Does Ford still do racing?
Yes. Ford still races today, with a broad portfolio of factory-backed and customer programs led by Ford Performance.
Beyond that, Ford's racing footprint spans multiple disciplines and regions, aligning brand strategy, engineering innovation, and performance heritage with ongoing competition in top series and grassroots events.
Current racing programs
These are the core arenas where Ford maintains an official presence in competition today. The following list highlights the main series and programs Ford Performance is involved with in the modern era.
- NASCAR Cup Series: Factory-backed efforts powered by Ford Performance, with flagship teams such as Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing competing with the Ford Mustang in the premier stock-car division.
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and GT racing: Ford supports endurance racing through customer programs using Mustang GT3/GT4 variants, building on a legacy of the Ford GT endurance program (2016–2019) and maintaining involvement in GT-class competition in IMSA today.
- Global rally and performance racing channels: Ford's rally legacy remains influential through partnerships with teams like M-Sport where applicable, alongside broader performance-racing initiatives that connect to Ford's road-car engineering and marketing strategy.
These programs reflect Ford's multi-series strategy, combining factory-backed efforts with customer teams to maximize exposure and technology transfer to production models.
Why Ford stays active in racing
Several strategic factors drive Ford's continued investment in motorsports, ensuring that racing outputs inform production cars, brand identity, and corporate performance objectives.
- Technology transfer: Racing acts as a rigorous proving ground for powertrains, chassis engineering, aerodynamics, and reliability that ultimately benefits high-performance road cars.
- Brand leadership and marketing: A sustained racing presence reinforces Ford’s performance heritage and appeals to enthusiasts, sponsors, and global audiences.
- Customer-racing ecosystem: Ford Performance supports a network of teams and customers, expanding the reach of Ford parts, engineering, and service through global racing series.
- Sustainability and electrification strategy: Ford’s racing programs increasingly intersect with its broader electrification and efficiency goals, using competition to accelerate tech development across propulsion, telemetry, and data analytics.
In short, the continuity of Ford’s racing efforts rests on tangible engineering gains, strong brand equity, and a collaborative ecosystem that keeps competition aligned with production performance.
Historical context
Ford has a storied endurance and rally heritage. The factory-backed Ford GT endurance program ran in the mid-to-late 2010s, culminating after the 2019 season, and the company has since emphasized a GT3/customer-racing approach for competition beyond that era. In rally, Ford’s involvement has historically involved partnerships with specialist teams and suppliers, rather than a single ongoing factory entry in every global rally championship.
Summary
Ford remains a persistent force in global motorsports, balancing factory-backed efforts in NASCAR with a broader, customer-oriented presence in IMSA and other GT racing, while continuing to leverage racing as a platform for technology development and brand storytelling. The company’s strategy emphasizes engineering gains for road cars, a robust partner network, and a competitive horizon that spans circuits, ovals, and performance events around the world.
