Research Foundation
ONE WEEK REMAINING TO Vote ONLINE for Ford Customer Service Division's SECOND ANNUAL FUNNY CAR
DESIGN CONTEST IN SUPPORT OF juvenile diabetes research foundation.
Auto racing's version of "Decision 2009" is in full swing, but the polls will close soon for the
Ford Customer Service Division's Second Annual Funny Car Design Contest to Support Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
The candidates - in this case, JDRF kids - are campaigning for your vote in the final week to be
featured on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang driven by Bob Tasca III. The Funny Car Design
Contest voting started on July 2, and runs through August 14, 2009.
Until August 14, the public is invited to visit http://www.jdrf.org/ford, view more than 300 paint scheme designs, and vote
for their favorite children's design by making a monetary donation to JDRF.
The top five donation-earning designs will go in front of a panel of judges and narrowed down to
one. The winning design will be featured on Motorcraft/Quick Lane sponsored Mustang Shelby driven
by Bob Tasca III during the NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, NC, on Sept. 18-20.
Earlier this summer, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) children took their crayons,
markers and paintbrushes to a blank canvas in the shape of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang
Funny Car. Their goal - see their design come to life on Tasca's Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car in
September.
"We're eager to see which designs the public vote in as their top-five favorites," said Brett
Wheatley, Director of Marketing, Ford Customer Service Division. "It will be difficult to select a
winner because all of the designs are terrific. I'm pleased that we are participating in the
program for a second year and helping raise awareness and hopefully a cure for Type 1 diabetes."
The winning designer will be selected on August 17, 2009. They will be invited to the NHRA
Carolinas Nationals in Concord, NC, with his or her parents for an official unveiling of their
paint scheme, and a chance to spend time with the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team and see their
design run during qualifying sessions for the race.
Last year's winner was Samuel Millard, a six-year-old resident of Greenville, Texas, and member of
the Greater Dallas Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Millard and his family
were special guests at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis where his design appeared on Tasca's
Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car. Last year's contest drew 306 designs and raised more than
$84,000 for JDRF.
Diabetes affects more Ford families than any other disease. Ford Motor Company has raised more
than $27 million for JDRF since the grassroots campaign started in 1998.
About Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research
worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the
support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease, which strikes children suddenly and requires
multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin,
however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating
complications, which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation.
Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than
$1.3 billion to diabetes research, including more than $156 million in FY2008. In FY2008, the
Foundation funded 1,000 centers, grants and fellowships in 22 countries. http://www.jdrf.org
