Fun Ford Weekend officials announced the 2012 event schedule today as well as the officers who will be leading the series as it prepares to enter its second season under new management. Having just completed a five-event 2011 season, the Fun Ford Weekend shows, presented by Roush Yates and JE Pistons were a resounding success with racers, car show participants and spectators.
The series will expand to 12 events in nine different U.S. states as well as one event in Canada in 2012.
In early 2011, a group of North American motorsports facility owners, led by Texas Motorplex (Ennis, Texas) owner Billy Meyer, worked to bring back the Fun Ford Weekend series because of popular demand.
"Fans and participants all suffered when Fun Ford Weekend was shut down a few years ago," Meyer said. "Ford vehicle owners are extremely loyal to their brand, and they love big events and racing. Working with Ford Racing, Roush Yates and JE Pistons, we got off to a great start in relaunching this series and are very excited to announce our 2012 event schedule and the dedicated people who will be directing the series this year."
Fun Ford Weekend Series - 2012 Schedule
- March 23-24, Royal Purple Raceway (Houston)
- April 20-21, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas)
- May 11-12, Rockingham Dragway (Rockingham, N.C.)
- June 9, Spokane County Raceway (Spokane, Wash.)
- June 15-17, Virginia Motorsports Park (Petersburg, Va.)
- June 22-23, Bandimere Speedway (Denver)
- June 29-30, Bristol Dragway (Bristol, Tenn.)
- August 17-18, Maple Grove Raceway (Reading, Pa.)
- September 2, Castrol Raceway (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
- September 7-8, Texas Motorplex (Dallas)
- September 14-15, Palm Beach Intl. Raceway (Palm Beach, Fla.)
- September 28-29, Memphis Intl. Raceway (Memphis, Tenn.)
Fun Ford Weekend Series President Named
For 2012, the Series will be directed by a group of dedicated and enthusiastic member-track managers, led by Texas Motorplex General Manager, Gabrielle Stevenson, who has been named President of the Fun Ford Weekend Series.
"The Blue Oval brand has a long and storied history in this country and it's time we bring the Fun Ford Weekend series back to a full slate of national events," Stevenson said. "We've had an amazing response from participants, fans and sponsors about bringing this series back. It's truly a celebration of what Ford means to generations of drivers and fans."
Stevenson said the series will be hosted by the most aggressive and dedicated collection of tracks and is looking forward to building off the success of the 2011 Fun Ford Weekend events in 2012 and beyond.
"We are changing the business plan in terms of a national series because Fun Ford Weekend is now owned by the event hosts," Stevenson said. "We want to have some common threads in each of the national events, but will localize each event too because the track owners and operators know how to put on the best Fun Ford Weekend event possible for each market. Now each track has a vested interest in the success of the entire Fun Ford Weekend series and it's exciting to help usher in a new era for this popular series."
Fun Ford Weekend Series Announces Vice Presidents
Working with Stevenson in 2012 are the following track managers who will be serving as Fun Ford Weekend vice presidents: Sporty Bandimere, Bandimere Speeedway; Pam Kendrick, Memphis International Raceway and Bryan Pierce, Virginia Motorsports Park.
The Fun Ford Weekend Series is also represented on the marketing and promotions side by Forward Sports Marketing, which includes Ryan Haas, Series Supervisor; Jeff Lacina, Marketing and Sponsorships and Sara Griewing, Sponsorship Coordinator.
About Fun Ford Weekend
The family-oriented Fun Ford Weekend series is run by each of the tracks that host the events. Each track creates its own event schedule, racing structure, car show, and if adequate space, will also have autocross competition. The goal of the series is to get as many automotive enthusiasts that have a passion for the Ford brand to participate, celebrate and enjoy the events. For more information on Fun Ford Weekend, visit www.funfordweekend.com.
Two long-time Ford racing powerhouses, Roush Yates and JE Pistons served a presenting sponsors during the re-launch of the series in 2011.