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Ford Driver to be First Full-Time Hispanic Entrant in NASCAR Series

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 6, 2005; In a move that Ford Racing's Dan Davis called "another important step in promoting diversity in NASCAR," ppc Racing and Ford Racing announced today that Mexico's Michel Jourdain Jr. has been signed to a multi-year contract to run Ford Tauruses in the NASCAR Busch Series starting in 2005.

Jourdain, a nine-year veteran of the Champ Car World Series, will become the first Hispanic driver to run full-time in the Busch Series, which includes a historic Mexico City date on the 2005 schedule.

"We're thrilled to help partner Michel with ppc Racing," said Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "This is something that has been in the works for a couple years, and we've been looking for an opportunity like this to give a deserving driver like Michel the chance to succeed in NASCAR.

"This is just another step forward for us in our on-going driver development program," Davis added. "Our philosophy has always been that we want our Ford Racing drivers to better reflect the Ford customer, and working with talented drivers like Michel helps accomplish our goal."

Ppc Racing currently fields Ford race vehicles in all three of NASCAR's premier divisions: the VB/APlus at Sunoco Taurus driven by John Andretti in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series; the Stacker 2 Taurus driven by Kenny Wallace in the NASCAR Busch Series; and the Powerstroke Diesel F-150 driven by Terry Cook in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

"I'm very excited about this chance," said Jourdain. "I've been wanting to come to NASCAR for a couple years now, and Dan Davis worked very hard with me to find the right opportunity where I could have a chance to work and learn with a top team like ppc. Getting to race at Mexico City...to be a Mexican driver racing at my home track...that will be fantastic. But the long-term goal is to learn this year, not make big mistakes, and continue to develop a strong relationship with ppc Racing and Ford. I'd like this to be the first step to getting to NEXTEL Cup."

Jourdain comes to ppc Racing after spending the 2004 season with RuSport in the Champ Car series. The son of well-known Mexican race driver Michel Jourdain Sr., Jourdain became the youngest Champ Car driver at age 19 in 1996 and was the series' "Most Improved Driver" in 1997.

In 152 career Champ Car starts, Jourdain scored two wins, 25 top-10s, and 20 top-five finishes, including nine podiums.