Ford unveils new look for Mustang in NASCAR Cup Series
A new Ford Mustang body is coming to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, the manufacturer announced and formally unveiled Wednesday.
Ford’s 14 NASCAR Cup Series teams will race under the new Dark Horse nameplate. According to Ford, they unveiled the Dark Horse just over a year ago as the newest Mustang nameplate since 2001.
“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,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.
In 2018 and 2020, Ford earned their first NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer’s championships since 2000 and 2002.
In 2020, the 13 Ford teams bagged 18 wins and led 4,816 of the 9,914 laps run. Half of the playoff field and the Championship Four also belonged to Ford. They also averaged a 15.5 owner-points finish.
Then, before 2021, the final season of the Gen 6 car, NASCAR instituted a parts freeze.
In 2021, their win count dropped to seven. The 12 Ford teams led 1,712 of the 9,200 laps run. Just five teams also placed in the owner playoffs but none of them made the Championship Four. The manufacturer also averaged an 18.2 owner points finish.
The Gen 7 car brought Ford up to nine wins in 2022. The Ford teams also led 2545 of 9483 laps run.
However, their average owner points finish slumped to 22.3 and just four teams made the playoffs, including Joey Logano’s championship-winning No. 22 team.
Their performance has generally met in the middle in 2023:
- Six teams made the owner playoffs
- 8 wins
- 20.2 average owner points finish
- 2,261 of 8,988 laps led
Now, in 2024, the manufacturer will get a boost with the new body. This is the first time any manufacturer will receive a refresh to their original Gen 7 body.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com