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Ford Unveils New-Look 2000 NASCAR Taurus

5 August 1999

Ford Unveils New-Look 2000 NASCAR Taurus; Thousands of Race Fans Get First Peek at 'Taurus 2k'

    INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 4 -- In the city that put auto racing in
America on the map, Ford today unveiled its latest race car -- the new-look
2000 NASCAR Taurus -- during a special ceremony in front of thousands of race
fans at the RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis.
    "The 2000 NASCAR Taurus is the flagship race car that will take Ford into
its second century of racing," said Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing
Technology.  "We've taken the unique styling cues of the 2000 Taurus
production car and incorporated them into what we already believe is the best
car in NASCAR racing today.  We believe we have created a package that will
challenge anything the competition can throw at us."
    The new model race car, nicknamed 'Taurus 2k,' will debut at the 2000
Daytona 500 in February.  Like its production counterpart that goes on sale
this fall, the 2000 Taurus race car features new front and rear fascias, a new
hood, a revised trunk area and new rear window design.   Its public debut
comes just three days before the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Winston Cup event at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
    "We challenged our engineers and designers to ensure the sleek styling
changes to the new race car are the same the public will see on the production
Taurus this fall," said Bob Rewey, group vice president, Marketing, Sales and
Service.  "It's always been important to us that the car NASCAR fans see on
the race track looks like the one they can see in a Ford dealership showroom.
    "It's just as important to many of our dealers, who are using our NASCAR
Taurus racing program as an important part of their sales campaigns," Rewey
added.  "NASCAR's loyal audience of race fans matches up very well with the
family-oriented audience we are trying to reach with our entire line of Ford
products."
    The new Taurus 2k race car has visited the wind tunnel in recent weeks,
but its first on-track test won't come until early this fall.  Development
work on the new Taurus has been a joint effort between Ford Racing Technology
and three of Ford's top NASCAR teams -- Penske South Racing, Robert Yates
Racing and Roush Racing, with additional input from many of Ford's other race
teams.
    "We've done our best to keep all our race teams in the loop on where we
are in the development of this new Taurus," said Davis.  "We've certainly
learned from our experience of two years ago when we changed over to Taurus,
that it's difficult for teams to race week-in and week-out and also have to
worry about the development of a new race car.
    "We couldn't have gotten this far this quickly in the development of the
car without the cooperation and input from all our teams, and especially from
the people at NASCAR," Davis said.  "We know we have challenged our teams to
change over to another new model, but we're confident that the changes will
keep us at the top of the championship standings."
    "Racing, like the auto industry itself, is all about fast response and
speed in development," said Rewey.  "It's about staying ahead of your
competition and giving your customers -- whether they're race teams or
consumers -- the best product possible.  We think we have a winner both on and
off the track with the 2000 Taurus."
    In its first season of competition, Ford Taurus saw victory circle 15
times.  In 1999, Ford Taurus drivers have captured nine wins in 19 races thus
far, with Taurus driver Dale Jarrett leading the Winston Cup point standings,
and Ford leading the manufacturers' championship over Chevrolet and Pontiac.