TCCoA Forums banner

Ford walking away from NHRA Drag Racing at the end of 2014

7K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  JLangton2 
#1 · (Edited)
I found this story on SCCoA.

http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130969

pro street rich @ SCCoA said:
At the end of the 2014 season Ford will no longer be involved with drag racing. This will affect everyone of us as parts will dry up fast. I know teams like John Force will march on but even for him it will be hard. This might be just the start of belt tightening from them.

This truly is a sad day for the blue oval camp, and for anyone with a ford toy. You better get your extra parts asap before they are all gone. I know that they have already pulled all the big block crate engines and who knows what else is going away...
This is really a sad day in our sport....

They were even talking about it on the TV when they talked to the Force camp at the track. This has been the buzz all week around me and where I work.

So far they are going to stay in NASCAR, but even that has a grey cloud around it... The price of going fast is getting way out of control and there is no end to it. Every time one of the companies steps up to the plate it cost more for everyone else to keep even...

This is truly a sad time in the automotive hobby as we know it.....Rich
See this article for more details:

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...-away-from-nhra-pro-racing-at-the-end-of-2014
 
#2 ·
Big whoop. I never understood how Ford could justify casting 40+ year old pushrod V8 parts decades after the last one was produced in a Ford car/truck anyway. This doesn't come as a surprise to me at all, nor do I really care. The aftermarket has better parts and support for those motors anyway.

And Ford Racing hasn't had anything worthwhile in their catalog pertaining to us or even SN95 guys for 3 years. It's all proliferated with S197 dress up junk.
 
#3 ·
Gosh Matt, your not much into the vintage Pre-80's cars. Go to any cruise in Michigan and you will see tons of Ford FE powered cars and trucks that have been modified to push out tons of HP and FUN. There is more to life than 302s and 1980's Foxes.

Maybe they know something we don't, like possible government restriction and clamp down of cars that get less than 20 MPG. Don't laugh, it can happen.
 
#4 · (Edited)
How do you figure that? I LOVE tons of pre 80s cars(except Fairlanes, as you know :tongue:), but how many people with pre 80s are buying FRPP sourced parts besides valve covers and other dress up items for them? Again, The aftermarket and salvage market has FEs 335s 385s, and Windsors pretty well covered, better than FRPP does in fact. It makes no business sense to have a casting foundry dedicated to engines older than their engineering staff just for NHRA competition, while the company is trying to be competitive in their actual lucrative business.
 
#7 ·
I'm sure they'll still make gears.

Here's an excerpt of the Ford statement that is in the article that I linked above.

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...-away-from-nhra-pro-racing-at-the-end-of-2014

Ford said:
“Ford is not getting out of drag racing,” the statement read. “We are fully committed to continue our support of grassroots sportsman drag racing with our Mustang Cobra Jet, parts support and contingency programs. Enthusiasts and production-based racing is at the heart of what we do.

"We have, however, made a business decision to conclude our team sponsorships and support in the NHRA Mello Yello Series at the end of the 2014 season. This decision was based on an ongoing assessment of our motorsport programs’ effectiveness and the strategic alignment with our company objectives globally.”

The teams affected most by this decision are John Force Racing, Tasca Racing and Tim Wilkerson Racing. Both are locked into deals which expire at the end of 2014.
 
#10 ·
me thinks that his has a lot to do with the long term viability of NHRA. Since the turn of the century, NHRA has had quite a few big sponsors. With the withdrawal of Winston, its been Powerade, Monster, and Mello Yello. I think the writing is on the wall for them.

But, I think it also has to do with a massive paradigm shift in the auto industry. GM and Chrysler's bailout, the green "thing", and market volatility. But, I think its also has a lot to do with the American love affair with cars. Having gizmos is the new hotness and the hotrods are becoming nichey (and expensive).
 
#8 ·
I haven't bought brand new gears from them. I bought a pre assembled 3.73 tl dif for my last car from someone here, and my current car had them already installed, so no worries there. I did forget about the FRPP gears though.
 
#9 ·
This isn't an end to FRPP. The reason that exists is to sell off the shelf parts that not only fit as upgrades to current/recent production cars, but a lot of times are repackaged factory equipped replacement parts, offered at discount. Gears fall directly into that, as Ford hasn't strayed from 8.8s

And I'm pretty sure NHRA doesn't use 8.8s for that matter. :tongue:
 
#11 ·
NHRA is out of touch for the Manufactures. From a marketing stand point why should Ford dump tons on money on a team that's running parts they don't sell and haven't made in nearly 20yrs. On top of that Big Blocks are out dated (not arguing they can have a high HP ceiling) when you have small blocks leaving the factory with nearly 100HP more than the Big Blocks did (net Hp not gross). Plus a 460 long block will run about $12-13k a Coyote is what ~$15k.
 
#16 ·
Well that blows...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top