Ford Performance Teams Start Season With Ken Block Tribute

Ken Block, professional rally driver for the Hoonigan Racing Division formerly backed by Ford, was killed in early 2023 in a snowmobiling accident in Utah. Now, Ford Performance has announced that it will honor Block this year, with each of its race cars carrying a commemorative decal to kick off the 2023 racing season across all series.

Ford Performance released an image of the decals on its social media, along with a statement that reads, “Ken, all of our race teams across all series are gonna bring you along for one final ride to start the season. We miss you.” The decals themselves feature a stylized black and white portrait of Block himself, along with his famous No. 43 and an inscription reading Block’s name, 1967 – 2023, and the hashtag #43FOREVER, which is being used across social media in Block’s memory. It appears that each decal will be color coordinated with the livery of each respective race car.

Race cars featuring the decal included Ford CEO Jim Farley’s machine at the Roar Before the 24 Hours of Daytona along with the M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 racers at Monte Carlo this past weekend. Plenty of other Ford Performance entries across all walks of racing will also carry Block’s decal this year, including in IMSA, the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Truck Series, Australian Supercars, Formula Drift and Ultra4.

Block and Ford parted ways in early 2021 after a decade-long racing partnership with The Blue Oval, when he moved on to take control of an Audi-badged racer instead. Quite a few of Block’s Ford racers have sold for quite a bit at auction, including his 1986 Ford RS200 Evolution, his 2011 Ford Fiesta GYM3 and the famous Hoonitruck. His Gymkhana Five Ford Fiesta was also on display at The Henry Ford in 2021.

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