BOB TASCA III AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE FORD SHELBY MUSTANG MISS SECOND ROUND BY 12 FEET

26th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals
Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ
February 19-21, 2010
Race 2 of 23

BOB TASCA III AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE FORD SHELBY MUSTANG MISS SECOND ROUND BY 12 FEET

Firebird, AZ., February 21, 2010 – After several rain delays on Sunday, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team were eager to attack Firebird International Raceway and carry Pomona momentum with them to the finals.

Tasca opened the weekend with a strong 4.160-second pass at 301.20 miles per hour during the first qualifying session.  After the end of Friday’s sessions, Tasca was comfortably qualified for Sunday’s eliminations.

Rain would cancel the final qualifying session on Saturday afternoon and Tasca would rely on his best effort from Friday’s opening run to seed him for the elimination rounds.  The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Racing team qualified in the 10th position and would face Jack Beckman in the opening round on Sunday.

For the first time in the 2010 season, rain would delay the start of Sunday’s elimination rounds.  After a delayed start, Tasca and Jack Beckman would be the first pair of Funny Cars on track. 

Once the Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger were staged, Tasca was first off the line with a solid reaction time and led until the 660-foot maker.  Beckman took the lead and reached the finish line ahead of Tasca by 0.0276 seconds, approximately 12 feet.  Tasca ran a 4.196 second pass at 299.20 miles per hour to the Beckman’s 4.132-second pass at 307.37 miles per hour.

Final elimination rounds of the 26th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals are scheduled to run on Monday, February 22, 2010, at noon ET (10 a.m. MT).
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TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE CARRY POMONA MOMENTUM INTO PHOENIX

DEARBORN, MI – February 17, 2010 – Following their semi-final appearance at last weekend’s race in Pomona, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team look forward to the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series’ first back-to-back racing weekend.

“I’m excited that were going to Phoenix right after kicking off the season in Pomona,” said Tasca.  “Normally Phoenix is after a week off but I’m glad we’re back-to-back this early in the season.  We worked hard all winter and we want to get back to racing.  That’s why we’re here and that’s what we love to do.” 

Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team are believers in momentum and see Phoenix as an opportunity to improve their Shelby Mustang and standings in series points.  The team looks to conquer the tricky track known as Firebird Raceway because they’ve had mixed results in the past.  In two previous visits to Firebird International Raceway, Tasca did not qualify (2008) and reached the second round (2009).

“We can take and build on the momentum we started in Pomona,” said Tasca. “This sport is all about momentum and capturing good data.  All of our data is applicable to Phoenix, so we’re confident heading into Phoenix because the conditions will be very similar to what we saw in Pomona.  We’ll look at our testing data, look at what we did in Pomona and that will give us confidence for Q1 this Friday.”

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Second Round Loss to Mike Neff ends run for Tasca

25th Annual Lucas Oil Slick Mist Nationals
Firebird International Raceway, Chandler, Ariz
Feb. 20-22, 2009

For Immediate Release

SECOND ROUND LOSS TO MIKE NEFF ENDS RUN FOR TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE TEAM – TASCA LEAVES PHOENIX SIXTH IN STANDINGS

Phoenix, AZ., Feb 22, 2009 – In his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car, Bob Tasca III, attacked Firebird International Raceway with a new confidence. That confidence was evident when Tasca ran the fastest time of his Funny Car career in first round of eliminations (4.095 seconds/302.41mph).

Last year on Phoenix race day, Tasca was in the movie theater. This year, he was trackside after piloting his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car to a seventh place qualifying effort in 4.10 seconds at 301.94 miles per hour. The Phoenix qualifying time marks the second top-10 start for Tasca in 2009.

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Tasca to start 7th in sunday’s NHRA Nationals at Firebird

25th NHRA Nationals
Firebird International Raceway, Chandler, Ariz
Feb. 20-22, 2009

For Immediate Release

TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE TO START SEVENTH IN SUNDAY’S NHRA WINTERNATIONALS – MARKING TASCA’S SECOND TOP-10 START OF 2009

Phoenix, AZ., Feb 21, 2009 – In two words, Bob Tasca III announced his goal for the NHRA Winternationals. Conquer Phoenix.

Just one month ago in testing, Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team made eight passes down Firebird Raceway. The team eagerly returned to Phoenix on Friday with those test passes fresh in their minds.

On Saturday afternoon, Tasca piloted his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car to a seventh place qualifying effort in 4.10 seconds at 301.94 miles per hour. Tasca will face Jerry Toliver in first round eliminations on Sunday at Firebird Raceway.

“It was a great day today. We qualified seventh with a time of 4.10 seconds, knowing that definitely put us in the show,” said Tasca. “With a solid run early in the weekend, we knew we would have the opportunity to try some things that crew chief Chris Cunningham wanted to try on our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang. We learned a lot today. We smoked the tires in the first qualifying run today but we had some real promising data for the first 60 feet before the car smoked the tires.”

“We had great passes this weekend. I credit last year, off season testing and the hard work of Chris Cunningham, Marc Denner and all the guys on this Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, for our success in Phoenix so far. We’ve got some good data under our belt that we can use to capitalize our performance this weekend.”

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series can be seen on Sunday, Feb. 22, on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD for three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).

Qualifying Order – Funny Car
1. Ron Capps; 2. Mike Neff; 3. John Force; 4. Del Worsham; 5. Robert Hight; 6. Tony Pedregon; 7. Bob Tasca III; 8. Matt Hagan; 9. Jim Head; 10. Jerry Toliver; 11. Jack Beckman; 12. Ashley Force Hood; 13. Cruz Pedregon; 14. Tim Wilkerson; 15. Gary Densham; 16. Jeff Arend. DNQ – Bob Bode.

About Motorcraft
Motorcraft offers a complete line of original equipment-approved parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood and powertrain repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available locally and are backed nationwide by Ford Motor Company’s Service Parts Limited Warranty. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Quick Lane
Quick Lane® provides automotive quick services for all makes and models. Quick Lane’s® nationwide network of over 500 facilities provides the convenience of an aftermarket company (no appointment necessary, service while you wait, evening and weekend hours, competitive prices) with the confidence of a major automotive manufacturer (quality parts, factory-trained technicians). Quick Lane® is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 280,000 employees and more than 100 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. www.ford.com

MEDIA CONTACT:
Susan Pollack
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
313.203.7162 | 313.434.6912
spollack@pcgcampbell.com

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TASCA MISSES SUNDAY’S NHRA NATIONALS BY ONE POSITION

CHANDLER, Ariz. – After smoking the tires during his first run, and experiencing a throttle problem in his second, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center team will not make their second nitro Funny Car start in Sunday’s NHRA Nationals as Tasca ended up the 17^th driver in a 16-driver field.

“Not a good situation,” said Tasca after his final run of the day. “Our car shook and I pedaled it, but we had something fail with the throttle. When I stepped off of the throttle at the finish line, it was still wide open. I’ll tell you what, I’ve never been afraid in one of these cars, but when you’re going over 300 and your foot is off the throttle and the car is still accelerating, that gets your attention. Fortunately for us, the parachutes both came out.”

Tasca pulled into the shutoff area of the track following his second run with a crack across the top of his Shelby Mustang and smoke coming from underneath.

“It ended up blowing the blower off of the car, which stopped the engine. We’ve got to figure out why it did that. My crew chiefs are going over the data to find out what went wrong. But regardless of that, the car shook and that was really the end of our weekend.”

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