Ford to stick with the Fusion

Ford Racing will continue to run the Fusion when the new Sprint Cup cars hit the track in 2013. Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing, said the company looked at different models, including the Mustang, for Cup competition. But, after much consideration, Ford believed it was in its best interest to continue promoting its top-selling car in stock car's top racing series. "Initially we submitted a Mustang, even back when we were looking at the Nationwide car," Allison said.

"We were really excited about what happened in the Nationwide Series when we put Mustang in. We saw the interest from the fans, the media – and even a whole swatch of consumers that never really followed NASCAR but loved Mustang started to follow Nationwide and NASCAR because Mustang was in. It kind of gave of a view of what could potentially on a grander scale happen if we moved Mustang into Cup." But Ford officials kept coming back to the Fusion. "The Fusion is so important to our company, it's our best-selling car, and when we launched the Fusion, we launched it here in NASCAR," Allison said. "We believe that NASCAR is a platform that can help us compel the fans to the fact that we have an exciting sedan in Fusion, as well as Mustang." Ford will continue to run the Mustang in the Nationwide Series, Allison said. FoxSports