Robert Patrick loves to win.

Sporting sponsorship from his father's Purvis Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership located in Fredericksburg (Va), the son of Eli Patrick, Robert hopes to put his Shelby Cobra Mustang in victory lane at U.S. 131 Dragway in victory lane for another even more important reason.

The winner of the inaugural ADRL Extreme Pro Stock event and a past IHRA world champion, Patrick is gunning to take home the trophy in the very first Ford Drive One Summer Drags. The ADRL has run at U.S. 131 in the past four years; however this is the first year Ford has sponsored the event. Son of Ford Lincoln Mercury dealer Applauds Manufacturer for Foresight …

Robert Patrick loves to win.

Sporting sponsorship from his father's Purvis Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership located in Fredericksburg (Va), the son of Eli Patrick, Robert hopes to put his Shelby Cobra Mustang in victory lane at U.S. 131 Dragway in victory lane for another even more important reason.

The winner of the inaugural ADRL Extreme Pro Stock event and a past IHRA world champion, Patrick is gunning to take home the trophy in the very first Ford Drive One Summer Drags. The ADRL has run at U.S. 131 in the past four years; however this is the first year Ford has sponsored the event.

The Ford Drive One Summer Drags in Martin, Mi., represents the closest venue on the drag race series to Detroit, Mi., a manufacturing town hard hit by the economic downturn of the past year, sending two of the Big Three car companies into bankruptcy court.

Ford is the only U.S. automotive manufacturer to have avoided bankruptcy and to have also grown stronger despite worldwide lagging sales.

“I am real excited to see Ford involved with this event,” Patrick said. “I think if the opportunity to win another ADRL Extreme Pro Stock event presented itself, I can’t think of a better situation than to win an event where Ford is the title sponsor.”

Patrick will be the first to admit the past couple of years have been the toughest to be an auto dealer, no matter which brand you were selling. However, seeing his beloved Ford brand emerge as the strongest of the three manufacturers from Detroit comes as no surprise.

“Ford went through what GM and Chrysler did in the previous years,” Patrick said. “Instead of going to the government for money … they remained on their own. They kind of did their own bailout. I think Ford had the vision to see what was going to happen in the markets and through some restructuring with their vehicles and product lines had the foresight to do that a few years ago. That put them in a better position when the recession hit. Hopefully Ford can continue to remain strong and pull through this deal.”

Patrick was one of the lobbyists for the ADRL to run an Extreme Pro Stock division because he knew that having a naturally-aspirated, late model division would only serve to further the marketing efforts of the series.

“When I began lobbying the ADRL to include Extreme Pro Stock to their program line-up, I did that with the knowledge for ADRL to get the kind of manufacturer support they needed … a Pro Stock class was definitely a must,” Patrick said. “For a company like Ford who produces new cars, I think having a class like Extreme Pro Stock is pivotal to their marketing efforts. I certainly hope that Ford likes what they see and comes back for more.”

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