Over the past years, NASCAR->ke3635 race cars have barely resembled their production counterparts with teams opting to use branding stickers and logos as a way to put some distinguishable flavor to the cars themselves.

This year, however, Ford->ke31 Racing is taking a different approach. Or should we say an approach that harkens back to the days when the phrase "stock car" actually meant something.

With the season-opening race at Daytona scheduled for this weekend, Ford Racing is giving its Fusion Sprint Cup Race Car a major overhaul and facelift, opting to go back to the method of designing the car to resemble the actual Fusion production model that it represented.

The video will show you how Ford managed to design the Fusion Sprint Cup Race Car and the comparisons of the car from its production brother. Of course, it probably helped that the design of the race car was done by the Ford Design Center, something the division hasn't done since the 60's.

We’ve gotta say, this return to the stock car approach is a refreshing wrinkle to the 2013 NASCAR season. About the only thing different now is that the Fusion Sprint Cup Race Car is powered by a Ford Racing-sourced 5.8-liter V-8 that develops in excess of 850 horsepower, as opposed to the production model which only has 237 ponies on tap.

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