Ford Continues Rich Sports Car Racing History with Focus Daytona Prototype

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 17, 2002) -- Ford Racing has an extensive history in sports car racing, and the recent announcement of the company's collaboration with Multimatic in the Ford Focus Daytona Prototype renews its interest in the classic sport. As Ford looks to the future with the Focus Daytona Prototype, it also celebrates its past sports car accomplishments. 

ISC President and Grand American co-founder Jim France remembers feeling awestruck at the sight of a pair of Ford Cobras on a visit to a race shop with his father. "In the early '60s, I went with my father, Bill France Sr., to visit his close friend, John Holman of Holman Moody, at their Charlotte race shop. Of all the neat racing stuff I saw, the thing that really captured my attention that day was a pair of Ford Cobras. One was a fast-back prototype that they were building for the 1964 Daytona Continental," recalls France. 

Although the Ford Cobra that grabbed his attention was unable to make it to Daytona's Victory Lane during the 1964 race, Ford captured its first major sports car victory one year later at Daytona. Ford followed it with an amazing top-three sweep in the first-ever 24-hour race at Daytona in 1966, with Holman Moody's GT40 Mk II finishing third behind the GT40s of Carroll Shelby. 

Ford hopes to continue its winning sports car tradition with its new Focus Daytona Prototype. "Now, almost 40 years later, I can't wait to visit the Multimatic shop to witness the development of the new Ford Focus Daytona Prototype. This is the second opportunity for me to see first hand the start of another great chapter in Ford motorsports history," France noted. 

"I salute Dan Davis and Ford Racing Technology for bringing Multimatic and Robert Yates together, and I look forward to watching the cars developed by this top-level team compete in next year's Rolex 24 At Daytona and throughout the entire season for the Rolex championship," he continued.  

"A hundred years ago, Henry Ford started building cars for the American people and created a company that set the standard for an industry. Today, Grand American has set out to build a sports car racing series for the American people," added Grand American President Roger Edmondson. "Having Ford Racing recognize our vision and make the commitment they are making today puts them once again at the front of the field, a visionary organization with its finger on the pulse of the American psyche." 

The first Ford Focus Daytona Prototype will take to the track in October for testing and run its first race at the 2003 Rolex 24 At Daytona next February. More information on the Daytona Prototypes and the Rolex Sports Car Series is available online at www.grandamerican.com.