Ford will make history on April 28 when its all-electric Focus Electric performs pace car duties at the NASCAR Richmond 400. Ordinarily the duties would be assumed by big power muscle cars like the Chevrolet Corvette or Dodge Viper, but Ford sees the 400-mile race around the Richmond International Raceway as the perfect opportunity to promote its new EV.

"Our fans are customers," explains Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. "And just like in racing, they expect both fuel economy and performance from their daily drivers, and that's what Ford is delivering."

Ford's commitment to NASCAR is understandable; the company's own data shows that 35% of new car shoppers or "intenders" are motorsports fans and in the States that means NASCAR. The company also says that people who root for Ford NASCAR teams are 67% more likely to consider Ford products than other consumers.

The Focus Electric move is part of an on going strategy to utilise NASCAR for exposure that saw Ford becoming the first manufacturer to use a four-door saloon to compete in the series when it entered the Taurus 'sedan' in the 1998 season. The company also used the Homestead-Miami Speedway 400 to good effect when its Fusion hybrid model ran as pace car, the first hybrid car to do so.

Paul Healy - 17 Apr 2012