Time Machine: The Yates Head Bows Out – Finally

RacinToday.com

When Speed Weeks begin in Daytona Beach next February, it will mark the beginning of the first full season for the Ford FR9 engine. It will also mark the end of the Robert Yates-designed cylinder heads era that began in 1991.

Part of  NASCAR’s “engine of tomorrow” initiative, the FR9 is the last among the participating manufacturers’ new engines to arrive, in part because its predecessor was able to match all the new technology and horsepower introduced over the past three seasons by GM, Toyota and Dodge.

“The new engine’s biggest challenge is that the current engine is so very, very good,” said Brian Wolfe, the director of Ford North America Motorsports, during the introduction of the FR9 earlier this year.

Much of that was down to the Yates cylinder head design, which became the standard for Fords in 1992, along with the company’s approved intake manifold and engine block. All three were universally available as well as mandatory in NASCAR’s premier series for Ford participants. Pontiac and Chevy, meanwhile, had their own standard equipment.

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