This Week in Ford Racing: 1,000 Miles, 7 Drivers, 1 Tank of Gas

Washington, D.C. — A team of seven dedicated drivers, including NASCAR star Carl Edwards, attempted and succeeded at driving the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid more than 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas this past weekend in Washington, D.C. in a challenge event to support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The Fusion Hybrid was driven for 69 hours, reaching 1,445.7 miles and an 81.5-mpg average.

Wayne Gerdes, world record breaking hypermiling champion and founder of cleanmpg.com, was part of the team and was there to coach Edwards as he took the Fusion Hybrid past the 1,000 mile mark Monday morning. Edwards, who bought his own 2010 Fusion Hybrid for personal use, gave his thoughts on the experience.

CARL EDWARDS—NO. 99 AFLAC FORD FUSIONWHAT WAS YOUR OVERALL IMPRESSION OF DRIVING WITH WAYNE?“Wayne’s a professional, right off the bat he had his game face on. I knew it was serious when he told me to take off my right shoe so I could feel the throttle pedal. When a guy is telling you, ‘hey let it drop down to 28 miles an hour’ he knew all the numbers. There’s a reason he’s the champion of hypermiling. We got over 80 miles to the gallon my first time driving with him—that’s how good he is.”

DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT THE CAR THAT YOU’LL USE WHEN DRIVING YOUR OWN FUSION HYBRID?“I learned some neat things about the car, and how it works and how to get the most efficiency out of it. I’m excited to be able to apply that stuff at home.”

WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS EXPERIENCE?“There’s a couple of reasons why I wanted to do this. Number one, I believe in Ford Motor Company. I believe that they produce the best vehicles on the planet. This Ford Fusion Hybrid, I think is the number one car in America, that’s why I purchased one. Number two; I believe it’s everyone’s duty to minimize their carbon footprint on the environment and on this earth. I think this message that Ford’s sending out and that Wayne’s able to teach people about, is to be efficient and I think that’s a good message. I’m really proud to be a part of it, I can’t believe they let me drive the 1,000th mile on one tank of fuel, so it’s an honor.”

To read the rest of this interview visit: http://www.fordracing.com/news/detail/?article=36302