Ford Trucks For Sale

Jason from Maineville, Ohio: I’ve been a longtime Ford fan, and I think it’s terribly unfortunate that they only field about eight cars on a regular basis when a few years back they had more cars than any other manufacturer, including Chevrolet. I know Ford has dropped the ball when it comes to their research and development teams, but what is it going to take to get them back on top again?

Larry McReynolds: I’m seeing them flirt with getting back there. Matt Kenseth was lights out at the last race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, winning the event in runaway fashion. Even though we’re done with the “old car,” look at how strong Kenseth also was at Texas. Also consider Greg Biffle, who won Kansas and finished second at Phoenix. Carl Edwards sat on the pole at Phoenix and led every lap until his engine had issues.

Do I think Ford could stack the deck with more than Roush-Yates and the Wood Brothers? Of course, all of their engines come from one source. They probably could stand a little more. When I was part of the Ford camp in the 1990s, it was three or four operations strong.

Even though they only had two drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2007, I witnessed some pretty strong performances in the fall that should make everybody fairly excited about next year with the Ford camp as the Sprint Cup starts racing the Car of Tomorrow full-time in 2008.

Racing’s about people, not manufacturers

Nick from Huber Heights, Ohio: Hi Larry. What are your thoughts on the Wood Brothers situation? I am a diehard Bill Elliott fan so I was wondering what are the chances of us seeing him in the No. 21 car next year?

Larry McReynolds: I don’t know Elliott’s status, but I do know the Wood Brothers are looking for sponsorship. You ask a good follow-up question from the one above. Whether you run a Chevrolet, Toyota, Dodge or Ford or whether you’re running the Busch, Cup or Truck Series, the difference between winning and losing isn’t because a manufacturer has a better car or more horsepower. It’s about the people. Rick Hendrick has done a phenomenal job with not one or two teams but three to four teams with good people.

What is it going to take to get more Fords competitive? It’s not that they need more horsepower or need to build a better race car. Let’s face it — chassis and bodywise — the Ford Fusion isn’t going to be any different than a Chevy Impala, Dodge Charger or a Toyota Camry. It’s about making sure that good people are working together.

That’s probably what’s missing with the Wood Brothers. Even though Elliott is one of the greatest drivers we’ve ever had, the way these cars drive and are set up may have outrun him just a little bit. I’m not saying that if Bill Elliott climbed into Jimmie Johnson’s car, he couldn’t win 10 races. But the way that these guys are winning races is different from the way Elliott, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett and Darrell Waltrip won races.

Those guys used to race the racetrack. When the last 100 laps came along, they would see who fell by the wayside and then step it up. I worked as Darrell’s spotter during a Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville. He told me, “Larry, make sure you let me know when there’s 50 to go.” He was going to reach down in that barrel and grab some more.

Today, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are running up front, and they’re at the bottom of the barrel when the green-flag waves. They aren’t racing anything but wide open from Lap 1 to the final lap. You’ve still got to be smart, race the racetrack and not overextend your equipment. But these guys are not laying back to win races like they used to 10 to 20 years ago.