Ford drops Jasper after Talladega fall-out
Ford Racing has ended its contract with NASCAR Winston Cup team Jasper Racing because the team ran a Dodge Intrepid in last Sunday's race at Talledega
A Ford press release said that the company would repossess all of its equipment from the team. Ford has declared Jasper's 2003 contract to run Fords null and void.
"What happened at Talladega was unacceptable,'' said Greg Specht, manager of Ford Racing Operations. "To be a Ford team, you have to run a Ford.''
The team can continue running its Ford Taurus race cars because it owns them. But there will be no assistance on any level from Ford, who will also reclaim the service vehicles on loan to the team.
"We meant no disrespect to Ford, but our contract was a minor contingency contract," said Jasper co-owner Mark Harrah. "The tangibles stated within the Ford contract were not enough to influence our decision
"We were forced to look out for our sponsor. We took a chance in hopes to run more competitively and it paid off. It was our best finish at a superspeedway since February 2001."
This kind of move is not a first for the season. Earlier this year, Dodge ended its support of Bill Davis Racing, alleging in a lawsuit that Davis had been helping Toyota in its preparation to enter NASCAR next season.
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