Ford announces new NASCAR as Ryan Blaney instantly – Sports News
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney introduced the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC on Thursday (Image: Getty)
At a star-studded Ford Racing launch occasion in Detroit on Thursday, the successor to the present Mustang Dark Horse was unveiled for the primary time, with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney behind the wheel.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion drove the new-look Mustang Dark Horse SC into the packed occasion and was fast to rave in regards to the substitute for the Shelby GT500.
“It’s great that I got to drive it for the first time – the supercharged V8 is unbelievable,” the 32-year-old mentioned. “The carbon brakes are really amazing. When you get it on the track, you want to punch it hard, brake late.”
Blaney then requested Ford Performance’s world director, Mark Rushbrook, whether or not he may “take this into competition soon?”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Rushbrook replied. “In fact, I’m excited to announce tonight that we will, in 2027, take the Dark Horse SC and debut it at America’s racetrack with America’s race team, the Daytona 500.”
The present Dark Horse has been in use within the Cup Series since 2024 (Image: Getty)
Blaney wasn’t the only real NASCAR consultant on the occasion, nevertheless, with teammate Joey Logano, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith, and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher additionally in attendance.
The Mustang has been a staple on the NASCAR scene since 2011, when it grew to become Ford’s full-time consultant in what’s now the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Series, earlier than shifting into the Cup Series during the Gen-6 period to switch the Fusion in 2019.
The present SubsequentGen model of the Mustang Dark Horse was introduced in back in 2024, changing the Mustang GT.
Between 2022 and 2024, the Mustang delivered three consecutive driver’s championships, twice through Logano and as soon as courtesy of Blaney. However, 2025 proved a tough 12 months for Ford, successful simply seven races, the fewest of the three OEMs, and with none of its charters reaching the championship race, with Blaney highest of its drivers in sixth.
Now Ford shall be hoping this 5.2-liter V8-powered Dark Horse SC can convey the producer back to the highest, following Chevrolet’s current reveal of its own revised design for 2026.
“To engineer the most advanced, powerful, and track-capable* Mustang Dark Horse in the stable, we didn’t work in a vacuum. We took the Dark Horse SC to Sebring and Virginia International Raceway to test alongside the Mustang GTD supercar and the Mustang GT3 race car. This collaboration bore immediate fruit,” chief program engineer, Arie Groeneveld, defined through Ford’s web site.
“By working with the GTD team, we were able to adopt Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tires for the Mustang Dark Horse SC Track Pack. The aerodynamic changes on Mustang Dark Horse SC — like its new hood and the carbon-fiber venting, as well as the revised fascia and underbody venting — all benefited from the raw data we shared at the track.”
For the ultimate 12 months of the present Dark Horse period, Penske, FRM, and RFK will all be seeking to exit on a high, in what will even be the primary 12 months since 2913 by which the title shall be determined through ‘The Chase’ as an alternative of the now-defunct Playoff format.
The change was introduced by NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell on Monday, revealing that the 3-3-3-1 elimination model Playoffs would get replaced by an altered model of its predecessor. Now, the 26-race common season will resolve the seeding for the beginning of the 16-car, 10-race ‘Chase’ by which the driving force with the very best complete quantity of factors after the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will take home the championship.
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