CONCORD, North Carolina — Ford will reveal its 2013 Fusion NASCAR racecar Tuesday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The event is part of the annual pre-season tour for media covering the stock-car racing circuit.
The redesigned 2013 Fusion production car was formally unveiled two weeks ago at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show and goes on sale later this year.
Ford is the first of the four manufacturers participating in NASCAR to produce a prototype of the type of car the sanctioning body wants for the next season. Except for tweaks intended to break up the two-car tandem drafts at Daytona and Talladega, there are no significant changes in the cars for this year.
But for 2013, the intent is to create a new, differentiated exterior look for the cars, with a greater emphasis on manufacturer identity.
The present NASCAR racecar, which incorporates a number of safety features not previously included, is larger and boxier than the model it replaced. When introduced in 2007, it represented a complete changeover from the days, in the 1950s and 1960s, when competitors actually took standard production cars and modified them for racing. But it was also, to a considerable extent, a "spec" car — purposely so, in an ongoing attempt by NASCAR to equalize the capabilities of all cars to maximize close competition.
The new cars will be modeled more in the fashion of those in the Nationwide Series. When the new Cup car features were adapted to the junior division's cars, Ford and Dodge opted to replicate their Mustang and Challenger models, and the styling of the racecars' front ends was dramatically different — and much more similar to their production counterparts.
According to a Ford statement, the 2013 Fusion racecar will "signify a major return to auto manufacturer identity in the sport."
Inside Line says: Long-time NASCAR fans and purists may want more of a production-car look than the new Cup cars will have. We'll reserve judgment until the new Fusion racecar is formally unveiled.
About Parker Ford Lincoln, Inc. Parker Ford Lincoln Inc., is a multi-President Award-winning dealership in Murray, Kentucky offering new Ford and Lincoln Cars, Trucks, SUVs and Crossovers. Visit us online at http://www.parkerford.com.
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