Ford Customer Service Division Launches NASCAR Sprint Cup Car Design Contest to Support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE DIVISION LAUNCHES NASCAR SPRINT CUP CAR DESIGN CONTEST TO SUPPORT JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION • Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD) has joined the effort of finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes by partnering with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in raising funds and awareness through its NASCAR Sprint Cup Program. • JDRF children have the chance to design the paint scheme of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, driven by Bill Elliott, which will race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in October. DEARBORN, Mich., June 28, 2010 – Ford Customer Service Division once again will join forces with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to help raise funds and awareness for the disease through its motorsport involvement, this time with a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Car Design Contest. This year, FCSD is asking JDRF children to help design a special paint scheme that will be featured on the Wood Brothers’ famous No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, driven by Bill Elliott. For the past two years JDRF children have helped design the paint scheme featured on the NHRA Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car, driven by Bob Tasca III. This year, in honor of the Wood Brothers celebrating 60 years of racing Ford products in NASCAR, FCSD has decided to bring the successful contest over to the legendary race team. To kick off this partnership, JDRF children have one month to submit a design for the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion that will be featured on the car during the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 14-16. “We look forward to this program every year,” said Brett Wheatley, Director of Marketing, Ford Customer Service Division. “We are delighted to introduce it to a whole new audience this year with the Wood Brothers and NASCAR fans. The contest supports such an important and worthy cause. I look forward to seeing the creative designs the JDRF children come up with every year.” Each submitted design will be featured on www.jdrf.org/ford from July 1 until August 29, a total of 60 days in honor of the Woods’ 60-year anniversary. During that time, the public is invited to vote for their favorite car design by making a monetary donation to JDRF. The top five donation-earning designs will then be narrowed down to one. The winning design will be selected by the Wood Brothers, Bill Elliott and FCSD representatives. The winning child and his or her parents will be invited to Charlotte for an official unveiling of their paint scheme with FCSD, Wood Brothers Racing and Bill Elliott, and will have a chance to see their design run during qualifications for the race. “We are honored to partner with FCSD and the JDRF paint scheme contest this year,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing. “We were at Bob Tasca III’s shop last year when they unveiled the winning design for the NHRA race. This is a special year for all of us at Wood Brothers Racing and we’re thrilled to support this effort and bring a child’s design to life on our race car.” Last year’s winner was Liam Flanagan, an eight-year-old resident of Williamstown, New Jersey, and a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Flanagan and his family were special guests at the NHRA Nationals in Charlotte where his design appeared on Tasca’s Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car. Last year’s contest drew over 300 designs and helped raise awareness and more than $39,000 for JDRF. Diabetes affects more Ford families than any other disease. Ford Motor Company has raised more than $23 million for JDRF since the grassroots campaign started in 1998. About Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease, which strikes children suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications, which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation. Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.16 billion to diabetes research, including more than $156 million in FY2008, bringing the cumulative total of research funding to more than $1.3 billion. In FY2008, the Foundation funded 1,000 centers, grants and fellowships in 22 countries. http://www.jdrf.org About Motorcraft Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers, independent distributors, and automotive parts retailers and are backed by Ford Motor Company’s Service Parts Limited Warranty. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com. About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers Quick Lane® provides automotive quick services for all makes and models. Quick Lane’s nationwide network will surpass 600 facilities, each providing the convenience of an aftermarket company (no appointment necessary, service while you wait, evening and weekend hours, competitive prices) with the confidence of a major automotive manufacturer (quality parts, factory-trained technicians). Quick Lane® is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.quicklane.com. About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the company’s brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com. Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing On the Web Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MQL_Racing Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/MotorcraftQuickLaneRacing Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorcraftquicklaneracing/ # # # # Attachment: Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Funny Car designed by eight-year old, Liam Flanagan, of Williamstown, New Jersey ___________________ Susan Pollack PCGCampbell Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center d: 313-203-7162 m: 313-434-6912 e: spollack@pcgcampbell.com www.twitter.com/MQL_Racing www.facebook.com/MQLRacing
