Although it has been a tough slog, two of the biggest names at Ford say that the blue oval team is ready to take on the Chase and end Jimmie Johnson’s streak at four NASCAR Sprint Cup titles.
Things appeared to turnaround with Greg Biffle’s win at Pocono, the first win for Ford since the fall race at Talladega last year.
Now that the Chase starts on Sunday with three Roush Fenway drivers -- including Biffle, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth -- Jack Roush and Ford Racing Boss Jamie Allison are optimistic.
“All of us at Ford are really reinvigorated with the recent momentum that we’ve seen our Ford teams develop out on the track,” said Allison.
He bases his opinion on his tracking system which shows top-five finishes in 10 out of the last 12 races.
“It’s invigorating and powerful to know you have momentum on your side and if you look at who is in the chase, and look at our drivers under the leadership of Jack, we have champions that are entering the chase who have been in a similar position,” added Allison.
Roush continued on that theme “we’ll stand our base here and get the top-fives everywhere that we can, which will hopefully be most of the time for our three chasers,” then inferred that late-race strategy and competitive fire will put one of his drivers in Victory Lane.
One of the keys to the new competitive stance is that Ford’s new FR-9 motor has, finally, arrived. As Allison said “it has really helped invigorate the program. We’re excited and feel we’re peaking at the right time.”
While both Roush and Allison are comfortable, if not optimistic, about the NASCAR’s version of playoffs Roush says the outcome will be a close competition, but, Johnson is still a threat.
“It’s not his to lose, it’s his to win – the same as it is for everybody else – and I think it’s gonna be a great competition. It’s gonna keep people close to the fence and keep a lot of interest in the races as they unfold here in the Chase.”
Things appeared to turnaround with Greg Biffle’s win at Pocono, the first win for Ford since the fall race at Talladega last year.
Now that the Chase starts on Sunday with three Roush Fenway drivers -- including Biffle, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth -- Jack Roush and Ford Racing Boss Jamie Allison are optimistic.
“All of us at Ford are really reinvigorated with the recent momentum that we’ve seen our Ford teams develop out on the track,” said Allison.
He bases his opinion on his tracking system which shows top-five finishes in 10 out of the last 12 races.
“It’s invigorating and powerful to know you have momentum on your side and if you look at who is in the chase, and look at our drivers under the leadership of Jack, we have champions that are entering the chase who have been in a similar position,” added Allison.
Roush continued on that theme “we’ll stand our base here and get the top-fives everywhere that we can, which will hopefully be most of the time for our three chasers,” then inferred that late-race strategy and competitive fire will put one of his drivers in Victory Lane.
One of the keys to the new competitive stance is that Ford’s new FR-9 motor has, finally, arrived. As Allison said “it has really helped invigorate the program. We’re excited and feel we’re peaking at the right time.”
While both Roush and Allison are comfortable, if not optimistic, about the NASCAR’s version of playoffs Roush says the outcome will be a close competition, but, Johnson is still a threat.
“It’s not his to lose, it’s his to win – the same as it is for everybody else – and I think it’s gonna be a great competition. It’s gonna keep people close to the fence and keep a lot of interest in the races as they unfold here in the Chase.”