Tasca and Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Reach Finals; Finish Weekend as Gators Runner-Up

Gainesville, FL., March 14, 2010 – Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang team hoped to have their first back-to-back Gatornationals victory on Sunday, but a dropped cylinder in the finals prevented the team from celebrating for the second consecutive year.

Tasca faced technical alliance teammate Tim Wilkerson in an all-Ford final on Sunday afternoon.  As a result of the dropped cylinder Tasca’s run to the finish line was 4.192 seconds at 287.17 miles per hour compared to Wilkerson’s 4.097-second pass at 303.78 miles per hour. 

“As defending race champ, our expectations were high and we came out looking to repeat our win from last year,” said Tasca.  “Our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang ran great and did what we wanted it to do, other than in the final round.  Running the finals against Tim was great.  Wilkerson has a tremendous group working for him and I’m happy for them.”

It was a weekend of progressive improvement for Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team.  The weekend began when rain showers canceled one of the qualifying session on Friday.  During his first run late on Friday, Tasca shook the tires and posted a time of 8.455 seconds at 77.18 miles per hour, which put the team in the 15th qualifying position.

Determined to make the top half of the field, Tasca, crew chiefs Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner and the entire Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team went to work on Saturday to post two solid qualifying runs.  With ideal weather conditions, Tasca showed his power in the second qualifying session by running a 4.138-second pass at 306.33 miles per hour.  Tasca was third quickest of the session and moved from 15th to eighth in the qualifying order.

“The decisions that have to be made to make these Funny Cars go down the race track and compete for a championship is amazing,” said Tasca. “Chris and Marc did a tremendous job on Saturday and worked hard to get everything right for us to strong and race ready on Sunday.”  Read the rest of this entry »

Tasca and Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Seek to Defend No. 1 Performance in Gainesville

DEARBORN, MI – March 9, 2010 – One year ago, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang were confident heading into the Gainesville. That confidence, hard work and consistent performance enabled them to leave Gatornationals with their first No. 1 Qualifying position, but they also left with something a little more important – their first career win.

“From breaking the Alcohol Funny Car record to my first Funny Car win – Gainesville is hands-down my favorite track and an incredible place to race,” said Tasca. “We’re so fortunate not only to get our first win, but our first No. 1 Qualifier at such a special venue. As a defending race winner, it adds that much more excitement for everyone on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Team.”

Although looking to repeat their success, Tasca and the team look at Gainesville as a familiar track and have set realistic expectations for the race weekend. Tasca and the team remain focused on the task at hand and with the proper tuning; there will be a similar end result.

“We’re looking forward to getting back to Gainesville because we’ve done very well there,” said Tasca. “We made a lot of changes to our Shelby Mustang during the off-season, but we have a very similar combination this weekend to what we ran a year ago. We are confident about our chances this weekend. This Mustang is the most competitive race car I’ve driven. I’m looking forward to that opening session on Friday.”

Tasca’s confidence in racing at Gainesville stems from the years of experience crew chiefs Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner bring to the track. Cunningham and Denner have more than 35 years of experience between them and they arm Tasca with the quickest Mustang possible.

“Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner will prep our Mustang to the best tune-up for the conditions at hand,” said Tasca. “The crew chiefs make their decisions on what they feel the track can hold. I have a lot of confidence in Chris, Marc and my crew. I know they want to repeat our performance from last year and I think we can bring home another win.” Read the rest of this entry »

Special Media Teleconference featuring Bob Tasca III

MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE
MEDIA ADVISORY

BOB TASCA III, DRIVER OF THE MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE FORD SHELBY MUSTANG SCHEDULED FOR TELECONFERENCE ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18

Motorcraft/Quick Lane will be hosting a special media teleconference featuring Bob Tasca III – a first-time winner in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Funny Car class this past weekend – on Wednesday, March 18 at 3:30 p.m.

•Tasca won Sunday’s 40th Annual NHRA Gatornationals, Funny Car class.
•Tasca made it to the finals in his 27th NHRA Funny Car race.
•Tasca moves to second in series points, 38 points behind Ron Capps

WHAT: Bob Tasca teleconference

GUESTS: Bob Tasca III, driver and owner of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car

WHEN: Wednesday, March 18

TIME: 3:30 p.m. EASTERN

PHONE NUMBER: 1-800-895-0231

CONFERENCE ID: Motorcraft

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TASCA IS NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT NHRA GATORNATIONALS

TASCA IS NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT NHRA GATORNATIONALS
FIRST CAREER TOP QUALIFYING HONORS FOR TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE TEAM

•In his 27th NHRA competition appearance, Bob Tasca III is the No. 1 qualifier – his first career top qualifying position

•Tasca is the 89th different driver to qualify a Funny Car No. 1 since the class was created in 1969

•Tasca is the first non-John Force Racing Ford to qualify No. 1 since Whit Bazemore on August 16. 1997, in the Winston Racing Mustang in Brainerd, Minn.

Gainesville, FL., March 14, 2009 – In Friday’s opening qualifying sessions, Bob Tasca III, in his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Shelby, set a time of 4.124 seconds at 296.76 miles per hour. Three runs later and at the conclusion of qualifying for the Gatornationals, that time remained the fastest of the week.

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