John and Ashley Force, Bob Tasca III to participate in ad campaign ...

Ford’s Drive One campaign has proven to be a successful marketing initiative that has helped draw attention to new Ford cars and trucks and showcasing the company’s innovative technology.  This week, Ford Racing launches its own version of the campaign, ‘I’m Driving One,’ that will make its debut online on various Ford, team and driver websites.

Seven high-profile Ford Racing personalities will comprise the core of the ‘I’m Driving One’ initiative, which will be aimed at uniting these racing heroes and their fan base with Ford’s diverse 2009 line-up of products.

The seven-week campaign will kick off September 24 featuring the father-daughter tandem of 14-time Funny Car champion John Force and 2007 NHRA Rookie of the Year Ashley Force will be joined by 2008 NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Bob Tasca III.

The drag racers will be joined by NASCAR drivers Carl Edwards, the current Chase for the Sprint Cup points leader, Greg Biffle, the winner of the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup races, and 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth, along with their boss, Roush Fenway Racing principal Jack Roush. 

John and Ashley Force, Bob Tasca III to participate in ad campaign ...

Ford’s Drive One campaign has proven to be a successful marketing initiative that has helped draw attention to new Ford cars and trucks and showcasing the company’s innovative technology.  This week, Ford Racing launches its own version of the campaign, ‘I’m Driving One,’ that will make its debut online on various Ford, team and driver websites.

Seven high-profile Ford Racing personalities will comprise the core of the ‘I’m Driving One’ initiative, which will be aimed at uniting these racing heroes and their fan base with Ford’s diverse 2009 line-up of products.

The seven-week campaign will kick off September 24 featuring the father-daughter tandem of 14-time Funny Car champion John Force and 2007 NHRA Rookie of the Year Ashley Force will be joined by 2008 NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Bob Tasca III.

The drag racers will be joined by NASCAR drivers Carl Edwards, the current Chase for the Sprint Cup points leader, Greg Biffle, the winner of the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup races, and 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth, along with their boss, Roush Fenway Racing principal Jack Roush. 

“I am excited to be involved in the Ford ‘I’m Driving One” campaign especially since I love to drive a Ford,” said Ashley Force, 2007 NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year. I have driven a Ford ever since I was in high school and I got an F-150 as my first vehicle. I also have a Mustang, which I love to cruise around Southern California. I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the new Flex and Lincoln MKS as well as the Focus. Having the chance to drive different Ford vehicles is just one of the great benefits of being in the Ford family and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences.”

“At Ford Racing, our teams and drivers are a part of the Ford family and together we are constantly looking for ways to utilize racing programs to support selling cars and trucks,” said Jamie Allison, Manager, Ford Racing Performance Group. “In building this exciting online campaign, we focused on reaching the ardent fan, the one who regularly goes to the team or driver website, but who may not be currently driving a Ford product. Ford race fans now can read and hear directly from their favorite Ford drivers about their personal experiences driving our new cars and trucks.”

The campaign will feature test drives of the 2009 models of Ford Flex, Ford Mustang, Ford F-150, Ford Focus, Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKS.  Each Ford Racing personality will drive a vehicle, utilizing it in their everyday life and blog about their thoughts and the features that they incorporated it into their busy lifestyle. Consumer can read the personalities new blog posts each week.

The promotion will be featured on the driver’s personal websites and on the sites of the teams for whom they drive.  In addition, other partner sites, as well as the Ford family of websites (Ford.com, Ford Racing.com, TeamFordRacing.com, Fordvehicles.com and Motorcraft.com) will carry the promotion.

In addition to the driver insight into the new vehicles, fans will have the opportunity to register to win one-of-a-kind prizes through a two-tiered sweepstakes.  Each week, a personalized autographed helmet from one of the racing personalities will be given away to a fan.  Entry periods do apply. A total of seven helmets, or one for each week of the program, will be given away.

Fans can also earn additional chances to win a grand prize by completing the "Refer a Friend" section of sweepstakes entry form.  Three grand prizes will be awarded, including the Ultimate Ford Championship Experience, which features a trip to Ford Championship Weekend in Homestead, Fla., for the NASCAR season finale and the Ultimate California Drag Racing Experience, which features a trip to the 2008 finale in Pomona, California. The third grand prize is the Ultimate Ford Racing Driving Experience at Miller Motorsports Park, a full-day driving school experience for two.