2012 Ford Focus NASCAR pace Car

Oto4car.com,  This weekend’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 (we don’t name the races) at the Michigan International Speedway saw the Ford Focus make its debut appearance as the official pace car, complete with race livery and light bar but little in the way of other modifications over stock. Which means, as Ford is quick to point out, that while the stock cars behind it would have to pit a number of times over the 400-mile race distance, the Focus could go the whole way if it needed to… and if the driver – Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas – were milking the throttle, undaunted by the grid of rip-roarin’ race cars filling his mirrors.

For what it’s worth, the Focus is hardly the slowest vehicle to pace a NASCAR race. Ford alone has provided Fusion Hybrids and Explorer SUVs to set the pace at previous races as well. Follow the jump for the full press release, including information on Ford’s latest online sweepstakes that will hand out 40 Foci to contest participants if it wins the NASCAR, NHRA or World Rally Championship titles this year.