Tag: Ford

Ford drivers banking on a Talladega breakthrough

Winless through the first nine races, Ford drivers enter Talladega Superspeedway knowing Sunday is one of their best chances to breakthrough. And yet, none of them will go as far as to admit it’s a must-win weekend. “Isn’t every race a must-win?” …

Winless through the first nine races, Ford drivers enter Talladega Superspeedway knowing Sunday is one of their best chances to breakthrough. And yet, none of them will go as far as to admit it’s a must-win weekend.

“Isn’t every race a must-win?” Logano said Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. “I feel like it is, but maybe that’s just my attitude though.”

Logano is highly competitive, so his answer wasn’t a surprise. However, the question about the importance of Sunday’s GEICO 500 wasn’t centered on Logano and the No. 22 team looking to win, but all Ford drivers. The manufacturer is winless through nine races but enters Talladega Superspeedway as race favorites, given the speed and drafting strength the Ford drivers have at the superspeedways.

“Unfortunately, this is probably our best chance at the moment of races coming up,” Logano admitted. “I look at short tracks and superspeedways, those are our strengths right now as a team. Talladega fits into that area, so we need to maximize it. Not saying we can’t win at any other racetrack, but when I look at the raw speed and how we qualify and run, it’s going to be speedways and short tracks.”

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Ford is the only manufacturer without a victory. Ryan Blaney, the reigning series champion, has consistently been the best Ford driver and is the only one sitting inside the top 10 in the championship standings. Blaney has four top-10 finishes in nine races.

“I don’t really think it’s a must-win,” Blaney said. “I haven’t really sat around this week thinking of it that way. Yeah, it’s a good opportunity for us to win because we’ve been strong at these speedways, and we usually all work really well together on these things to try and get a blue oval in victory lane, but I don’t think it’s a must-win.

“It would be nice, obviously, and it would give a good shot of life for sure since a Ford hasn’t won this year, but I just think you’ve got to stick to your normal plan. ‘Hey, we’re pretty good at these things. Let’s just try to do our job again and see if we can get one in victory lane.’ But it’s not a must-win, I don’t think.”

Blaney won the most recent race at Talladega Superspeedway in the fall. In the last three races in Alabama, Blaney has finished no worse than second.

Kevin Harvick, a former Ford driver turned analyst with Fox Sports, said on his podcast earlier this week that Talladega is “really important” for Ford. He further said it would be an “absolute failure” if a Ford driver didn’t win.

“They need to win the race this week,” Harvick said. “A Ford has to win the race this weekend to stop the bleeding from everything that they have going on. … This is where we think they should win. This might be the only place they can win because of the position that they’re in with all the other racetracks.”

Ford debuted a new body design this season, the Mustang Dark Horse. It has been an adjustment for teams to translate what was shown in the data during the offseason to what works at the racetrack.

Chase Briscoe is the second-highest Ford driver in the championship standings at 12th. Briscoe has four top-10 finishes but nine laps led.

“I feel like we’ve been good enough,” Briscoe said. “Like Texas last week, I felt we were good enough to win, and I shot myself in the foot on that (late) restart. So, I don’t know. I definitely think this is the best opportunity for a lot of the Fords to win because it seems like there’s only been two or three Fords on the mile-and-a-half’s and even the short tracks that have been in the mix. So, from a numbers standpoint, this is probably our best opportunity.

“But it’s hard to say coming here this is a must-win and you’re going to pull it off. There are too many variables. I don’t feel like it for our team, but it would be nice to see a Ford get to victory lane, for sure. It’s crazy to think we’re this long into the season and haven’t had a win yet in any of the three seasons. So hopefully, this week will be the difference.”

Blaney, Briscoe, Chris Buescher and Logano are the only Ford drivers inside the top 15 in the championship standings. Logano has led the most laps for Ford — 177 — with the bulk of those led at Daytona, Atlanta and Martinsville. Todd Gilliland, who has led 91 laps, is second to Logano. Blaney is third with 74 laps led.

Combined, Ford drivers have led 507 laps. One stage win each by Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Michael McDowell are all that Ford drivers have earned.

“We know we’re going to be fast down here,” Buescher said. “We were fast in Daytona. When it comes to this race, we’re going to try and work together and try to execute it and try to find our way up to the front, but certainly not a do-or-die situation for this weekend.”

Speaking specifically to his RFK Racing team, Buescher believes they are better now than they were a year ago. It’s three positions that Buescher is looking at that the team needs to take forward.

The co-owner of Buescher’s car, Brad Keselowski, understands the talk about Ford being winless and that it’s a big deal. Outside of the Daytona and Atlanta races, Keselowski isn’t sure there has been a track where Ford had the fastest driver.

“And that’s really a key indicator,” Keselowski said. “We need to have more races where we’re the fastest car.”

Keselowski, like many of his peers, looks at Talladega Superspeedway as an opportunity race.

“It’s definitely a better opportunity for us,” he said. “We have more speed as a manufacturer at these types of tracks; we need to capitalize on that. I think it’s a great opportunity not just for Ford to win but our team to win at RFK and we need to come out of here with great finishes. Daytona and Atlanta, I thought both of those tracks, RFK had great speed, and Ford had great speed, and just the circumstances of the races, we obviously didn’t leave with the win but didn’t leave with a lot of points scored.

“It kind of dug a hole in our standings, which is kind of a shame because the opposite of that is the last few weeks, we earned finishes we probably didn’t deserve. So that’s the ebbs and flows of how a season goes. But when you have cars that are capable of winning, in general, you need to make that count.”

McDowell (left) and Logano both see Talladega as one of the strongest opportunities to crack the win column for Ford. Matt Thacker/Motorsport Images

Ford had six drivers qualify in the top 11 at Talladega Superspeedway. McDowell and Cindric locked down the front row, and it’s the third consecutive superspeedway-style race that McDowell has started on the front row.

“That’s so hard to answer because I feel like every race is a must-win, but, at the same time, I’m not panicked,” McDowell said. “If it doesn’t happen tomorrow, I don’t feel like, ‘Oh, we missed an opportunity, and there’s not another one right around the corner.’

“Does that answer it? Yes, tomorrow is a must-win, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m not panicked. I think we have speed still.”

Ford, Toyota encouraged by new bodies after Duels at Daytona

Thursday night’s qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway were particularly important to the Ford and Toyota camps as both kept close watch of their redesigned bodies. It was unknown how the Ford Mustang Dark Horse and Toyota Camry XSE …

Thursday night’s qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway were particularly important to the Ford and Toyota camps as both kept close watch of their redesigned bodies.

It was unknown how the Ford Mustang Dark Horse and Toyota Camry XSE would react in the draft and how they would push teammates. The expectation was that it would be better, even more stable to push draft, but the first chance to find out came with the high stakes of competing for a spot in the Daytona 500.

Friday morning, both sides were breathing a little easier.

“We were really curious to see how things were going to play out in the Duels because that’s our first opportunity with the new car in traffic,” Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance, said. “We didn’t have the numbers in the first race with only four or five Mustangs in there. Certainly, had the numbers in the second race, and we got a lot of feedback and comments from the drivers and some things that could be worked on with the setup to optimize that. But, at this point, we’re still very happy with the new car and looking forward to seeing how things play out.”

Ford didn’t win either one of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races. In the first race, the highest-finishing Ford was Joey Logano, finishing seventh — one of just four Ford drivers in the first race.

In the second, Austin Cindric was the highest-finishing Ford as the runner-up. The manufacturer had 12 drivers in the second race.

Although shut out in race competition, Ford is riding high from single-car qualifying, where they swept the front row for the Daytona 500. Logano will start from the pole with Michael McDowell alongside him.

“We normally don’t place a lot of emphasis on qualifying here because what matters at the end of the day is how the cars race,” Rushbrook said. “But it still was nice to get that front row, especially for Roger Penske to get a pole here. That was on his list of accomplishments that he wanted to add to, and really happy to see Front Row up there next to Penske.”

A Toyota driver won both of Thursday’s races. Tyler Reddick led the one key lap in the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel. There were five Toyota drivers in the first race, and they combined for 20 laps led. Reddick was the first of three Toyota drivers who finished inside the top 10.

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In the second race, Christopher Bell made a last-lap pass. He, too, led just the one lap. Again, three Toyota drivers were inside the top 10 of the four drivers in the race. They combined for 27 laps led.

“Obviously it’s tough…when you develop a body and you’re just looking at CFD and some wind tunnel data, and you have no idea what’s really going to happen when you get in traffic on the track,” Paul Doleshal, general manager of motorsports for Toyota Motor North America. “But I think we were a little bit disturbed – probably a strong word — but surprised at the lack of qualifying speed, but then felt that the car would race well, and that proved out, so we’re encouraged with that. I think it’s just figuring out where the car wants to sit and kind of working on some of the things from a setup perspective, which the teams and TRD will be actively pursuing and already have been.

“I don’t think we have a lot of worries; we know there’s a learning curve any time you change a body or major component like that, especially from an aerodynamic standpoint. We’ll just keep digging on it, but we should be fine as we work through it. The drivers seem to have good feedback on the car, how it was in traffic and performed on the superspeedway. We’re encouraged.”

Of the three manufacturers in NASCAR, Chevrolet goes into the season without a change to its body. Chevrolet’s Camaro might be coming out of production for street vehicles, but the model will still compete in NASCAR for the foreseeable future.

Chevrolet teams can jump out to an early advantage while their rivals work through fielding new cars, but Jim Campbell, the vice president of performance and motorsports for Chevrolet, isn’t looking at it that way or anticipating much.

“Well, we will see here this weekend. Hopefully this weekend, [and] if not this weekend, soon,” Campbell said of any gap between the three manufacturers. “The one thing that NASCAR has done in the ruleset is they keep us in a pretty tight box and keep the competition tight. Basically, in downforce and drag, they have parameters that you are required to stay within. Our car is within that box, as are the other two OEMs. It’s going to be tight.

“You can see out there in the Duels how tight that is going to be. The one thing that we do have, because our body is the same as last year, is just continuity and momentum in development in preparation and simulation versus the time that we have had to switch to a new body — we spent a lot of time on that switchover. That is a positive, but you can see how tight it is out there, and that is mainly because of the rule settings that NASCAR has on downforce and drag requirements.”

LPGA lands Ford as new title sponsor for 2024 Arizona stop

Last year’s Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club didn’t have a title sponsor.

The LPGA has a new blue-chip title sponsor in Ford Motor Company, the tour announced on Tuesday. The upcoming Ford Championship will take place at Seville Golf and Country Club, March 28-31, in Gilbert, Arizona.

Last year, the LPGA stop at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, called the Drive On Championship, did not have a title sponsor.

Mina Harigae is a member at Superstition and said that fellow member Tim Hovik, owner of San Tan Ford in Gilbert, had such a blast at last year’s Drive On that he called Ford’s corporate headquarters to try to get them involved.

“I can’t believe it did it,” said Harigae, “but that’s how much passion he has for this.”

While Superstition wanted to host again, she continued, the proposed dates didn’t work for the club.

“Ford’s collaboration with the LPGA Tour represents our commitment to supporting women in sports and showcasing their incredible talent on a global stage,” Lisa Materazzo, global chief marketing officer, Ford Motor Company, said in a release. “Through the Ford Championship presented by KCC, we aim to elevate the visibility of female athletes in the golfing world and inspire a new generation of fans.”

The LPGA has held an event in Arizona more than 70 times over the course of the tour’s nearly 75-year history. Celine Boutier won last year’s Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain, the first of four titles for the Frenchwoman in 2023.

Seville Golf and Country Club, which counts tour player Alena Sharp as a member, was designed by Gary Panks and opened in 2000. Sharp said the last four holes are the best on the course, noting that the par-4 16th is drivable, the par-3 17th is an island green and the par-5 18th will be reachable in two.

“Our greens are the best greens around,” said Sharp, “they’re fast. I think the girls are really going to like it. There’s risk/reward and the course is in great shape. That’s what we like.”

A field of 144 players will compete in Gilbert for a $2 million purse. LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said the current deal with Ford is for one year, but they’re already in talks about the future.

Marcoux Samaan also praised the fan support LPGA events receive in Arizona, noting that ticket sales is a key area of growth the tour is focused on in 2024.

“The fandom is so tremendous,” she said. “Last year, we just decided to do that event relatively late in the year and we had one of the best crowds of the year.”

Tom Mackin contributed to this story.

Haley eager for first Ford drive at Daytona

Justin Haley is chomping at the bit to officially start the season with Rick Ware Racing at Daytona International Speedway in three weeks. Haley has a multiyear deal with Ware, driving the No. 51 Ford Mustang. It will be the first time Haley has …

Justin Haley is chomping at the bit to officially start the season with Rick Ware Racing at Daytona International Speedway in three weeks.

Haley has a multiyear deal with Ware, driving the No. 51 Ford Mustang. It will be the first time Haley has driven something other than a Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series. Of the 266 national series starts Haley has made in NASCAR, 265 of them have been with Chevrolet.

His praise of Ford comes from the manufacturer’s dominance on the superspeedways. Ford drivers draft well together, buying into the ‘One Ford’ mantra the group adopted a few years ago when manufacturer alliances became the most successful strategy.

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“I’ve told everyone all week that I’ve raced against the Fords for so long,” Haley said during the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) convention. “They have the best fuel mileage, the best strategy and the best teamwork, and it has pissed me off for so long racing them that I’m so excited to sit in a Ford.

“They didn’t even pay me extra to say that. It’s so true.”

Doug Yates also takes pride in the horsepower Roush Yates Engines takes to the superspeedways. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski combined for 187 of 260 laps led en route to finishing 1-2 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring of 2023. Chris Buescher won the summer Daytona race after Chase Briscoe sat on the pole and led the most laps. While teammate Logano led the most laps, Ryan Blaney won the fall Talladega Superspeedway race.

“They qualify so fast,” Haley said of the Ford’s speed. “I just went through Roush Yates the other day, and what an impressive operation they have built. I’ve never seen an engine shop that looks like that before. It looked like rocket science. There were lab coats and face masks and big rubber gloves and microscopes and all sorts of stuff just to build horsepower.

“They have crushed us on fuel mileage and now we’ve got an awesome brand-new looking Dark Horse Mustang. So, I’m super excited to go down to Daytona and see what we’ve got.”

Haley is not to be overlooked on superspeedways, either. All four of his NASCAR Xfinity Series victories came on superspeedways: two at Daytona and two at Talladega. In the summer of 2019, Haley and Spire Motorsports had positioned themselves in the right place at the right time to be declared the winners of the weather-shortened Cup Series race at Daytona.

Rick Ware Racing will field two full-time entries with Haley the organization’s flagship driver. The No. 15 entry will have multiple drivers.

Ware has signed a driver to build around for years to come, while Haley gets a fresh start with a new team and manufacturer. Both sides are optimistic about what’s to come but are taking the journey one week at a time.

“It’s an ultra-competitive racing series, and it’s going to take some time,” Haley said. “Obviously, with everything we have going, I feel like all of our alliances with Ford and Roush Yates and RFK have grown a lot over the offseason, and I continue to see those grow. The first five to 10 races, we’ll kind of be what we are and then Chris [Lawson] and everyone at RWR will start to elevate and start to hit our stride. We’ll just have to see.

“It’s not going to be like we go and rip the first 10 wins off of the season. I feel like we’re realistic, but I also feel like we really want to be competitive, and there are all the right tools now to be competitive at Rick Ware. We have every single tool. We just have to take them out of the toolbox and figure out how to use them and apply that.”

Ford sweeps the 2023 NASCAR season with three championships

Ford has swept the 2023 NASCAR season with Ryan Blaney winning in Cup, Cole Custer winning in Xfinity, and Ben Rhodes winning in Truck.

[autotag]Ford[/autotag] didn’t have a great regular season in NASCAR’s top-3 levels; however, the manufacturer’s drivers peaked at the right time. Ben Rhodes won the NASCAR Truck Series championship for ThorSport Racing while Cole Custer won the NASCAR Xfinity Series title for Stewart-Haas Racing. Rhodes is the only driver to be a repeat champion.

As for Chevrolet and Toyota, they each performed well throughout the 2023 NASCAR season but were unable to cross the line first for a title. In fact, Ford only had three drivers across all three NASCAR levels in the Championship 4. All of them ended up winning a title and will carry momentum into the 2024 season.

This is the second straight season that Ford has seen this much success. Team Penske driver Joey Logano won the 2022 Cup Series title while now former Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith clinched the 2022 Truck Series championship. If this is any indication of what is to come moving forward, Ford should be optimistic about its chances in 2024.

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Ford reveals Dark Horse Mustang for Cup Series

The next iteration of the Ford Mustang that will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning next season was revealed Wednesday and is based on the Mustang Dark Horse. “What a crazy year it has been revealing our new global Mustangs for racing,” Mark …

The next iteration of the Ford Mustang that will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning next season was revealed Wednesday and is based on the Mustang Dark Horse.

“What a crazy year it has been revealing our new global Mustangs for racing,” Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, said. “The positive response from our fans around the world has been amazing, and we’re confident that this Mustang Dark Horse Cup car will be no different and that NASCAR fans will be excited to cheer us on next year. Our Ford Performance staff, together with our NASCAR race teams, have worked tirelessly in the wind tunnel developing this car, and I can’t wait to finally see it race on the track next season.”

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Ford has raced the Mustang in the Cup Series since 2019. The company introduced the Mustang Dark Horse production vehicle last year.

In 2024, the Mustang Dark Horse nameplate will compete on six continents.

“If she gallops as fast as she looks, it’s going to be a good year,” Brad Keselowski said. “Mustang is an iconic American car made famous around the world. I think of how Mustang has evolved over the years and how NASCAR has evolved along with it and they’re just two brands that go together. I’m proud to get to drive it and proud to be able to compete for the win in this car.”

The Ford Mustang brand debuted in NASCAR in 2011 in the Xfinity Series. It has won the drivers’ or owners’ championship nine times. In the Cup Series, the Ford Mustang has won the four crown jewel events: the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. Joey Logano drove it to a drivers’ championship in 2022.

“What I’ve learned over the years is every car looks good in victory lane,” Logano said, “but if it looks this mean just sitting here, it’ll look even better in victory lane.”

RFK Racing is for real

In late January, when NASCAR officials scheduled a two-day test for a new short-track aero package, six drivers were chosen to participate. Among them was Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 team from RFK Racing. Keselowski ended up making an impression …

In late January, when NASCAR officials scheduled a two-day test for a new short-track aero package, six drivers were chosen to participate. Among them was Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 team from RFK Racing.

Keselowski ended up making an impression on another one of the drivers there.

“I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, the 6 car is really fast,’ and I felt like he was going to have a good year this year,” said Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Bell’s recollection came in response to being asked if the two RKF Racing cars, Keselowski’s and Chris Buescher’s No. 17, are for real this season. Both currently hold down spots on the playoff grid and have taken a clear step forward in performance from a season ago.

“Honestly, it’s funny you bring that up,” Bell said before referring to the test. “Week in, week out, it seems (Keselowski’s) a top 10, top five car. So, it certainly seems they’re headed in the right direction.”

Keselowski is 11th in the overall NASCAR Cup Series championship standings and 13th on the playoff grid. He has a 99-point gap on the cutline after finishing 11th Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, with nine races left in the regular season.

Buescher is 12th in the overall championship standings and 14th on the playoff grid. His gap to the cutline is 98 points after finishing a quiet and disappointing 18th at Nashville.

“They’ve definitely gotten better for sure,” said reigning series champion and fellow Ford driver Joey Logano. “They’ve done a good job at keeping up with the rest of the Fords and that’s your baseline. You have to think about where you are and what you’re competing with. From that standpoint, they seem to have made huge gains from last year at this point.

“But a little hit or miss, probably at times. There are times when one of them really hits it, and the other might be a little off, and there are times that they’re like the best car and can win, and there are times they’re not. I think they’re growing and getting better for sure.”

Neither RFK driver made the postseason a year ago. But the 2022 season was one of change as the company welcomed a new era with Keselowski joining as a driver and co-owner. There has been a laundry list of changes made over the last year, some behind-the-scenes, some within the race teams and some, like painting the walls that have nothing to do with the cars going fast.

And yet, both cars are noticeably faster this season. Keselowski has six top-10 finishes and Buescher has seven. At this point a year ago, both drivers needed a win to make the playoffs where it’s now possible – baring the number of race winners, of course – to put both cars into the postseason on points potentially.

Kyle Larson has “definitely” noticed the turnaround as he’s found himself racing both RFK cars more regularly. Larson saw the progress throughout last season but feels it’s been tenfold in 2023.

“Chris Buescher, he’s a very underrated driver,” Larson said. “He’s quiet; nobody really talks about him much, and he’s definitely one of the most talented drivers in the field. And the same goes for Brad. Obviously, he’s a champion.

“He’s been quiet the last few years, but he’s still got the talent to do it, and they’ve done a good job as a team to grow and build and get back to competitive form. I know a win is going to be in his future, for sure, and it’s going to be very satisfying for him whenever he gets it done.

“They’re only a few points behind me, so they’ve obviously been consistent. Wherever they’ve been finishing, I feel like they must be consistent because I have not been consistent, and they’re up in the mix. They’ve done a great job.”

Larson and Tyler Reddick mentioned it’s nice to see a team run well when you know people who work there. Larson is familiar with some members of Keselowski’s team because they moved there from Chip Ganassi Racing, and Larson is a former Ganassi driver. Reddick is glad to see things start to pan out after such a big career move for Keselowski.

Both RFK cars have taken a step forward this year. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

“It has been like, ‘Oh damn, now I have to try and race Brad and pass him.’ Or Chris,” said Reddick. “It is cool to see that they’re turning it around and doing what they want to do.”

Denny Hamlin also had high praise.

“I think certainly they’ve been, at times, the banner Ford stable,” Hamlin said. “You look at the 4 car, [Kevin Harvick] he’s definitely an outlier for SHR and kind of leads the Ford camp as far as consistent results.

“But as far as an organization, combining them, I would say RFK has been one of the best Ford teams out there. Certainly, I would say what they are putting out there on the racetrack is for real.”

Keselowski and Buescher acknowledge a lot of racing left to go. Very much in sync, Keselowski and Buescher mentioned the need and push to win races. Buescher did go to victory lane late season at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was proof of concept for the organization.

Buescher does not like to point race and doesn’t want to fall into that trap over the next nine weeks. He wants to see the No. 17 team stick to what they’ve been doing, and if they continue to be competitive each week, the points will handle themselves.

“It’s not complete yet,” Buescher said of having a chance to put both cars in the postseason. “The story is ongoing, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. But it is a measure of a tremendous amount of progress from this point last year for RFK for both of our teams. It’s been a lot of work. This car has been a lot of work. All the change at RFK has been a lot of work.

“It’s cool to see some results from that. We’re still trying to figure out how to get more wins and be in contention, just be a few spots better each week and that’ll definitely help us. But it’s measurable change and improvement, and that’s solid for everybody back at the shop and the track. It’s showing every week at any kind of racetrack we go to, and it’s not just road courses or speedways. Every track we go to, we are night and day better than we were last year.”

There were fleeting moments of potential last season for RFK Racing, including the win at Bristol in which Buescher and Keselowski combined to lead 278 of 500 laps. Buescher finished 21st in the championship standings last season. Keselowski was 24th.

Buescher is positioned to surpass the total number of top-10 finishes he earned last season (10). His next top-five finish will give him one more than he had all of last year.

“I think we’ve got some good vibes going; Chris is on a really big hot streak,” Keselowski said. “He’s run really well the last three or four races, been in contention to win, he won a stage in the Coke 600 and won (a heat race) of the All-Star Race, (was) really good at Sonoma.

“A lot of really great energy there, and they’re kind of scuttling their way up in the points. A lot of excitement there.”

Keselowski has already tied the number of top-10 finishes he had a season ago and surpassed the total number of top-five finishes. But the former series champion said there have been “a lot of ups and downs” with the No. 6 team.

“I felt we were really strong at Charlotte and maybe not as good as we wanted to be at a couple of other places here lately,” Keselowski said. “So, either way, it’s better to be in than be outside looking in, but we’re not as comfortable as we’d like to be. We’d like to have wins. That’s what the sport is about.

“We’ve done a great job, I think, elevating ourselves from irrelevant to relevant, but I don’t want to stop there. We’ve got another step to take, and so we’re working really hard to take that step and put it together. I’m working on it every day. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, but we need to be winning races.”

If there were an award for the “Most Improved” team, it would go to RFK Racing. Although Keselowski laughed that with how much improvement they needed to make, he’s not sure that’s something to be proud of or not.

But the gains have them looking realistically at the postseason and have the attention of the competition.

“We’ve come a long way, without a doubt, and we’ve got a real shot of putting both cars in the playoffs,” Keselowski said. “But a lot can happen between now and then. But either way, glad to be where we’re at rather than be looking from the outside.”

Deja vu for Ford as it searches for Cup series victories

Mark Rushbrook has been in this position before, last August when he expressed that Ford’s results were unacceptable. Unfortunately for the global director of Ford Performance, it’s the same sentiment as the Cup Series hits Memorial Day weekend and …

Mark Rushbrook has been in this position before, last August when he expressed that Ford’s results were unacceptable.

Unfortunately for the global director of Ford Performance, it’s the same sentiment as the Cup Series hits Memorial Day weekend and looks ahead to a busy summer. Ford has one Cup Series win in 13 races so far this season, with Joey Logano in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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“It’s been a tough year, for sure,” Rushbrook said earlier this week as Ford unveiled a new exhibit at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Ford drivers haven’t shied away from the struggle on intermediate tracks, particularly against counterparts Chevrolet and Toyota. Logano acknowledged the issue as early as Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the season’s third race.

Kevin Harvick said earlier this month it’s like going to a knife fight with no knife. In his final season, Harvick is a bright spot for Ford at third in the championship standings through the gritty consistency known from his No. 4 team with six top-10 finishes.

“I think for us, our car’s been pretty good, but obviously, we’re at a huge deficit,” Harvick said. “The aerodynamics of the car are just way off compared to the other two manufacturers. … The bigger the racetrack, the harder it is.”

All three manufacturers were given a chance to change the hood and noses of their cars after learnings from the first year of the Next Gen car. Most of the changes came around the cooling elements of the vehicle with the size of the hood vents.

“At this point in the season, we want to have more than one win, but we’ve also had a lot of really strong performances: Daytona, Talladega, Phoenix, Martinsville,” said Rushbrook. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to close it, and you go to get the win. So, we’re not happy with that. But we know we can be competitive on those tracks.

“Where we see opportunity for improvement is on the intermediate tracks. That’s where our approach is working with the three big teams – if you count Penske, Wood Brothers as one and Stewart-Haas and RFK, and also with Front Row now.”

The box Next Gen puts teams and manufacturers in is tight, so Rushbrook acknowledged the field is much closer together. In actuality, he said the three manufacturers are not that far apart from each other aerodynamically.

“But they are different,” he said. “But the cars in total, because of what Next Gen has done bringing everything together, even those small differences end up on a long green-flag run separating the cars. So, it’s finding out the fine-tuning knobs that we have, but it’s also – we talked about the front end of the car and the aerodynamics – there is more to it than that.

Logano’s win at Atlanta is a high point on Ford’s otherwise difficult season. Rusty Jarrett/Motorsport

“The chassis is very sensitive in the setup, so ride heights are very important. That has nothing to do with the front end itself. But where can you get the car for the ride heights and the travels? That’s where we think a lot of the opportunity for us to make improvements is. It’s not in the front of the car, it’s in the car itself.”

And that’s where the deja vu comes in for Rushbrook. Last August, Rushbrook expressed the same concerns as Ford sat on four wins. But things turned around after those comments, and Ford won the series championship with Joey Logano.

The good news is that what Ford needs to do can happen during the season to help its teams improve over time.

“Absolutely,” Rushbrook said. “We’ve got the right people inside of Ford, and we’ve got the right teams and the right engine partner. We know how to do it. We did it last year. We’ve done it before. We need to keep working.”

There are three Ford drivers in the top 10 in the championship standings. Harvick is third, with Ryan Blaney sitting seventh and Brad Keselowski eighth. Rushbrook praised the work RFK Racing is doing to chip away at where they need to be and the confidence the organization is building.

Of the 14 Ford drivers in the Cup Series, only four have led more than 100 laps to date. In total, Ford drivers have combined to lead 856 laps.

Logano’s lone win is the blemish on the Ford record, and there is more work to be done, as all admit. But Rushbrook also sees plenty of good within the manufacturer.

“What we saw at Daytona to start the season, there were a lot of strong Fords there,” he said. “Had that accident played out a little bit different – a little bit earlier or later, the yellow getting thrown a little bit earlier or later – we would have walked away with a Daytona 500 win. Doug [Yates] loves superspeedways and the engine package, and he always brings great engines to the superspeedways and the aero package and the teamwork. So that was hard to leave Daytona. I don’t know if it’s harder when you perform so well and don’t get the win.

“Then two or three weeks later at Phoenix, the Hendrick cars looked strong early, but on the long run, especially the Stewart-Haas cars and Kevin, he was out to a four or five-second lead, and a poorly timed caution took that away.

“So again, kudos to the short track package that our teams have, especially Stewart-Haas being really good. Another short track, Martinsville, Ryan Preece led every single lap of the first stage. Little pit road incident. But that’s racing. You have to execute on all levels.

“There are so many positive things there. Yeah, do we want to be better on intermediate tracks? Yes. But there’s a lot of positives there, and there are more wins to come out of these teams.”