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Tasca III - Ford interview 2008-08-26

This Week in Ford Racing This Thursday, Ford Customer Service Division will unveil the contest- winning Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) design that will be featured on Bob Tasca III's Shelby Mustang Funny Car for the U.S. Nationals.

Published: Aug 26, 2008, 11:07 PM

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This Week in Ford Racing

This Thursday, Ford Customer Service Division will unveil the contest- winning Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) design that will be featured on Bob Tasca III's Shelby Mustang Funny Car for the U.S. Nationals. Ford and Tasca will be joined at the unveiling by the winning child designer and family, along with representatives from JDRF. The JDRF design contest collected 307 designs from kids with type 1 diabetes, and raised more than $84,000 for type 1 diabetes research.

BOB TASCA III - driver - JDRF/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang

ON THURSDAY YOU AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY WILL REVEAL THE WINNING DESIGN OF THE ONLINE JDRF CAR DESIGN CONTEST. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU AS A DRIVER AND TEAM OWNER TO HAVE YOUR SPONSOR INVOLVE YOU IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS THAT BENEFITS KIDS? "I've always said the greatest thing about my job is spending time with kids. And to be part of a charity that raises money to help cure a terrible disease, type 1 diabetes in children, is just really special. And to see this project unfold with such a creative idea to raise money, it's just so important to give back to organizations like this that help children. You need to be able to research to find a cure for an illness like this. And to be a part of such an innovative way of leveraging a race program, it's really something that is a dream come true. And to do it at the biggest stage, the biggest race of the year, to have a car that was literally one of 300-plus designs by children 5-18 [years old], and to see all of them compete to raise over $84,000 in donations, is amazing. And it's going to be a lot of fun. I know for the whole JDRF organization and Ford and all of the people involved with it, in particular, the young kid that came up with the concept, it's going to be neat to have them at the unveiling and out at the races. For me as a driver, it just adds that much more cache to an already huge event in the season. I think at the end of the day, people have made their mark on this sport and in their career by winning Indy, so it would be a special race for us to win in a number of ways, and first and foremost, for the kids of JDRF."

YOU'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THIS SEASON WITH KIDS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES OUT AT THE TRACK AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND HEAR THEIR STORIES. "Talking with these kids puts into perspective, certainly, the challenges that these young children have to cope with this very serious illness. And being around them and seeing how they've matured at such a remarkably young age, it's just a real testament to the character that these kids have that battle this disease, and certainly the hope for a cure. And that's what makes this thing special for me, it isn't about treating juvenile diabetes, this is about curing it. And there is no better feeling that you can have than to say one day that we can cure this disease. And then to have a fan come up to me at the ropes [of the pit] in Reading [Pennsylvania, last race] that was a 30-year survivor of type 1 diabetes that wanted to thank us for what we were doing, it just reassures just how valuable this is and just how special it is to be a part of it."

-credit: ford racing

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