ppc Racing officials announced today driver Michel Jourdain Jr. has been cleared by NASCAR to compete in next week’s NASCAR Busch Series event at Daytona International Speedway. Jourdain, driver of the No. 10 ppc Racing Ford Taurus, is the first Mexican driver to compete in the series full time after years of racing in the open-wheel ranks.
“We’re grateful to NASCAR for clearing Michel for Daytona,” said Greg Pollex, car owner at ppc Racing. “Michel has a ton of experience racing in many forms of motorsports and NASCAR wanted to observe how Michel handled himself in the draft during testing and the comments received by them were very positive. Our next step is to secure sponsorship with the No. 10 Ford Taurus and I’m confident we will with the season starting next week. Michel is widely known as an exceptional driver and is a great choice to be behind the wheel of a ppc Racing Ford.”
Ford Racing Technology announced last month Jourdain’s arrival into stock car auto racing with ppc Racing. He immediately began testing at Daytona International, California and Las Vegas Motor Speedways all of which have secured confidence in Jourdain as he prepares for his first race at Daytona.
“First I want to thank NASCAR and ppc Racing for letting me participate in this race,” said Jourdain. “They are showing a lot of confidence in me so my first goal is not to make any mistakes that could change this decision of trust in my capabilities into a wrong decision. In the race, I will do my best and most of all learn a lot from this first great experience. I will enjoy this moment, my first race at Daytona.”
Jourdain competed in his first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Phoenix International Raceway last month, finishing sixth in the Grand National Division, West Series season opener after starting 16th.
“I wasn’t sure if this was going to happen,” said Jourdain, on his clearance being well before competition begins at Daytona. “I mean, I have been running on superspeedways a long time now but this (stock cars) is totally different. I can say the timing is good now that we know about this beforehand. Now we’ll be able to work on the cars without that pressure of doubt."
About ppc Racing LLC . . .
ppc Racing enters its sixth year of competition in 2005 with full time entries in NASCAR’s top-three divisions. Under ownership from Greg Pollex, his teams have amassed 32 wins and more than 150 top-five and 250 top-10 finishes in just five seasons. This year with recognizable and successful drivers John Andretti, Michel Jourdain Jr., Kenny Wallace and Terry Cook, Pollex looks to add to his 2000 NASCAR Busch Series driver and owner’s championship trophies. For sponsorship information, please contact Ken Hazlett at (704) 660-3467. For more information, please visit www.ppcracing.com.
