FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: POCONO ADVANCE
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for the first time this weekend and there will be a new face behind the wheel of the No. 43 Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports as Darrell Wallace Jr. makes his debut filling in for the recovering Aric Almirola. Ford has 22 Cup wins at Pocono, including the circuit’s last visit in August when Chris Buescher captured the first win of his career.
WALLACE TO MAKE CUP DEBUT
As mentioned above, Darrell Wallace Jr. will be making his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Wallace owns five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins, and has made a seamless transition to the NASCAR XFINITY Series, where he qualified for the inaugural Chase last year and currently sits fourth in the point standings.
QUOTING GLOBAL DIRECTOR DAVE PERICAK
“We are excited for Bubba to get this opportunity to drive the iconic No. 43 Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “We couldn’t be happier with the progress of Aric Almirola’s recovery and can’t wait to get him back. In the meantime, this is a great opportunity for Bubba to show what he can do at the top level of the sport and we are committed to helping RPM win races.
“We are proud of the collaboration between RPM, Roush Fenway and Ford to make this driver transition happen, and it’s a great example of the One Ford mentality we have in order to make the overall Ford NASCAR program better.”
THE LAST TIME
The last time a Ford driver made his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut was when Ryan Reed of Roush Fenway Racing qualified for the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in October of last year. Reed, driving the No. 99 Lilly Diabetes Fusion, started 18th and finished 26th.
ALL FOR ONE
The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season has seen a marked improvement in Ford’s results and it’s come from every team on the roster. All seven organizations have registered at least one Top-10 finish this year while four own at least one pole. Ford’s five wins have come courtesy of Team Penske (3), Stewart-Haas Racing (1) and Roush Fenway Racing (1), a pace that’s still ahead of last year when Ford didn’t win its fifth Cup race until July 9.
COMPARING 2017 WITH 2016 (AFTER 13 RACES)
Wins (2017): 5 by Team Penske (3), Stewart-Haas (1), Roush Fenway (1)
Wins (2016): 2 by Team Penske (2)
Poles (2017): 7 by Stewart-Haas (3), Team Penske (2), Wood Brothers (1), Roush Fenway (1)
Poles (2016): 1 by Team Penske
(Note: There were 11 qualifying sessions through the first 13 weekends in both 2016 and 2017.)
Top-5 Finishes (2017): 27
Top-5 Finishes (2016): 10
Top-10 Finishes (2017): 53
Top-10 Finishes (2016): 25
FORD PERFORMANCE CUP WINNERS AT POCONO
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1988 – Bill Elliott (2)
1989 – Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott
1990 – Geoffrey Bodine (2)
1992 – Alan Kulwicki (1)
1994 – Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
1995 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1996 – Rusty Wallace (2)
1997 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1998 – Jeremy Mayfield (1)
2000 – Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace
2001 – Ricky Rudd (1)
2002 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2005 – Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2010 – Greg Biffle (2)
2016 – Chris Buescher (2)
