NASCAR officials will get their first look Tuesday at a prototype of the new Taurus that Ford plans to race in the Winston Cup next season. The car was built by [#21] Wood Brothers Racing, and the preview will be at the team’s shop in Stuart, VA. Greg Specht, manager of Ford Racing, said if all goes as planned the next step will be to run the car on a racetrack, then take it to the wind tunnel before further development. NASCAR said approval of the car for competition could come as early as August. That would give the Ford teams plenty of time to begin building new cars for next season. The Taurus currently being raced was introduced in 2002. Pontiac and Chevrolet introduced new cars this year, while Dodge has the same model it introduced in 2001. The Tauruses and Intrepids being raced this year both have aerodynamic modifications for 2003.( Thatsracin.com/AP )(6-16-2003) ??? heard nothing on this at all on Tuesday, no PR’s or articles.(6-18-2003) UPDATE 2: NASCAR looked at the 2004 Taurus this week during a visit to the Wood Brothers Racing shop. The visit went well according to those in attendance, but NASCAR indicated a few items need further addressing. The NASCAR visit did not constitute a formal submission, but rather the opportunity for the sanctioning body to become familiar with the car prior to NASCAR personnels thorough review prior to its competition approval. Dan Davis, director Ford Racing Technology, said that there are a few ways to get a car through the approval process, but that the best one is to keep NASCAR up to speed on the goals for the new car. Those issues can be born from minor communication problems and easily resolved with a quick look-see as the new car is developed. Davis said, We want to show NASCAR the car up front, in case there are issues.( Ford Racing ), have not seen any images…yet [the images found are also shown on 2003 models].(6-21-2003)
