FordParts.com Returns as Primary Sponsor as Tasca Looks to Kick Off 2010 Countdown with Win at Indianapolis
Bob Tasca III FordParts.com Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car class NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series 56th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis in Clermont, IN September 3 - 7, 2010 Race 18 of 23 Countdown to 1 - Race 1 of 6 FORDPARTS.COM RETURNS AS PRIMARY SPONSOR AS TASCA LOOKS TO KICK OFF 2010 COUNTDOWN WITH WIN AT INDIANAPOLIS DEARBORN, MI – September 1, 2010 – Earlier this summer, Bob Tasca III found on-track success when he switched to the blue and white colors of the online retailer FordParts.com and won the 41st Annual NHRA SuperNationals at Englishtown. Now, heading into the biggest event of the season and the kickoff to the Countdown to 1 playoffs, Tasca and the FordParts.com team look to duplicate the success from Englishtown and apply it to Indianapolis. “Indianapolis is already the biggest race of the year for NHRA, and it takes on a whole new meaning when it’s the first race of the Countdown,” said Tasca. “We want to come out of the box strong, get this Countdown started off right, and win.” Success at Indianapolis is not new to Tasca. In 2006 and 2007, while piloting an Alcohol Funny Car, Tasca earned two runner-up finishes at the historical track. “Indianapolis is such a prestigious race,” said Tasca. “I love racing at Indianapolis; it’s just a great atmosphere, a great place to race. There is so much history at Indianapolis and I’m looking to be a part of it. We made it to the finals before in the Alcohol Funny Car and I think we can take our FordParts.com all the way to the finals again this weekend.” FordParts.com returns to Tasca’s racing machine this weekend as primary sponsor, replacing the familiar black-and-red of Motorcraft. Tasca first donned the blue and white paint scheme at Englishtown as part of the nationwide launch of the on-line website, and went on to earn his third career win. “I’m really excited to keep pace, and I’m not a superstitious person, but I may become one if we win again,” said Tasca. “We tested in Chicago and debuted the FordParts.com car the following week in Englishtown and won. We tested last week in Indy and we’re bringing the FordParts.com Shelby Mustang back out. If we can get that same magic that rubbed off in Englishtown in Indianapolis, they may have to arm wrestle me to take the body back off my Mustang. It will be fun to have the blue and white car out and show it off in Indianapolis. Hopefully, it brings us the same success it did in Englishtown.” As the 2010 season slowly draws to an end, Tasca analyzes each race on its own merit. He, along with crew chiefs Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner, know that every point matters going forward. Sitting just 70 points back from the leader as the playoffs begin, the FordParts.com team will review data from the season and continue to build on the strides they’ve made to date. “You fight all year, and it really is a battle to get into the top 10 by the end of the regular season,” said Tasca. “You want to put yourself in a position to win, to be solidly in the top 10, which we were very fortunate to do, but now that’s over. Now we’re looking forward. The Countdown makes the final races a 10-car shootout for a championship, so we’re truly taking this one round at a time. You’ve got to look specifically at each round… each qualifying round, and each elimination round. We’re going into these final six races taking them one round at a time.” Last week, Tasca tested at Indianapolis and posted the quickest ET of the two-day test session. Tasca’s best time of the test session was a 4.077 second run at 309.84 miles per hour. With the solid test session under their belt, Tasca and the team are confident in the Shelby Mustang this weekend. “We’ve established a tremendous hot weather tune-up over the last couple years and we are refining the Ford BOSS 500 set-up,” said Tasca. “To have a race car coming off this test session where we ran low ET in optimal conditions, we are very confident heading into the Indianapolis weekend.” Shop Shape-Up Sweepstakes Register for a chance to win Ford-authorized tools and equipment from Rotunda. Two grand prizes will be awarded in the “Shop Shape-Up” Sweepstakes, with prizes valued at $25,000 and $5,000. Enter daily at www.FordParts.com to increase the chances to win. Mustang 5.0 Fever Sweepstakes Enter to win an all-new 2011 Ford Mustang GT equipped with Ford Racing Performance Parts and Ford Custom Accessories as part of Ford Customer Service Division’s “Mustang 5.0 Fever” Sweepstakes. Bold and powerful, the all-new 5.0-liter V-8 Mustang uses advanced technology to deliver 412 horsepower, 390 ft-lb. of torque and class-leading highway mileage of 26 mpg. Enter online until November 23, 2010, at www.racefanoffers.com, www.quicklane.com and www.fordparts.com. The “Mustang 5.0 Fever” Sweepstakes is open to all licensed U.S. citizens over the age of 18. Register for both Shop Shape-Up and Mustang 5.0 Fever Sweepstakes at FordParts.com Enter to win both the “Shop Shape-Up” and the “Mustang 5.0 Fever” Sweepstakes with a single registration at FordParts.com. To be eligible to win both sweepstakes, entrants must register on www.FordParts.com between August 7, and November 23, 2010. Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience interactive consumer display returns to Nitro Alley in Indianapolis. Fans can enter to win prizes and participate in the Motorcraft Holeshot Challenge and Quick Lane Challenge. A myriad of activities are planned for fans during the weekend, including Q & A and autograph appearances at the display by Ford Funny Car and Pro Stock drivers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience Hours of Operation Friday, September 3: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday, September 4: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sunday, September 5: 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Monday, September 6: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Points 1. John Force, 2110; 2. Robert Hight, 2080; 3. Jack Beckman, 2070; 4. Matt Hagan, 2060; 5. Ron Capps, 2050; 6. Tim Wilkerson, 2040; 7. Bob Tasca III, 2030; 8. Ashley Force Hood, 2020; 9. Del Worsham, 2010; 10. Tony Pedregon, 2000 Indianapolis Race Notes -During last year’s Indianapolis race, Tasca qualified eighth and lost to Robert Hight in the second round. Tasca Funny Car Achievements – 2010 - Defeated Del Worsham to win 41st Annual NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. - 13 top-eight qualifiers (Pomona - 4th, Gainesville - 7th, Las Vegas - 8th, St. Louis - 7th, Atlanta - 4th, Joliet – 4th, Englishtown - 7th, Bristol - 7th, Norwalk - 7th, Seattle - 6th, Sonoma - 5th, Denver - 7th and Brainerd - 4th) - Five semi-final appearances (Pomona, St. Louis, Atlanta, Bristol and Sonoma) - One runner-up finish (Gainesville) - 2010 round record: 21 wins and 16 losses - Tasca is seventh in series points, 70 points behind the leader - Tasca and the FordParts.com team won the Full Throttle Hard-Working Crew Award in Englishtown - Tasca secured his spot in the 2010 NHRA Countdown to 1 after qualifying for the Denver race Tasca Funny Car Achievements – Career - First round win: Defeated Melanie Troxel, Feb. 10, 2008 (NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, CA) - First semi-final appearance: April 27, 2008 (NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta, GA) - First No. 1 qualifier: March 14, 2009 (Gatornationals, Gainesville, FL) - Three career wins: Two in 2009 – Gatornationals in Gainesville, FL and Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, PA. One in 2010 – NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. - Finished eighth in series points in 2009 - Career round record: 55 wins and 60 losses Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing on the Web Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/MQL_Racing Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/MQLRacing Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorcraftquicklaneracing Motorcraft/Quick Lane Notes - 2010 marks the third year Ford Customer Service Division brands Motorcraft and Quick Lane sponsor Bob Tasca III and Tasca Racing. - Motorcraft® continues its relationship with NHRA, having sponsored Hall of Fame NHRA driver Bob Glidden and drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein, among others, in the late 80s and early 90s. - Motorcraft® products strike the perfect balance of precision, quality and pricing. - Manufactured to strict specifications, they install quickly and give the confidence of doing a job right the first time. Motorcraft is the preferred choice of Ford Motor Company. - Quick Lane Tire® & Auto Centers provide the services your car or truck needs most, performed by factory-trained experts and on your schedule. You’ll never need an appointment and you’ll get service while you wait, even on evenings and weekends. They’ll take care of any make, or model using quality Motorcraft® parts. Give them a try and see why life is better in the Quick Lane®. - Quick Lane® offers routine maintenance and light repair services, such as oil and filter changes, brake repairs and tire replacement for all makes and models. - Quick Lane’s nationwide network will surpass 600 facilities in 2010. Visit www.quicklane.com to find one of the Quick Lanes in the greater Indianapolis area. Television Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 10 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. (ET). Monday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise five hours of eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. (ET). Satellite (Analog feed) Friday, Sept. 3, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3/ Transponder 21K Saturday, Sept. 4, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 21K Sunday, Sept. 5, 8- 8:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 21K Monday, Sept. 6, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz, horizontal; Data Rate: 18.295441161 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 13.235 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 18 Mhz) Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners' interviews on Monday. 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 FordParts.com FordParts.com allows customers to shop online for over 283,000 Genuine Ford and Motorcraft parts. With FordParts.com, repair shops, body shops, fleets and do-it-yourselfers can shop for, order and ultimately receive parts 24/7 via the click of a mouse. It lets each customer remain connected to their Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership for the parts expertise, personal delivery assistance, and post-sale follow-up associated with a traditional purchase. All customers visiting FordParts.com will benefit from its comprehensive, yet user-friendly nature, perhaps best expressed in the way Ford and Motorcraft parts are shopped for and selected. To do so, customers can enter a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and shop with unmatched accuracy for parts uniquely associated with the vehicle or start by entering the year, make and model of the vehicle. Adding to the site’s functionality is the ability to view 22,865 technical illustrations on many of the parts and assemblies. For more information, visit www.fordparts.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 159,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com. # # # # ___________________ 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