Solidarity pervades the Ford camp at Talladega

Solidarity pervades the Ford camp at Talladega

 

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 

(October 22, 2011)

 

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Forget traditional drafting relationships.

 

David Gilliland, for one, won’t be helping Tony Stewart, one of his past drafting partners.

 

Basically, if a driver doesn’t bleed Ford blue, don’t expect him to get help from another of the blue oval drivers in Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

 

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth—first and third in the series standings—are the focus of the entire Ford camp this weekend. Roush Fenway Racing teammates Greg Biffle and David Ragan will be the initial partners of Edwards and Kenseth, respectively, but Ford drivers from Richard Petty Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports are waiting in the wings if the original plan should go awry.

 

The dictum of Ford drivers helping only other Ford drivers in Sunday’s race came from Ford Racing brass and team owner Jack Roush during a meeting early in the week. In fact, Roush’s loyalty to the brand is legendary. When an employee once showed up for work in a Toyota, Roush allegedly paid him in yen.

 

So Gilliland, who drives for Front Row, won’t be on Stewart’s bumper on Sunday—at all.

 

“Yeah, we aren’t,” Gilliland said. “It’s such a tight points battle right now, and we’re going to try to help the Ford guys out all we can.”

 

Apparently, Roush talked about the Ford solidarity in no uncertain terms.

 

“Jack can be pretty blunt,” RFR driver David Ragan said during qualifying, adding that the emphasis this week is on Chase drivers Edwards and Kenseth, with the goal to put one of their cars in victory lane.