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Ford Performance Partners With Bob Tasca III’s Funny Car For 2018


IMSA-XJR9

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Well perhaps its just a payback to the Tasca family. The grandfather-Bob Tasca was the guy IMO that was really behind Ford's performance kick i nthe early 60's- back in the day of the 63 and 1/2 lightweight 427 Galaxie drag car. As a kid growing up in Connecticut, nothing like going to Conn Dragway and watching Bill Lawton and the Tasca Ford kick butt in Super Stock.

 

By the way that old drag strip? Now the home of our "favorite and most unbiased publication"...Consumer Reports!

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Tasca's grandfather was also the guy who "invented" the 428 Cobra Jet engine package. He was not happy with the performance of the 390 powered Mustangs and Fairlanes in the late '60s and had the techs at his dealership put together an engine from off-the-shelf factory parts, drop it into a '68 Mustang and then had it driven to Detroit to show Ford how easy it was to build a really fast Mustang. The rest is history...

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I don't get it. Nothing against Tasca, but they really aren't a top tier team in F/C. Ford left JFR because it didn't make business sense and they go with a weaker team?

 

This might help:

 

 

 

With Tasca Racing’s new technical alliance with Don Schumacher Motorsports, and the engineering support of Ford Performance, the team is focused on making a run for the NHRA Funny Car title.

 

 

Hopefully, the partnership with Schumacher will get similar results to what the Wood Brothers have done in NASCAR by teaming up with Penske.

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  • 2 months later...

Just like the guys who commented on that article, I wonder if Tasca will run the Ford nitro engines that were developed with the help of John Force Racing?

There is a photo on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Facebook page that shows "Boss 500" on the heads/valve cover, so it's safe to assume it's the same.

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There is a photo on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Facebook page that shows "Boss 500" on the heads/valve cover, so it's safe to assume it's the same.

I hope that's true. Although I am a bit skeptical after seeing Donny Shatz' sprint car with the big Ford oval sticker on the wing and a Chevy under the hood.

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I hope that's true. Although I am a bit skeptical after seeing Donny Shatz' sprint car with the big Ford oval sticker on the wing and a Chevy under the hood.

Who is it in Ford racing/promotion/advertising that would agree to support a GM powered race car under the Ford banner? Are they completely clueless?? If Ford isn't prepared to invest the effort to field a Ford powered racer, they should do something else. I personally find these "Fake Fords" embarrassing; but I'm old school.

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Tasca's grandfather was also the guy who "invented" the 428 Cobra Jet engine package. He was not happy with the performance of the 390 powered Mustangs and Fairlanes in the late '60s and had the techs at his dealership put together an engine from off-the-shelf factory parts, drop it into a '68 Mustang and then had it driven to Detroit to show Ford how easy it was to build a really fast Mustang. The rest is history...

And speaking of Tasca and the 428, I ordered a new 428 Torino GT in the spring of '68. Rare car-a notch back when everyone was buying the fast back. I have this sales flyer from that era. Car did not have whitewalls as flyer suggest- black RWL Good Year Polyglass.

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Who is it in Ford racing/promotion/advertising that would agree to support a GM powered race car under the Ford banner? Are they completely clueless?? If Ford isn't prepared to invest the effort to field a Ford powered racer, they should do something else. I personally find these "Fake Fords" embarrassing; but I'm old school.

 

How do you know Ford is “supporting” them?

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How do you know Ford is “supporting” them?

I guessed that if their race car sports "Ford" decals that some form of support is coming from a Ford related source. Historically, company logos on a race car indicate support (money/parts/etc.) If this is not the case in the original post regarding a GM powered race car with prominent "Ford" decals, I take back any criticism.

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Who is it in Ford racing/promotion/advertising that would agree to support a GM powered race car under the Ford banner? Are they completely clueless?? If Ford isn't prepared to invest the effort to field a Ford powered racer, they should do something else. I personally find these "Fake Fords" embarrassing; but I'm old school.

Totally agree. That should never happen.

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Who is it in Ford racing/promotion/advertising that would agree to support a GM powered race car under the Ford banner? Are they completely clueless?? If Ford isn't prepared to invest the effort to field a Ford powered racer, they should do something else. I personally find these "Fake Fords" embarrassing; but I'm old school.

 

After further research, it appears Ford and TSR are working on a new engine but it isn’t ready/certified yet. That’s why they’re using Chevy engines with Ford stickers.

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After further research, it appears Ford and TSR are working on a new engine but it isn’t ready/certified yet. That’s why they’re using Chevy engines with Ford stickers.

That is certainly good news. Didn't Dave Blaney have some success running a Ford powered Sprint car some years ago?

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After further research, it appears Ford and TSR are working on a new engine but it isn’t ready/certified yet. That’s why they’re using Chevy engines with Ford stickers.

 

Unfortunately, they have been working on it or maybe just talking about it for over a year now. You would think they could have come up with something by now. Many of the top dirt late model racers run Ford engines. My guess is that the World of Outlaws engine rules for the winged sprint cars discourage anything but a SBC. I'm also guessing that Ford isn't real keen on building their version of a Chevy cylinder head for a single team effort. Ask Larry Morgan how that worked out for him in NHRA Pro Stock. Donny Shatz won twenty races and the championship last year driving the TSR #15 car with FORD Performance plastered all over it with a Chevy under the hood. Tony Stewart is also smart enough to know that as long as he can keep getting sponsorship money from Ford and winning with a Chevy engine he doesn't need to be in any big hurry to change anything.

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"Certified" is code for-making sure the Ford engine does not have any performance advantage over the status quo even though the "status quo" has a combination of over 50 years of refinement.

 

You gang the Chevrolet formula is brilliant. Introduce the most inexpensive platform imaginable. When it catches on all other combinations will be limited so as not to obsolete the Chevy V8 and drive costs up.

 

Kind of a simple but depressing thought.

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Apparently the ARCA series has pretty much exclusively used the LS based engine for two years now (regardless of body decals); and now it seems the Craftsman truck series is going the same way. I suppose it won't be long before Xfinity and Cup follow suit. That will be the last straw for me as a follower of that branch of motor sports. They like to refer to that engine as the "LLmor NT1" as if it isn't a GM engine. In a different vein....There is a rumor out there that Ford may move to the "prototype" class in IMSA , after the GT has run its course (2019??). Anyone heard anything about this?

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In a different vein....There is a rumor out there that Ford may move to the "prototype" class in IMSA , after the GT has run its course (2019??). Anyone heard anything about this?

 

This was the last update/rumor I read . . .

 

 

 

Acura joined the DPi ranks this year alongside launch partners Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan, with Ford also understood to be in advanced talks that could see the Blue Oval debut in 2020 following the completion of the Ford GT program.

 

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/lexus-keeping-dpi-prospects-in-field-of-vision/

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