NASCAR announced earlier today (July 30) that all four manufacturer submitted 2013 car models have been approved by the series to begin racing next season, and that the OEMs may now start building parts for those cars. The 2013 Ford Fusion, which was first unveiled in January of this year, was one of the four designs officially approved to go NASCAR racing beginning at the 2013 Daytona 500. Ford Racing Director Jamie Allison commented on what the approval means for Ford and the sport going forward.
JAMIE ALLISON, director, Ford Racing — “This is a monumental moment for the sport, for the fans and for us as a company with our participation in NASCAR. The fans have clamored for the return of cars that look like cars in their driveways and NASCAR, alongside us as manufacturers, have listened to that request. We are very proud of all the hard work and collaboration between NASCAR and the OEMs that was completed with the submission test, and now we are ready to go forward with the new face of NASCAR that is the 2013 Fusion. I can tell you that the completion of the submission test would not have been possible without the trust that has developed between NASCAR and the OEMs together. Ultimately, we all wanted to make sure that although the cars would all look different that on the track, we retained the competitiveness that exists today. Consequently that required trust, collaboration, and adhering to a specified target set by NASCAR. While we are focused on the rest of the season, we are very excited about what is upon us for 2013.”
