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MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: CONSUMERS ENERGY 400July 12, 2018Mark RushbrookBrooklyn, Michigan THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, who is here to accept the Michigan Heritage Trophy which goes to the winning manufacturer here at Michigan International Speedway. This is the 38th win for Ford at Michigan, the most of any of the tracks Ford has raced at, and they did sweep both races this year with Clint Bowyer winning earlier in June. Mark, talk about what this means to Ford. MARK RUSHBROOK: Yeah, we want to win every race that we're in for sure, but definitely being at our home track here, so close to the headquarters for Ford Motor Company and all of our employees here in southeast Michigan, we had 1,100 employees out here with their families today to watch this race, so to be able to get another win, two wins this summer is pretty big for the company and our employees, so we're really excited. Q. Did you tell Kevin Harvick how many times he needs to win this year, or did they give you any indication that he would win seven of the first 23? MARK RUSHBROOK: Well, we always set the target pretty high. We're not going to tell you what that is. But they're definitely firing on all cylinders, strong engines from Ford Roush Yates in there and strong cars from SHR, and Kevin is really determined, as you know, behind the wheel. He's on a roll so far this season and looking to continue that into the playoffs. Q. A few days ago, you launched the new Mustang for 2019. The Fusion is still very successful. Can you explain why you replaced The Fusion with the Mustang? And from the aero package point of view, is the Mustang easier to engineer? Is it an improvement over the Fusion from the aero package point of view? MARK RUSHBROOK: Yeah, so as far as the decision to change the cars, we've got a lot of speed in the Fusion, as you said, for sure. It's really strong this year, so we're looking for Fusion to end its run in NASCAR at the highest level in Cup, really strong through the end of this year. We definitely wanted to bring the Mustang with the opportunity with the rules changing to allow coupes as of last year, we took the decision that we wanted to bring the Mustang here, where we think it's really appropriate to be running that, and we think that with our engineering tools, with our team, with the collaboration between our racing teams, with Roush Fenway, Team Penske and Stewart‑Haas, the ability to use the Penske technology scale tunnel, Gene Haas's wind shear full scale tunnel and our advanced CFD tools, we think that we've got a Mustang that not only looks good but is going to race really good next year. Q. Mark, I'm sure it's great to have that trophy and it's great to have what Kevin Harvick is having, but 14 years since your last championship; how much of a sense of anticipation is building along with I'm sure a sense of dread that you can't waste this kind of year? MARK RUSHBROOK: Yeah, I got a few goosebumps there with you just saying that. But no, definitely we get reminded frequently inside our company that it's been 14 years, but that is our goal, and it's a decision that we took about four years ago to get serious, more serious about technical depth and using the tools that we have inside the company to get the on‑track performance that we really wanted. And that's how long it takes to put full force into the engine program, the aero program, the chassis program, the simulation, the simulator. It takes that long before they all get running because you've got to have strength in every part of the car. So it's been four years working towards this. Hopefully we can bring it home through this year. Certainly looking forward to that. But we've got a strong car, a new body coming next year, and looking forward to what we can do in 2019, as well. Q. (Indiscernible). MARK RUSHBROOK: Yeah, we want to win every race that we're in. We want to win as many races as we can through the year, and we definitely have our eye on the championship. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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