Ford says investment in NASCAR is paying off

Dan Davis is more convinced than ever that Ford Motor Company's investment in racing is paying off. And, he says, it's not just because he is director of Ford's North American racing programs.

"Every year for the eight years that I have been in this job, we ask whether the money we spend to run our racing programs is exceeded by the return on the investment. If the answer is no, then we should spend our money elsewhere. But each year, the answer clearly is yes," said Davis. "This is the highest-leveraged program you can have to help sell our products."

Ford research backs him up. Current data reveals that 56 percent of Ford owners call themselves racing fans, and they not only buy a richer mix of products than non-racing Ford owners, they are incredibly loyal.

Davis offers what he calls the "parking lot test." Retired Ford executives Nick Scheele and Jim Padilla both experienced this phenomenon at a NASCAR Nextel Cup race and came away convinced about the positive impact of racing, says Davis.

"Nick's first visit to a Nextel Cup race was in Atlanta. We took him out to the parking lot at the track where there were thousands of vehicles. F-150s were parked everywhere," recalled Davis. "Then he saw all of the fans in the stands. He left that weekend saying, 'This is a huge deal.' Nick got it. He understood."

Other manufacturers get it, too. Competition is heating up as they all try to snare a larger slice of NASCAR's 75 million fans.

Next year, Toyota will begin fielding Nextel Cup teams, joining Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge, the latter returning to NASCAR's elite series just three years ago. While the increased competition is providing more opportunities for drivers and other team members, it is creating challenges for Ford.

Earlier this year, Elliott Sadler left Ford-backed Robert Yates Racing to drive a Dodge. And next year, long-time Ford drivers Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin will be behind the wheel of competitive-brand race cars.

Davis says this shift in racing personnel is not unique.

"Ford's success on the track makes us a natural target of all competitors -- not just Toyota," he said. "We will still have an extremely talented group of drivers next year, including Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, and our driver development program has some excellent young drivers."

That development program aims to identify promising drivers and move them up through various levels to the Nextel Cup series. Davis says diversity is key to the effort.

"Our customer base includes women, African-Americans and Hispanics, so our drivers should reflect our customers," Davis said.

Among the young women in Ford's driver development program is Alison McLeod, a 16-year-old Canadian who Davis thinks may be good enough to win a Nextel Cup title some day.

Also working his way through the ranks is Mexico City native Michel Jourdain Jr., who made the switch to NASCAR after eight years in the open-wheel Champ Car series. This year, the 30-year old is competing part time in the Craftsman Truck Series, but likely will have a full-time ride next year.

Another area where Ford is improving its NASCAR teams is in the technology of testing cars and analyzing data.

"The days of the high school mechanic are over," said Davis. "Our teams need degreed engineers who know how to use software programs to help make the race cars consistently perform well.

"Ford has great technology, and our teams have outstanding people who have the ability to use technology. My job is to align everything so this technical capability is quickly transferred to our racing teams. Those teams that apply state-of-the-art technology better than anyone else will have the most success. And in order to have a successful racing program that drives sales of our products, we must continue winning on the track."