Ford's racing boss, Jamie Allison, sizing up the first stretch of the NASCAR season:

  Jamie Allison (R), who heads Ford's racing operations, talking with Ford's Edsel Ford just before the start of NASCAR's annual Sprint Cup All-Star race (Photo: Autostock)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   CONCORD, N.C.
   Ford is 0-for-12 on the NASCAR Sprint Cup trail this spring, and Jamie Allison, Ford's racing boss, says "That's unacceptable."
   Allison, new to the job this season, is a 20-year Ford man, and he concedes Ford's current winless streak is "gut-wrenching.
   "We are better than our results."
    It's the All-Star break, with the stock car tour back to business as usual again next week here with the sport's longest race, the Coke 600. And at the moment there are indications that some Ford teams may be in danger of losing sponsorship, in part because of lackluster on-track performance.
   So looking at balance of power on the tour, well, here's Allison to explain things.
   Allison says, in fact, that this year Ford's nine official teams are running better overall this spring than a year ago: "The summary doesn't indicate the progress we've made over the past year. We're coming from a tough season in 2009."
   Most striking of course has been Carl Edwards, who won nine tour events in a spectacular 2008 run, but who has been winless since.
   Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle have been carrying the freight for Ford this season. David Ragan and Elliott Sadler have been playing below their potential. AJ Allmendinger is showing some progress. Paul Menard started well but has faded lately. Bill Elliott, running part-time with the Woods, has been so-so. Kevin Conway is a rookie trying to break in. Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland are veterans trying to hang in.
   Kenseth's best finish was a second at Atlanta. Biffle's best was a third at Daytona. Kahne's best was a fourth at Atlanta. Edwards' best was a fifth at Richmond. Menard's best finish was a fifth at Atlanta. Allmendinger's best finish was a sixth at Atlanta. Ragan's best finish was a sixth at Talladega. Sadler hasn't finished better than 18th; Elliott hasn't finished better than 16th.
   Allison:  "I am measuring progress this year not necessarily by wins but by improvement.
   "There have only been a couple of races that haven't met our expectations. But in nine we have shown significant improvement over a year ago. And in four of those, we were in contention: Greg Biffle, Daytona, half a turn away. Matt Kenseth at Martinsville, ducks underneath going for the win, gets taken out.
   "The fact that we're in contention, which we weren't a year ago, is a measure of progress.
   "But we know we've got to get a few (wins).
   "Still, when we look at top-five finishes by race, we are marked improved over 2009....an average of 10 to 15 places better, per race. Clearly we're going from where we'd finish (average) in mid-15s, now we're in the top-10s. And we're even contending for wins."
   

    Okay, let's look at top-10 finishes for Ford, 2010 versus 2009:

                               2010                           2009

   Daytona             3                                  2   (including a Matt Kenseth win)
   California          2                                  3    (a Kenseth win)
   Las Vegas        3                                  3
   Atlanta                5                                 1
   Bristol                 3                                 0
   Martinsville        2                                 1
   Phoenix              2                                 2
   Texas                  2                                3
   Talladega          1                                 1
   Richmond         1                                 1
   Darlington         0                                 2
   Dover                 3                                 3

   Total top-10s    27                               22

  
  
  Now let's look at laps led by Ford teams, 2010 versus 2009:

                                  2010                2009

   Daytona                53                     8
   California             0                      101
   Las Vegas           13                    42
   Atlanta                  148                  28
   Bristol                   78                    0
   Martinsville           3                     1
   Phoenix                20                    1
   Texas                    14                   159
   Talladega             29                  16
   Richmond            2                     0
   Darlington            0                     139
   Dover                    39                   60

   Total laps led       399                555

   Why isn't Ford winning?
   Allison points to one major area:
   -- computer simulation programs for vehicle dynamics, which are key now, with NASCAR having banned testing. Rivals simply have better computer programs. And he says rivals may be doing a better job in computer analysis of tires too.
   "Since the ban on testing two years ago, our performance has really lacked," Allison says. "We look at it all as a system...
   "In the area of emphasis on simulation in vehicle dynamics – where at one point in 2006-2007 we were leading – other teams have had a better predictability. We can see that when we all show up on Friday at the track, and some teams unload and are just dialing, where some teams are still chasing.
   "When you show up at the track, you have to be dialing, not chasing. You have to be able to unload and just run with the setup you've predicted."
   Tires? "Everyone has the same access to the data; it's what you do with the data, and what you do with a simulation program," Allison says.
   "Last year there was the onset of the realization that (a better) simulation (program) was needed....
   "This year we're dialing in on that.
   "And this year, we've added RPM (Richard Petty Motorsports, owned by George Gillett), which brings in some new ideas.
   "Plus, we've seen the potential of the FR9 engine in a few situations."

   And what about that new Ford FR9 engine? All Ford teams are using it over the All-Star weekend, but again only the Wood brothers will be using it in the Cup race next week, the Coke 600.
   A full rollout of the FR9 has been talked about for nearly a year now, but it still has yet to happen. The latest mark on the NASCAR calendar is the June 13th Michigan 400. "The rollout was promised for the middle of the season, and we're approaching that," Allison said, deferring most of the engine questions to head engine man Doug Yates.
   Will the new engine make a difference? Why has it taken Ford so long to bring it out full-bore? It's been well over a year since it was first unveiled.
   Allison says the new engine should help.
   "We have the oldest engine....while our competitors all have a new architecture," Allison said. "Now it's on our shoulders. The FR9 has been a long time coming, and we believe it will provide an advantage over the other engine.
   "The combination of the new engine coming on-stream and our finding better predictive tools, to help us, considering the restrictions on testing, should be key.
   "We know what the issues are, and we are addressing them. But this is a very competitive business, and the margins are not very wide. We are giving it our best shot, and we will find a way to win, we have to."

 

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  Leader of the pack, Matt Kenseth (Photo: Autostock)