Ford Dream Team to Compete in Rolex 24 Hour in Daytona

By: Brad Nevin | Ford Communications Network

The Rolex 24 Hour race in Daytona features a trio of Ford drivers competing for a new Ford Racing team called Crown Royal Special Reserve/Multimatic. For more information on the race, visit fordracing.com. DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 3, 2005 -- Call it the dream team of racing.

This weekend during the Rolex 24 Hour race in Daytona, a trio of Ford drivers will compete for a new Ford Racing team called Crown Royal Special Reserve/Multimatic.

The special team will feature three NASCAR champion drivers from Ford and Roush Racing: 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Champion Kurt Busch, 2003 NASCAR Cup Champion Matt Kenseth, and NASCAR Busch (2002) and Craftsman Truck (2000) Champion Greg Biffle. The three Roush Racing Ford pilots will be joined by Multimatic Ford driver Scott Maxwell, who has won six professional road racing championships in his career, but may be best known for his previous victories in both the 24 Hours of LeMans and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

"It's a dream team, that's for sure," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "We started talking last summer about getting a chance to put this type of team together for the Rolex 24, and because of the cooperation of Roush Racing, Multimatic and Crown Royal Special Reserve, we have an effort and a class of drivers that will be able to make a run for the overall win."

The Ford team racing in the Rolex 24 Hour race in Daytona features three NASCAR champion drivers from Ford and Roush Racing: 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Champion Kurt Busch, 2003 NASCAR Cup Champion Matt Kenseth, and NASCAR Busch (2002) and Craftsman Truck (2000) Champion Greg Biffle. The three Roush Racing Ford pilots are joined by Multimatic Ford driver Scott Maxwell. The Rolex 24 at Daytona is a twice-around-the-clock road racing classic that runs for one day starting on February 5. The potent foursome will look to capture an overall victory in the 2005 season-opener of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series.

"One of the first things I knew about Jack Roush was his heritage in the 24-hour race at Daytona," said Busch, noting that Roush Racing Fords had won 10 class victories there. "Now to be a member of Roush Racing with Greg and Matt, and to team up with Multimatic and Scott for this event gives me a chance to be a part of history. We're going to look to Scott to lead us goofy oval guys around those right turns in Daytona, but we're definitely going to have fun with it."

The Crown Royal Special Reserve Multimatic Ford is an updated version of the race car that won the Daytona Prototype class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2003. A Ford Modular Cammer V-8 motor prepared by Roush-Yates Engines will power it.

Busch is fresh off capturing the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup crown in the Sharpie/Irwin Industrial Tools Ford Taurus, giving Roush Racing and Ford back-to-back NEXTEL Cup championships. He captured three victories, and led the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup Championship for all 10 races after winning the Chase-opener at New Hampshire.

Kenseth, the 2003 champion, was also one of 10 drivers in the Chase for Championship. The DeWalt Tools Taurus driver captured two victories this past season, a victory in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and had 16 top-10 finishes along the way.

Biffle finished 17th in the NEXTEL Cup standings and third in the Busch Series standings, as he competed in both championships. The National Guard/Subway Taurus driver won two NEXTEL Cup races in 2004, including a thrilling come-from-behind win in the season-ending Ford 400, which helped his teammate clinch the championship.

"I'm really excited about this coming together as quickly as it did," said Kenseth. "I think with the drivers we have lined up and the support from Ford Racing, we're bound to have a good showing."