By Ryan - Posted on October 28, 2009

According to NASCAR News agencies, Talladega Superspeedway, home to this weekend’s Amp Energy 500, will also play host to the long awaited debut of Ford’s FR9, the company’s first purpose-built NASCAR racing engine.   Matt Kenseth and David Ragan, both of Roush Fenway Racing, will run the new engine this Sunday as Ford Motor Sports tries to light a spark on what has otherwise been a disappointing season.

For Doug Yates, co-owner of Yates Racing and mastermind behind the FR9, this change could not have come sooner or at a better place than Talladega—a track where his team has been very successful in recent years. 

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Yates said of Ford’s new debut. "There hasn't been an awful lot to look forward to lately, but we'll get it back."

Despite a successful 2008 campaign, Ford drivers have managed only two victories this year, both coming way back in February, when Matt Kenseth won the first two races of the young Sprint Cup season. But despite recent struggles, Ford Motor Sports’ management has remained optimistic about both their cars’ current performances and the unveiling of the new engine.

“Those of us who have been involved in this project agree that one of the biggest hurdles we've faced in making this transition has been the fact that the current Ford engine is still so competitive, along with the economics of making obsolete the inventory of the current engine and parts,” said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports.

Questions surrounding the arrival of the FR9 have been brewing all season, with many wondering whether the premiere would come in a restrictor plate or open race, but Doug Yates and the Ford team of engineers wanted to be certain they ironed out all the bugs.

"As these things go, we wanted to have it out earlier this year—in fact at Daytona in July," Yates said. "But new engines are challenging and we had some things come up that didn't quite make the grade like we wanted them to, from a reliability standpoint, so we went back to work and made some adjustments."

After exhaustive testing of both engine types, the decision to begin at a restrictor plate race seemed the most prudent. 

"It turned out that the plate engine came together a little bit better than the open engine,” said Yates.  “And you know how much I enjoy racing at Daytona and Talladega. I couldn't ask for a better place to roll it out."

Both Kenseth and Ragan are excited about the opportunity to showcase Ford’s new project, and hopeful at the prospect of returning to winning ways.

"It's going to be a blast to debut it," Ragan said, "though by no means are we saying that our old engines aren't up to par, but I think that the new engine is something that's going to be good, considering we're already pretty good at Daytona and Talladega, so even if we have just a little bit extra, I think we're going to be a contender."