Tasca and Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Look to Climb the Countdown Ladder in Dallas
Bob Tasca III Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car class NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series 25th Annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals Texas Motorplex in Dallas, TX September 24 - 26, 2010 Race 20 of 23 Countdown to 1 - Race 3 of 6 TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE RACING LOOK TO CLIMB THE COUNTDOWN LADDER IN DALLAS DEARBORN, MI – September 22, 2010 – As the championship race draws closer, the pressure continues to rise for Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team. After a semifinal appearance in Charlotte, Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team were able to move up two spots in the points ladder from seventh to fifth. The team looks to carry that momentum and continue the climb this weekend in Dallas. “We started the Countdown in the seventh position and we’ve moved into fifth after two races, so we’re on an upward climb,” said Tasca. “We’re going in the right direction, so we’re looking to build on the momentum that started in Charlotte. We’re not going to take Dallas lightly because we can’t afford a bad race. We’re in the fight, but to stay in this fight, we’ve got to go rounds.” A fan of back-to-back races, Tasca heads to Dallas this weekend confident that the data they secured in Charlotte and similar track conditions will help the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team continue to gain ground in the points standings. “When you go from one race to the next and the conditions are similar, I think everybody is on the same page,” said Tasca. “There will be a lot of similarities between Charlotte and Dallas since both tracks are all concrete. We have a great Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car. We made some great runs. We made some runs where we knew what went wrong, so we know what we need to do to improve. I feel pretty confident that we’ll improve in Dallas.” Focused on putting his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car in a position to win, Tasca knows what it will take to keep the championship hopes alive this weekend. In the last two races, Tasca has decreased the gap among the leaders. Since the start of the Countdown, Tasca has moved to 85 points out of the lead. Heading into Dallas, Tasca is one win away from the second position in points. “You need to win two out of the six races in order to win the championship and pick up a couple semifinals and final rounds,” said Tasca. “So far, we haven’t had any first round losses in the Countdown and we went to the semifinals in Charlotte. We need a win and that’s the next step. We need a win to get ourselves in that top three as we go into the final races of the season. We’re still in a position to contend for this championship.” NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Points 1. John Force, 2245; 2. Jack Beckman, 2241; 3. Matt Hagan, 2203; 4. Ashley Force Hood, 2192; 5. Bob Tasca III, 2160; 6. Ron Capps, 2123; 7. Robert Hight, 2157; 8. Tony Pedregon, 2085; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 2082; 10. Del Worsham, 2077 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience interactive consumer display returns to Nitro Alley in Dallas. Fans can enter to win prizes and participate in the Motorcraft Holeshot 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 and Saturday. Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience Hours of Operation Friday, September 24: 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Saturday, September 25: 8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. Sunday, September 26: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dallas Race Notes -During last year’s Dallas race, Tasca qualified sixth and lost to Jerry Toliver in the second round. 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 on the Web Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/MQL_Racing Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/MQLRacing Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorcraftquicklaneracing Tasca Funny Car Achievements – 2010 - Defeated Del Worsham to win 41st Annual NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. - 15 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, Brainerd - 4th, Indianapolis – 8th and Charlotte – 3rd) - Six semi-final appearances (Pomona, St. Louis, Atlanta, Bristol, Sonoma and Charlotte) - One runner-up finish (Gainesville) - 2010 round record: 24 wins and 18 losses - Tasca is fifth in series points, 85 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: 58 wins and 62 losses 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 Dallas area. Television Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise qualifying highlights coverage at 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM (ET). Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, at 6:30 p.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN3.com will televise live coverage of eliminations at noon. (ET) Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET). Satellite (Analog feed) Friday, Sept. 24, 8:30 - 9 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3/ Transponder 24K Saturday, Sept. 25, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 24K Sunday, Sept. 26, 7:30- 8 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 23K (12180 MHz, horizontal; Data Rate: 18.295441161 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 13.235 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 36 Mhz) Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners' interviews on Sunday. 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. 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