New Ford Fusion Joins Nascar Ranks

Ford has revealed the design for its Fusion-based Nascar at a press event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

”We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return ‘stock car’ to NASCAR. I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to reengage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways,” said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing.

Allison's argument is a little disingenuous because despite the Fusion Nascar looking very similar to the production Fusion, it still has to adhere to Nascar specifications. That means that it has to use a specified chassis and 5.9 liter V8 with a four-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. 2012 will also be the first year in Nascar, where the cars will be able to use fuel injection. Until now they had used a carburetor. Given that the production Fusion is front-wheel drive and does not offer a V8, it is difficult calling the Nascar version a "stock car."