The first 12 weeks of the 2024 Cup Series campaign didn’t seem too good for The Blue Oval. The automaker was winless as Chevy and Toyota took everything, and concerns about the NASCAR Ford teams’ performances surfaced as drivers wondered when a Ford Mustang Dark Horse would finally make it to Victory Lane. Turns out, they didn’t have to wait too much longer to start winning again, and it looks like the Ford teams might actually be a threat to win the championship.
A report from Racing America details Ford’s resurgence as the Playoffs cutoff looms. It began with the No. 6 NASCAR Ford of Brad Keselowski, who won at Darlington on May 12th, 2024. He not only broke his own three-year winless streak, but brought The Blue Oval back to Victory Lane in the Cup Series for the first time 2024. Keselowski went back to the race shop at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK) following his win and praised the Ford Performance team behind the new Dark Horse race car, commending them for changes that make the vehicle more competitive.
However, while RFK was excelling with the Mustang Dark Horse, other teams, like Penske Racing, weren’t quite as adept with the new racer. Chasing RFK gave Penske the competitive drive it needed to become a threat again. The Mustang Dark Horse machine clearly had speed, and all they had to do was find it.
Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang won just one week after Keselowski, although, to be fair, that was the All-Star Race, which does not count toward points. Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Mustang rode that momentum, winning at Gateway, and it took another few weeks for Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang to find the checkered flag, first at Iowa and again at Pocono just one month later.
Currently, Ford is 25 points behind Chevrolet in the Manufacturer Standings, and 15 points behind Toyota. There’s still 15 races left in the 2024 Cup Series season, though – plenty of time for The Blue Oval to continue its upward swing and take the championship for the second year in a row.
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