The famous Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Ford Fusion will have a decidedly different look when it takes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard. The No. 21 will feature a paint scheme designed by 8-year-old Maryn Winters of Basehor, Kan.
Winters, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at age 4, is the winner of the 2015 Race Car Design Contest for JDRF, hosted by Motorcraft and Quick Lane. As a result, her design will be on the Wood Brothers’ Ford at Indianapolis and she and her parents will be in attendance to watch. It will be unveiled on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the Pagoda Plaza at IMS.
“I am so excited about winning this contest,” said Maryn whose design raised $3,460 at www.fordracecar.jdrf.org during the contest. “I entered last year and couldn’t wait to design another car this year. This is awesome!”
Maryn’s colorful design – which features children holding balloons that spell out “HOPE” and “JDRF,” a rainbow and flowers – was selected from 10 finalists by the Ford Customer Service Division, JDRF and Wood Brothers Racing.
“We’re excited to have Maryn’s beautiful design on our car at the Brickyard,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing. “As a team and as a family we get tremendous satisfaction from being able to contribute to JDRF’s cause of eliminating type 1 diabetes.”
On the track, the team will be trying to sort out NASCAR’s new aerodynamics package.
“Obviously with NASCAR choosing to try a new aero combination, this weekend is a bit of an unknown for all of us,” said crew chief Jeremy Bullins. “Fortunately we will have extra time and practice and I’m sure we can all put our heads together and find some speed.”
The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team participated in an open test at the Brickyard earlier in the season and time will tell if that track time will prove helpful for this weekend’s race.
“The test was great from the standpoint of making laps and getting through some test items,” Bullins explained. “However with the rules changes, some of the things we learned may nor may not apply now, so we will have to see as we learn about the new package.”
Practice sessions for Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard qualifying begin on Friday July 24 at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT and can be seen live on NBCSN. Qualifying also will be broadcast on NBCSN. It takes place on Saturday, July 25, at 1:45 p.m. EDT. The Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT on July 26 on NBCSN.
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