stock-no tube chassis, no non production blocks etc Think of the casualties when you put a stock chassis nose first into a concrete wall/safer barrier at 190 mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I cannot believe that Ford reaps no meaningful sales benefits from participating in what is America's largest, most popular, racing series. If Mullaly truly was going to axe Lincoln, then he wouldn't have allowed the money going to NASCAR if it didn't lead to some sales.I do think there's some human elements, and the Wood Brothers are something of a prime example...but they've given Ford a very attractive return in Trevor Bayne, who won the Daytona 500 for them a few years back, is successfully battling MS, and is every bit the fresh-faced representative that companies often look for. Carl Edwards has been similar, and I'll hate seeing him driving for another brand. In any case, the Wood organization gives Ford a relatively low-cost way to advertise their service division.Jack Roush is still all over the Ford racing efforts. The Roush/Yates engine team is currently supplying teams in all 3 major NASCAR series, ARCA, and even the Ecoboost IMSA motors...and that's just their "official" efforts. Jack's also done R&D work for Ford forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 If Mullaly truly was going to axe Lincoln, then he wouldn't have allowed the money going to NASCAR if it didn't lead to some sales. There is obviously some benefit but probably not enough to justify purely based on advertising bang for the buck. That's what Richard was implying, that Ford was only staying in it due to long term business relationships. Ask yourself this question: NASCAR Ford fans - were they Ford fans who follow NASCAR or were they NASCAR fans who became Ford fans due to NASCAR Ford teams? I would submit that it's almost all the former and not the latter over the last 20+ years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Or look at the inverse - would Ford lose current or future Ford buyers if they pulled out of NASCAR? I don't see a Ford fan buying a Chevy or Toyota just because Ford pulls out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 they've given Ford a very attractive return in Trevor Bayne, who won the Daytona 500 for them a few years back, is successfully battling MS, and is every bit the fresh-faced representative that companies often look for Yeah, but that came after about 30 years of unspectacular competence. Ford has treated the Wood Brothers better than Chrysler treated Richard Petty. Think about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Race on Sunday, buy on Monday can still work if Apple, LG or Samsung would build a car. A Samsung/Ford could race the Galaxy ... hummm.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yeah, but that came after about 30 years of unspectacular competence. Ford has treated the Wood Brothers better than Chrysler treated Richard Petty. Think about that. 10-4 that. http://woodbrothersracing.com/ DO check out the history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) Yeah, but that came after about 30 years of unspectacular competence. Ford has treated the Wood Brothers better than Chrysler treated Richard Petty. Think about that. Given that the Woods were literally the only constant Ford team in NASCAR for many years, it's been a two-way relationship...for years. The Wood Bros run a limited schedule, as they did in the David Pearson heyday, and are a great way to bring a young driver into the Cup level gradually, or to give a veteran a softer schedule but still with a team fielding decent hardware. Given Chysler's management and ownership history, comparing them to anything or anyone beyond the "CoCo Puffs" bird seems inappropriate. I wonder if they should have consolidated under the AMC/Jeep banner instead, sometimes. Edited July 28, 2014 by ZanatWork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 The coco puffs bird has had a much more steady ownership history (General Mills). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheDriversSeat Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I doubt anyone would notice too much , since Toyota/Joe Gibbs and RCR are the big dogs. Toyota has picked away most of the good guys from ROUSH in the past seasons and the sponsors have followed The sponsors that were on Matt Kenseth's and Carl Edwards' cars at Roush have not followed to Gibbs. In both cases, the sponsors remained at Roush with the replacement drivers. In 2012, Kenseth had sponsorship from Best Buy and Zest soap, and now the sponsors are still on the 17 car but with Ricky Stenhouse driving. Matt Kenseth's sponsors at Gibbs, Home Depot and Dollar General, were already with Gibbs prior to Kenseth joining. Carl Edwards' primary sponsor Fastenal has already announced they are staying with Roush in 2015, but moving to the 17 car (because 99 apparently won't be used). IMO, Kenseth and Edwards are TRAITORS. Money is more important to these clowns than loyalty to Ford. Bizarre that these guys choose to drive Toyotas. I hope they enjoy racing their Camrys in the Nationwide Series against Mustangs and Camaros, LOL! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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