At left, Dan Davis, Director of Ford Racing Technology, pictured here with Robby Gordon in 2006, will resign his position at Ford Racing on August 1, 2008. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) ยป More Photos
“We feel like we’ve got to have eight or nine championship-capable teams on the track every week to make it worthwhile for Ford,” Davis said prior to the start of the season. “You can’t have one or two cars that you just pour everything into and think that you can win in this sport. There are too many variables going on. You’ve got to have an armada of cars, I think, to do what needs to be done. So that means we need eight or nine championship-level cars each weekend and we’ve got to make that work with Roush, Yates and the Woods. We’re talking to the Woods really hard about how to engage them in this activity, to gain some engineering stuff that’s going on and get their level up. This is hard. It’s hard to get this done overnight.”
But now, Davis can retire, and let his successors fight the good fight on behalf of Ford and motorsports in general. There is no question he will be a hard act to follow.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
Company Profile courtesy of Ford Racing
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DAN DAVIS – DIRECTOR, FORD RACING TECHNOLOGY
Davis oversees Ford’s North American auto racing efforts. He was named to his current position on Oct. 31, 1997.
The Ford Racing Technology organization is responsible for major racing operations in North America, including NASCAR (Nextel Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck), the Champ Car World Series, Grand American sports car racing, NHRA drag racing and USAC midget and sprint car racing. In addition, FRT has responsibility for furthering grass roots racing efforts and young driver development.
Davis' organization also oversees development and marketing of Ford Racing Performance Parts, and the marketing of the Ford Racing brand, through initiatives including as Team Ford Racing and the Ford Racing website.
In Davis’ years at the helm, the Ford Racing program has seen numerous victories and championships, most notably back-to-back NASCAR Nextel Cup titles in 2003-04 and eight consecutive titles in the NHRA Funny Car class.
His most recent position before taking over this assignment had been as executive director, Quality, Ford Automotive Operations.
He joined Ford Motor Company in 1976 as a project engineer with Ford’s Aerospace and Communications Electronics Division, and has held a variety of product engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and business positions within the components divisions, powertrain operations, car product development, and Ford Automotive Operations.
