Ford Taurus to be Driven by Jourdain Jr. in 2005 NASCAR Busch Series

Race car driver Michel Jourdain Jr. has recently signed a deal with Ford Motorsports to drive a Ford Taurus for ppc Racing in the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series. He will be the first Hispanic to race a full NASCAR Busch schedule. ''I'm very excited about this chance,'' Jourdain said in a statement to the press. ''I've been wanting to come to NASCAR for a couple years now, and (Ford Racing director) Dan Davis worked very hard with me to find the right opportunity where I could have a chance to work and learn with a top team like ppc.''

Jourdain Jr. is the son of the well-known Mexican racer Michel Jourdain Sr. Jourdain Jr. became the youngest Champ Car driver at age 19 in 1996 and was the former CART series' Most Improved Driver in 1997. In 152 career Champ Car starts, Jourdain earned two wins, 25 top-10 finishes and nine podiums. In 2003, when he raced for Team Rahal, he had his best championship finish with a third. But Jourdain shifted to RuSport last season rather than go with Rahal to the IRL.

Because of his lack of superspeedway experience, it is currently unclear whether NASCAR will approve Jourdain to drive the Ford Tuarus at the February season-opener there. He is already cleared to race on many other tracks, including the Mexico City road course. The Busch cars compete there in March this year.

''This is something that has been in the works for a couple years, and we've been looking for an opportunity like this to give a deserving driver like Michel the chance to succeed in NASCAR,'' Mr. Davis, the Ford Racing Director, stated. ''The fact that we've been able to get this program together this year when the series is going to have its first race in Mexico just adds to the excitement.'' The team will compete with cars in all three of NASCAR's premier divisions. John Andretti drives a Ford Taurus for ppc in the Nextel Cup series, Kenny Wallace in Busch and Terry Cook in Craftsman Truck.