....... behind-the-scenes profiles.
Dan Davis – Director, Ford Racing Technology – Davis oversees Ford’s North American auto racing efforts. He was named to his current position on Oct. 31, 1997.
The Ford Racing Technology organization is responsible for major racing operations in North America, including NASCAR (Nextel Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck), the Champ Car World Series, Grand American sports car racing, NHRA drag racing and USAC midget and sprint car racing. In addition, FRT has responsibility for furthering grass roots racing efforts and young driver development.
Davis' organization also oversees development and marketing of Ford Racing Performance Parts, and the marketing of the Ford Racing brand, through initiatives such as Team Ford Racing and fordracing.com.
In Davis’ years at the helm, the Ford Racing program has seen numerous victories and championships, most notably back-to-back NASCAR Nextel Cup titles in 2003-04 and eight consecutive titles in the NHRA Funny Car class.
His most recent position before taking over this assignment had been as executive director, Quality, Ford Automotive Operations.
He joined Ford Motor Company in 1976 as a project engineer with Ford’s Aerospace and Communications Electronics Division, and has held a variety of product engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and business positions within the components divisions, powertrain operations, car product development, and Ford Automotive Operations.
From 1991-93 he was director of vehicle controls and powertrain products for Ford Electronics Division, where he was also responsible for motorsport engineering programs in the following areas:
Formula One -- All vehicle, engine control and telemetry systems for the Benetton-Ford program. CART -- Engine control and telemetry for the Walker Racing CART program. NASCAR -- Telemetry program for NASCAR television broadcasts. SCORE off-road -- Transmission controls and engine management for Ford trucks. IMSA road racing -- Engine management and telemetry with Roush Racing.Davis' previous experience includes worldwide responsibilities as executive director, Quality, FAO; executive director, Manufacturing Procurement Operations, Purchasing; director of Subsystems Engineering, Automotive Components Division; and general manufacturing manager, Electronics Division, where he oversaw seven manufacturing plants in seven different countries.
Davis developed the Ford thick film ignition module and the European Automotive Operations low-cost hybrid electronic spark control module. He received the 1983 Henry Ford Technological Award for his work.
Davis holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (1972) and studied the Advanced Management Program in 1993 at Duke University.
Greg Specht – Performance Operations Manager, Ford Racing Technology – Specht oversees the competition and engineering aspects of the Ford Racing program in North America, with a primary focus on NASCAR Nextel Cup, NASCAR Busch and NASCAR Craftsman Truck.
He joined Ford Motor Company in March 1977. In his career at Ford, he has held positions in facilities engineering and finance, and for eight years was in charge of Ford’s test and proving grounds in Dearborn, Mich.; Naples, Fla.; and Minnesota.
Specht has been in his current role for eight years, where he and his team have overseen numerous championships, including three NASCAR Nextel Cup driver’s titles.
Specht got a mechanical engineering degree from Lawrence Technological University in Michigan, and a MBA from the University of Detroit.
MOSE NOWLAND – Ford Racing Technology Engine Engineer – 2005 marks the 50th year of Nowland’s engineering efforts with Ford Motor Company, having been with “Blue Oval” since 1955. Most of his engineering career has been working with the Ford race engine group. One special project he worked on was the original 1960’s FE family of racing engines, starting with the 406 and later the 427 cid engine. The group worked with legendary Ford drivers Junior Johnson, Dan Gurney, Cale Yarborough, and Ned Jarrett. Nowland also provided factory support with the Holman Moody team and the GT-40 team that won at LeMans in 1966 and ’67.
“When Mr. Ford decided to go to Indy in 1963, I worked with that program in ’63, ’64, ’65. I worked with Bill Stroppe in the desert truck program as well. It’s been a very interesting career at Ford. You know, if you find a job that you really love you’ll never work another day in your life. And that’s the way I feel about it,” said Nowland.
In the 1970s, when Ford pulled back its factory support of racing, Nowland was assigned to the Ford Engine Group. When Ford tapped Michael Kranefuss to start the SVO Technology group in the early ’80s, Nowland was called back into service working on the NASCAR engine program.
Most recently, Nowland headed up the team that developed the D-3 Cylinder head program for NASCAR. That effort helped Kurt Busch win the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship.
Ben Leslie – Ford Racing NASCAR Field Manager – Leslie serves as a liaison between the manufacturer’s teams and the sanctioning bodies in the Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series. He is primarily responsible for managing Ford’s development in the three series, and is also Ford’s liaison for special projects and testing. Additionally, Leslie is responsible for managing the development of Ford’s next generation stock car – the 2006 Fusion.
Leslie was named to his current position on Aug. 18, 2004, following four years as a crew chief for Roush Racing and the Wood Brothers. In addition to working with veterans Mark Martin and Ricky Rudd, he was the crew chief for 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Kurt Busch in 2001, Busch’s first full season in the series. In 2002, Leslie and Martin teamed for a victory in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600, 12 top-fives and 22 top-10s en route to a second-place finish in the standings.
Leslie began his career in racing while still in his teens, working on his brother’s ARCA car. He started at Roush Racing in 1994 as a mechanic and rear-tire changer for the Ted Musgrave team. He became the interim crew chief of Johnny Benson’s team during the 1998 season, one year before joining future Cup champion Matt Kenseth’s team as car chief.
John Probst – Vehicle Dynamics Supervisor, Ford Racing Technology -- Probst oversees all of Ford’s engineering in chassis development and chassis set-ups, including the affiliated software tools. Probst also oversees computer simulations on how vehicles respond going over certain parts of race tracks. Additionally, he has responsibilities for Ford Racing’s safety, sheet metal and electronics programs.
Prior to his current role, Probst worked with Jackie Stewart’s and Jaguar’s Formula One teams before becoming the Ford Racing Technology Champ Car Program Manager. He joined Ford Motor Co. directly out of college, and started in the racing program through Ford Electronics Racing.
Probst has a degree in Physics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State. He holds a United States patent for brake-bias measurement in Champ Car.
Bernie Marcus – Ford Racing NASCAR Aerodynamics Engineer – Marcus is the manufacturer’s aerodynamicist in all of the North American racing programs in which Ford participates: NASCAR (Cup, Busch and Truck); NHRA; Grand Am (Daytona Prototype and Mustang Cup); and USAC. He was also instrumental in the creation of the new-generation Taurus that is being campaigned by Ford in the Cup and Busch series in 2005, and worked with Ben Leslie to develop the 2006 NASCAR Fusion.
Marcus, who spends approximately 70 percent of his time in the wind tunnel and the rest at the race track, joined Ford Racing on Dec. 1, 2001, following a 20-year career working as an engineer and aerodynamicist for Formula One and North American open-wheel teams. He was the race engineer for Bobby Rahal in 1992 when Rahal won the Indy Car World Series championship.
Marcus has a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Aachen Technical University in Germany.
Pat DiMarco – Ford Racing NASCAR Engineer – DiMarco is a Ford Racing engineer assigned to Roush Racing and has been working for Ford Motor Company for 10 years. His first engineering assignment with Ford was in the Ranger and Explorer ride and handling program. In 1996, DiMarco moved into the Craftsman Truck Series as an engineer working with the Ford teams.
DiMarco has served as the Ford Racing engineer for several top Ford teams. He has worked with Rudd Performance Motorsports, Team Rahal, Robert Yates Racing and currently works with Roush Racing. For the past five years, DiMarco has worked on several projects with the Roush Racing team, including chassis design simulation and application.
DiMarco graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science and Engineering and earned his master’s degree in Engineering.
