FR9 engine news and discussion

Please check the "Nationwide Series" section for the thread on the Mustang. I just posted a little info in the Sprint Cup section so that more people would see it.

You can see the un-locked thread by clicking here.

Quote :

New Ford engine is on the way: Brian Wolfe, the director of Ford Racing Technology, said the new Ford engine will take to the track in anger very soon. Before the Chase begins. The exact timing of rollout will be determined by the teams which will use it. He is promising no miracles for those teams. "We've really struggled this year  you know that better than I do  after the first two races. Some bad luck, then probably some missed setups and we got some issues going and we haven't had the wins. While the engine has tested well and appears to do what Ford wants it to do, teams will have to figure out how it affects other areas of performance. Areas like aerodynamics. Its improved cooling capabilities will allow teams to tamper with front downforce by using less tape on the nose. Some in the Ford camp have balked about using the new engine this year. Those would mostly be teams which appear headed to the Chase. Wolfe said he understands their concerns and will not pressure those teams to use the new engine.(Racin' Today)(7-30-2009)

JAYSKI'S


Ford to debut new engine at Michigan? Ford's long-awaited debut of its new NASCAR engine is now expected to come next Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, but it's not clear which teams may be using it. The engine has a much improved cooling system, which should make for more downforce on the nose, because teams won't have to run so much ductwork.(MikeMulhern.net)(8-10-2009) Comment here

Great! Hope it happens.

DENIED

UPDATE: It was rumored that Ford will introduce its new engine this weekend at Michigan. Not true, says Brian Wolfe, Ford's director of North American Motorsports. Instead, it will be introduced during the 10-race Chase that begins in September. "If it's this weekend nobody told me," Wolfe said "It's definitely not before the Chase." The plan before the season was to introduce the new engine by now. There were talks about letting the [#21 Ford] Wood Brothers, who are running a partial schedule with Bill Elliott, be the guinea pig. But that isn't likely now, Wolfe said. The first to use it will be non-Chase drivers at Roush Fenway [likely #6-Ragan, #26-McMurray, #96-Labonte, #98-Menard] or Yates Racing. Makes sense, considering the engine was developed by the Roush-Yates engine program. Still, don't look for a widespread rollout of the engine. And don't look for it to be used by one of the Chase teams unless the initial results are so extraordinary it is worth the risk.(ESPN Insider)(8-12-2009

First time I can said I am really furious with Brian. BIG TIME This has got to be FORD'S DECISION

That's too bad, I was looking forward to seeing how it worked out this week.

Anothing LONG WEEKEND AT MICHIGAN. Expecting one heckava BIG DISAPPOINTMENT coming up

Well... Fords are usually strong at Michigan. Guess we'll see how it goes...

I was looking forward to seeing how it would run too. Darn.

Quote :

New Ford engine debut at Charlotte: Ford plans to debut its new engine next month at Charlotte. It will be used by at least one Ford team not in the Chase. Whether all the Ford teams will be using the new engine at the start of next season, though, is a question. "This is more a team decision than a manufacturer's because the budgets are in their hands on how they do it,'' said Brian Wolfe, Ford Director of North American Motorsports. "We always kid internally that the biggest problem the new engine has is the old engine is so good.''(Roanoke Times)(9-14-2009)

I hope this time the plan works out!

Same here - I really want to see how they'll run with the new engine!!


Of course, the engine won't mean much if the cars won't turn like they have all year...

Has anyone read how many FORDS will be running the FR9 Engine in Charlotte???

Yatesracing wrote:

Has anyone read how many FORDS will be running the FR9 Engine in Charlotte???

Don't know if that decision has been made yet. I imagine that Matt Kenseth will run it for sure.

TeamBlueOval wrote:

Yatesracing wrote:

Has anyone read how many FORDS will be running the FR9 Engine in Charlotte???

Don't know if that decision has been made yet. I imagine that Matt Kenseth will run it for sure.

Thats the one I am hoping for.

Quote :

New Ford engine at Talladega: Ford will delay the debut of its new Sprint Cup engine, Doug Hervey, who oversees Ford's North American racing operations, said Saturday. The engine was scheduled to have debuted next week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Instead, Ford will debut the restrictor-plate version of the engine at Talladega in three weeks. As for the non-restrictor-plate engine, it likely will debut at Texas or Homestead.(Virginian Pilot)
AND: Matt Kenseth's crew chief Drew Blickensderfer is expecting to have the new Ford FR9 engine in the #17 Fusion in two weeks at Talladega.
AND: On a related note: Blickensderfer expects to return as crew chief next season even though Kenseth failed to make the Chase for the first time since the format was introduced six years ago.(FoxSports)(10-11-2009)

DeeDee wrote:

Quote :

New Ford engine at Talladega: Ford will delay the debut of its new Sprint Cup engine, Doug Hervey, who oversees Ford's North American racing operations, said Saturday. The engine was scheduled to have debuted next week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Instead, Ford will debut the restrictor-plate version of the engine at Talladega in three weeks. As for the non-restrictor-plate engine, it likely will debut at Texas or Homestead.(Virginian Pilot)
AND: Matt Kenseth's crew chief Drew Blickensderfer is expecting to have the new Ford FR9 engine in the #17 Fusion in two weeks at Talladega.
AND: On a related note: Blickensderfer expects to return as crew chief next season even though Kenseth failed to make the Chase for the first time since the format was introduced six years ago.(FoxSports)(10-11-2009)

I read this DeeDee and was very disappointed. There has got to be a reason why they keep changing the date. I would imagine it's the chassis, after all, no matter how good the engine might be , IF YOU CAN'T DRIVE THE DAM CAR, THAN YOU CAN'T UTILIZE THE THE ADDED H/P THIS ENGINE HAS.

Ya know GG I can't really say what the problem might be? I agree that the Ford chassis are behind. I tend to think that they may be having problem with the engine itself. Regardless of how well the chassis are run, there is no other reason for not testing then out. They have to feel rushed at this point and IMO I'd rather wait for them to get all the bugs out then get the engine out prematurely. You know what they say.... All good thing come to those who wait. This season is a bust so why not use the extra time to perfect on the new engine. ~Jmo

DeeDee wrote:

Ya know GG I can't really say what the problem might be? I agree that the Ford chassis are behind. I tend to think that they may be having problem with the engine itself. Regardless of how well the chassis are run, there is no other reason for not testing then out. They have to feel rushed at this point and IMO I'd rather wait for them to get all the bugs out then get the engine out prematurely. You know what they say.... All good thing come to those who wait. This season is a bust so why not use the extra time to perfect on the new engine. ~Jmo

I agree but they should never have started saying one thing and changing it several times. This doesn't look good.

I agree with both of you. GG, I definitely agree that they shouldn't keep saying they're going to debut it and then backing it up... that does look bad. And, I agree with DeeDee in that I want them to make sure they've got it right before they bring it to the racetrack.

TeamBlueOval wrote:

I agree with both of you. GG, I definitely agree that they shouldn't keep saying they're going to debut it and then backing it up... that does look bad. And, I agree with DeeDee in that I want them to make sure they've got it right before they bring it to the racetrack.

Does make you wonder if it wasn't all it wqs crack up to be. Maybe finding new problem

Just remember that the current engine is quite a powerhouse, and they wouldn't use the new engine if it wasn't going to be better.

I still expect big things from the FR9 when we see it. I imagine the effects will really show at Talladega where Fords are usually fast anyway.

TeamBlueOval wrote:

Just remember that the current engine is quite a powerhouse, and they wouldn't use the new engine if it wasn't going to be better.

I still expect big things from the FR9 when we see it. I imagine the effects will really show at Talladega where Fords are usually fast anyway.

Andrew have you read how FORD MADE OUT when the cars was tested a couple of weeks ago for H/P.

I had actually forgotten about that, but no, I haven't seen anything.

I expect that we should see some rumors about the results soon. I don't think that NASCAR actually releases the official HP results, but there are usually the garage rumors that give us a good idea of what is going on in that department.

Since the race is in Charlotte this weekend, I would think there will be a good chance for those rumors to get out, so we'll probably hear something by the weekend.

TeamBlueOval wrote:

I had actually forgotten about that, but no, I haven't seen anything.

I expect that we should see some rumors about the results soon. I don't think that NASCAR actually releases the official HP results, but there are usually the garage rumors that give us a good idea of what is going on in that department.

Since the race is in Charlotte this weekend, I would think there will be a good chance for those rumors to get out, so we'll probably hear something by the weekend.

As usual you always help THANKS