motorntv.com - This Week in Ford Racing: NASCAR Edition

Ford’s new FR9 engine will make its first non-restrictor-plate appearance this weekend when it powers David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion in the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The FR9 debuted (in Ragan’s No. 6 and Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion) a few weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway. Ford Racing Technology North American Operations Manager Doug Hervey talks about the FR9’s first open-track race. DOUG HERVEY – North American Operations Manager, Ford Racing Technology – “The new engine will be in the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion with David Ragan.” THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT WILL RUN ON AN OPEN TRACK. LOGISTICALLY, IS THAT A BIG CHANGE FROM ITS DEBUT AT TALLADEGA, A RESTRICTOR-PLATE TRACK? “It’s a different durability cycle that we had to run, and we wanted to make sure that the cooling system was optimized for the performance of the engine, in terms of its power output. And we feel somewhat pleased with how its gone so far, so we’re going to introduce it this weekend at Miami-Homestead Speedway for Ford Championship Weekend.”

THIS WILL GIVE YOU A HEAD START ON 2010, CORRECT? HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT? “Well, it gives us a good look at how the engine will perform on the track. You know, the engine has been tested on a dyno with race-durability runs – so, it has simulated racing, but it hasn’t been out in the environment. This is going to great. This is going to be a good test for us to see how the engine performs on track, because during the dyno-simulations runs we can’t simulate the “dirty air,” if you will, and all the environmental conditions that the engine will see. So, this will give us a good barometer for where we are at with the engine.” WHAT WAS LEARNED ABOUT THE NEW ENGINE AFTER THE TALLADEGA RACE? “We learned that our pre-race durability testing and reliability testing was spot-on. When we tore down the motor we looked at certain areas of the motor, and they looked great from an inspection standpoint. So, we were very pleased with the tear-down results of the motor, and we are looking forward to doing power development with the motor as we go forward.” DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING IN THAT POST-RACE INSPECTION THAT YOU DIDN’T EXPECT TO FIND? ANY SURPRISES? “No. It was actually exactly what we had hoped we would see, so there were no surprises. Actually, we were pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t a small area that needed some tweaking or some modification, so if there was a surprise, that would be a good surprise, because we didn’t see any of that. From the restrictor-plate version, we were very happy with the motor.” The 2009 season ends with Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ford Racing has done well in the Ford 400, winning each of the last five years. Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, won three in a row from 2004-06, and his teammate, Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, won there last year. Both talked about what it means to win the final race of the season and to be able to carry that feeling all the way through the winter. GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – ON RACING AT HOMESTEAD. “I run really well there. I really look forward to next week. It’s good momentum for us, although we haven’t been as strong on these mile-and-a-halfs as we have in the past, so that’s been a little bit frustrating, as well.” ROUSH JUST SEEMS TO DOMINATE AT HOMESTEAD; YOU HAD THREE CONSECUTIVE WINS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT TRACK? “You know, some race tracks are like that for us, and I’ve run good there about every time we’ve been there. And I think I’ve helped the organization a little bit with set-up and things like that. But we’ve just run really well at that race track. I love the progressive banking that it’s got – it reminds me a lot of racing at Tucson, Arizona -- just a lot bigger, obviously. I enjoy racing there. I think that’s been a lot of it to make us so good at that race track.” WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO GO THE ENTIRE WINTER KNOWING NOBODY COULD BEAT YOU FOR THE NEXT TWO AND A MONTHS? “It’s great. That’s what I said all three years in a row because, you know, you win and then the next week, Monday or Tuesday, that win wears off – it’s like you’re getting ready for the next week. So, it’s always cool to win when there’s a week off. But to win the last race of the season, to be the previous winner all the way to the Bud Shootout, that’s a pretty neat deal. Hopefully, I’ll repeat that this year.” DID YOU FEEL LIKE THOSE WINS GOT LOST BECAUSE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS BEING DECIDED THE SAME NIGHT? “You’ve got to expect that. But, then again, not really, because you’re talking about it. Winning three in a row is not easy. I’m pretty proud of what our team was able to accomplish.” CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WIN THE FINAL RACE OF THE SEASON AND CARRY THAT FEELING ALL THROUGH THE WINTER? “It feels good, knowing that you’re going into the winter with a trophy there. Hopefully, we can get a win. I’ve got [one race] to win one this season, and I’d sure like to go to go into the winter with a win. That track has been great for us. Our Fords run really great there. We had a real fun media day there about a month ago, and, yeah, we’ll just go there and kind of build off of what we did at Texas and at Charlotte – Matt ran really well at both of those races; I felt like we were really good until we got caught up there in that wreck at Texas. So, hopefully, we can apply that, go have a good shot at it.”