NASCAR lovers will be delighted to hear that Ford Racing, partnered with Roush Yates has developed a new racing engine for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for use next season. It is named the FR9 and for more details you must read on.

According to Ford, for the last 17 years they have used basically the same engine base for NASCAR applications. This new powerplant is the first NASCAR-purposed engine to ever come out of Ford, however readers of Muscle Car of the Week will know this isn’t true, and if you want to read about it you must read my post. As most previous NASCAR race engines from Ford were based on the tried-and-true 351 Windsor V8, engineers claim the new FR9 is much different. Three major factors make the FR9 quite unique from its grandfather engine. A re-worked cooling system allows NASCAR teams to add more tape to the front of the car to improve downforce. The valve-train has been completely redone allowing for higher and more reliable horsepower. Thirdly, the very structure of the block has been re-engineered making assembly and maintenance easier.

As with all racing engines, power is king, just look at the Hemi. Ford is definitley taking this to heart and although their new engine is still undergoing testing, look for it to be on the track winning races very soon.