A driver winning the final race of a season and not being crowned champion is not entirely new to NASCAR. A similar event to what went down in Phoenix this year occurred in the 2005 season finale at Homestead-Miami. Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle won the race, but Tony Stewart was crowned champion. But Biffle’s win was special for more than just that reason.

The race was also the final appearance of another hero in NASCAR: The Ford Taurus. Stomping into the track in 1998 amidst major criticisms for its similarities to the everyday consumer car, the sedan established itself as a powerhouse over the next decade.

A fitting ode to the legendary Ford Taurus by Greg Biffle in 2005

Roush Fenway was a much stronger team in the 2000s than it is today. In the 2005 final race at Phoenix, the team had written a new line in the history book by taking up all the first 4 spots in the day’s standings. Leading the pack and winning over teammate Mark Martin by an edge was Greg Biffle. The win was Biffle’s 6th of the season and it helped him finish 2nd in the year’s standings behind Tony Stewart.

The machine that had helped Biffle achieve this breakthrough season was his #16 Ford Taurus. In what was its final race after a run that included winning 3 Winston Cup Series championships and 2 Busch Series championships, Biffle had given it the best sendoff it could have asked for. Nevertheless, the journey that this particular car took before it reached its status as a legend is an “underdog” story to be remembered.

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The introduction and journey of the Ford Taurus in NASCAR

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After the 1998 pre-season testing laps at Daytona, an article in the Washington Post wrote, “The speeds have been trickling in for weeks. So has whining about the Ford Taurus, which still might wind up being best remembered as the Ford Tortoise.” One season later, the Ford Taurus led Dale Jarrett to the 1999 Cup Series championship.

Beginning from 1978 to 1997, it was the Ford Thunderbird that championed the carmaker in the NASCAR. With 176 wins on its mantle, it was a boastful car. Legends like Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki won championships in the Thunderbird lifting it up to an iconic status befitting them. But the car’s run wasn’t meant to be forever.

When Chevrolet re-introduced its Monte Carlo in 1995, and the market demand for two-door sport coupes was on the decline simultaneously, Ford got back to the drawing board. The top brass made some decisions in the boardroom that wouldn’t sit well with a lot. They decided to discontinue the Thunderbird and replace it with the Taurus, which was then available as a sedan. Regardless of its unusualness with four doors, NASCAR allowed the car to compete, and it turned out to be a power to be reckoned with. Eventually, in 2006, it was replaced with Ford Fusion.

Mark Martin drove his Taurus to a career-best 7 wins in 1998. A whole lot of design changes and improvements later, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett took it to its debut championship. As they say, the rest is history. The 20th of November marks a very special day in NASCAR in remembrance of one of its finest heroes.

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