lol at all of this.
Ford leaving nhra drag racing
- Thread starter mach14604
- Start date
Think it was a mental error? he got all girlie feelie/hyper-emotional on us?
Lol sounds like the ultimate backpedal
Absolute *($&*($#$% DISGUSTED.
I can't believe you guys are picking on the OP. What a bunch of DB's. He may have been a little emotionally trigger happy, but his point is still spot on. I, too, thought about writing a letter to Ford. If participating at the top level of drag racing no longer aligns with Ford's corporate vision, we Mustang fans need to wonder where Ford's ship is pointing!?
Ford is pulling all NHRA team sponsorship. I for one am heartbroken. I've been a lifelong Ford fan, and I like drag racing. I've been to every U.S. Nationals since John Force racing switched to a Mustang funnycar over 15 years ago. You see, I'm a fan who roots for the car and the technology, not the driver, flashy paint, or the sponsor. As a young boy, I watched Indycar races to root on the Ford engined cars. Now, I turn on the Indy 500 just long enough to hear Jim Neighbors sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" then I check out for another year.
I've completely ignored NASCAR for years. It's just WWE on four wheels.
Back to drag racing, I've gotten my entire family involved over the years, and now my little brother is racing a Cobra Jet with aspirations of running Pro Stock one day. We're both extremely brand loyal, so this kinda throws cold water on things.
But more important than my enjoyment of Motorsports and the thrill of rooting on my Ford's with my friends and family, the bigger concern is what this current direction change is indicating. What's next? Every time I try to convince myself it's not 1973 all over again, another cold, COLD breeze blows through.
Ford is pulling all NHRA team sponsorship. I for one am heartbroken. I've been a lifelong Ford fan, and I like drag racing. I've been to every U.S. Nationals since John Force racing switched to a Mustang funnycar over 15 years ago. You see, I'm a fan who roots for the car and the technology, not the driver, flashy paint, or the sponsor. As a young boy, I watched Indycar races to root on the Ford engined cars. Now, I turn on the Indy 500 just long enough to hear Jim Neighbors sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" then I check out for another year.
I've completely ignored NASCAR for years. It's just WWE on four wheels.
Back to drag racing, I've gotten my entire family involved over the years, and now my little brother is racing a Cobra Jet with aspirations of running Pro Stock one day. We're both extremely brand loyal, so this kinda throws cold water on things.
But more important than my enjoyment of Motorsports and the thrill of rooting on my Ford's with my friends and family, the bigger concern is what this current direction change is indicating. What's next? Every time I try to convince myself it's not 1973 all over again, another cold, COLD breeze blows through.
Some of the guys already explained that they dropped a particular sponsorship and that's it. It doesn't sound like they dropped their support for their efforts in NHRA as they are clearly still developing the Cobra Jet and the new tech that goes with the program. I don't know about you but that tells me that they're still very devoted to drag racing.
Yeah I'm not happy about it and it does make me wonder what Force will do. I bet he retires.. who knows. As far as pro stock. ..oh well they don't sponsor anyone anyway. ..morgan has long days what he gets from Ford is barely anything. Not that he's ever a contender anyway. ..... sadly
The issue I have is Ford at one point was very involved with drag racing and little by little they have back away from it. To me it is forgetting what made you the company you are and turning your back on the past.
What's with all these people who think that drag racing is what made Ford the company it is?
Sure, it played a role, but it's a far cry from the single thing that made it all happen.
And the past is just that.....the past. Get over it.
Ford is simply making smart business decisions. If the things they invest in don't provide the returns they expect, there's no point in staying involved.
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Serious question for you guys that follow it more than I do, what kind of returns do the manufacturers get out of endeavors like this?
Ford is leaving Mello Yello Drag Racing. This will mainly affect Tasca and the Force Cars. As already stated Morgan gets no $$ from Ford. As long as they keep making the parts he is running, he will not have an issue. Force has already said he will keep running Mustangs, unless another manufacturer steps up to the plate.
As for GM, they got out of Pro NHRA drag racing years ago. This is why you only see Mopar, Ford or Toyota bodies currently being made for FC. The only manufactures who will be sponsoring NHRA Mello Yello Pro Drag Racing are Mopar and Toyota. DSR holds most the cards with Mopar, so if Force runs anything other than a Mustang it will probably be a Toyota.
I will be curious about the JFR Boss 500 engine program. While it has nothing to do with Ford directly, they went went the name Boss 500 because of the Ford tie-in. These engines (blocks and heads) are made at JFR. Maybe it will become the JFR 500??
As for GM, they got out of Pro NHRA drag racing years ago. This is why you only see Mopar, Ford or Toyota bodies currently being made for FC. The only manufactures who will be sponsoring NHRA Mello Yello Pro Drag Racing are Mopar and Toyota. DSR holds most the cards with Mopar, so if Force runs anything other than a Mustang it will probably be a Toyota.
I will be curious about the JFR Boss 500 engine program. While it has nothing to do with Ford directly, they went went the name Boss 500 because of the Ford tie-in. These engines (blocks and heads) are made at JFR. Maybe it will become the JFR 500??
Ford was simply making a "smart" business decision in mid-1980's when they were going to make the Mustang a FWD 4-pot import wannabe too. Sometimes the bean counters get things wrong. Sometimes they need the fanatics to tell them such. Had a bunch of spineless jellyfish been the only "active" enthusiasts back in the 80's, we wouldn't have a Mustang today.
If professional drag racing can't get any support from the enthusiasts in an enthusiasts forum, then I must admit that our testicles have fallen off. At least I can share memories with my kids about the Mustang kicking @$$ in Fuel Funnycar. My grandchildren will just have to make due with stories.
Ford, this type of die hard brand loyal base is why Toyota couldn't make appreciable market share gains from you in the truck world. If you want to pander only to the low information, casual automotive shopper who just buys what they're told to buy, then fine. But when you stop supporting the things that made your hardcore base HARDCORE, it will cost you that base. Maybe not in the next 10 years, but that base will wear away over time and not be replenished. It takes years to build that kind of brand loyalty...
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Pretty sure the whole "assembly line manufacturing process" is what made Ford the company it is.
Drag racing is a dying sport. Ford isnt stupid. Ford made the right business decisions to keep from needing bailout moneys and this is another business decision that Ford has to make. Im sure theres many people at Ford who would like to continue to squander more and more money away in a sport that continues to dwindle. From what ive heard in terms of cost to run or sponsor these teams versus return from marketing, there is none.
Americas testicles are based around a archaic test of traction and a short straight line?
If thats the case, America didnt have much balls to begin with.
I agree with this statement. Listening to Bob Tasca talk the other night he it is a mistake on Ford's Part (AND THIS IS SOMEONE WITH A VESTED INTEREST NOT JUST WITH NHRA) and that it is a bean counters decision. To me Ford and Drag Racing go hand and hand. I believe that I am very brand loyal to Ford as I have 4 Ford's sitting in my driveway. I want to be be able to root for my manufacturer when it comes to racing.(This is why I have issues with NASCAR) With NASCAR I have relegated myself to know that a Ford has a diminished chance to when each week. At least with NHRA I know that they have a fighting chance.
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