2014 Performance Racing Industry Show – Indianapolis Report
2014 is the second year since the PRI Show returned to Indianapolis from Orlando. SEMA has taken over ownership of the PRI Show, and attendance is significantly higher.
Factory Five Racing was at PRI as a guest of Ford Racing with our ’33 Hot Rod that debuted a month ago at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Factory Five ’33 was built by the guys at Ford Racing with help from Watson Engineering. The car features one of the first 6-cylinder turbo-charged EcoBoost engines to be fitted into a Factory Five. Ford Racing is soon to debut this long-awaited engine package, and our ’33 got tons of attention at the show.
Here’s the report:
You know you are in Indy when you get off the plane, and you see an open wheel Indy Car in the airport. Technically, this car is a dirt track “100 miler” car, but served dual purpose as an Indy race car. This car was a two time national champion, and was known as “The Grey Ghost”. It is powered by a 255 cu-in. 4-cylinder Offenhauser engine.
Factory Five President Dave Smith with Ford Racing’s Jesse Kershaw and the Factory Five ’33. A cool story about Jesse Kershaw is that he was busy shipping a crate to Factory Five while his wife was going into labor! How is that for dedication?!?!
PRI is about half the size of the SEMA Show, but the cars are definitely more race focused. You notice this as soon as you walk in.
Above & Below: Engine building competitions and race-focused performance are the core of the PRI Show.
Above & Below: The Ford Racing display included this cool 2015 Mustang on its side so that everyone could check out the engine bay internals and under-carriage hardware.
Just around the corner in Ford Racing’s booth was the Factory Five ’33 with the EcoBoost V6.
Watson Engineering did an amazing job on the detail work, and the paint was a combination of metallic red with this cool flat black stripe.
The EcoBoost V6 looks perfectly at home in the ’33, and with 365 HP and 420 torque, performance is anticipated to be nothing short of exceptional.
The interior was clean and well executed, and matches the rest of the car.
The car drew a ton of attention. This is a beautiful Hot Rod with modern Ford Racing power under the hood!
Check out this video from SEMA 2014 of the Ford EcoBoost V6-powered Factory Five ’33.
The 2014 PRI Show was a big success, and big thanks to the hard-working staff at Ford Racing! I’d say over the years, the guys at Ford Racing have helped more Factory Five customers find the right engine for their Factory Five than anyone else. We have two exciting new projects that are working on with Ford Racing for 2015, so stay tuned!
Factory Five Racing
