Archive for the ‘2021 Press Releases’ Category

Front Row Motorsports 2021 Driver Announcement

Posted on: January 6th, 2021
Location: post

MOORESVILLE, NC – January 6, 2021 – Front Row Motorsports announced its driver and crew chief lineup for the 2021 NASCAR season, adding rookie hopeful Anthony Alfredo to its NASCAR Cup Series roster with returning veteran Michael McDowell.

The Bob Jenkins-owned organization will again field two full-time teams in the Cup Series, adding a third car for David Ragan for the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 14th.

Alfredo, nicknamed “Fast Pasta”, joins Front Row after running a majority of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season last year for Richard Childress Racing. The 21-year-old Connecticut native, who was a member of the 2018 NASCAR Next class, will be a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate competing in his first full NASCAR national series campaign, with his Cup Series debut set for next month’s Daytona 500.

Alfredo will be partnered with crew chief Seth Barbour, who first joined FRM’s Cup Series in 2017.

“This is really an unbelievable moment,” Alfredo said in a release provided by the team. “When you start out racing karts as a kid, you dream of making it to the sport’s top level. I want to thank Bob Jenkins and everyone at Front Row Motorsports for making this dream a reality. I know the challenges ahead, but I’m here to work hard and prove myself.”

McDowell will be back for his fourth consecutive season in Front Row’s No. 34 Ford, paired for a third straight year with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. The 36-year-old driver finished a career-best 23rd in the final Cup Series standings last year, bolstered by four top-10 results.

“Michael has really solidified his place as our veteran leader,” Jenkins said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that has helped us continue to grow our program.”

Ragan, 35, retired from full-time NASCAR competition after the 2019 campaign, but this year will mark his second straight one-off entry in the Daytona 500. Last season’s effort in The Great American Race yielded a fourth-place finish.

Ragan will again be paired with crew chief Derrick Finley in FRM’s No. 36 Ford. He has two NASCAR Cup Series victories, the most recent of which was Front Row’s first, scored in 2013 at Talladega Superspeedway.

33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 412 WINS – 371 POLES!

*Courtesy Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR 

 

BLANEY WINS TWO IN A ROW, PLAYOFF FIELD SET

Posted on: August 30th, 2021
Location: post
DAYTONA, FL – August 30, 2021 – Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on Saturday night, marking his second win in a row after his victory at Michigan. Saturday’s Daytona night race concluded the regular NASCAR Cup Series season and a total of 16 drivers will advance to the playoffs next week at Darlington.
“Congratulations to Ryan, Todd, Roger, and the entire No. 12 crew on two wins in a row and finishing out the regular season strong,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “This was a battle to the end, but Ryan and Todd were able to navigate through the field and earn the well-deserved checkered flag.”
“Momentum is what everything is all about.  Confidence is key and we came into this weekend very confident after last week with our heads held high.  They’ll be a little bit higher this week, so I look forward to getting to Darlington,” commented Blaney.
Ryan Newman with Roush Fenway Racing finished P3, B.J. McLeod with Live Fast Motorsports finished P9, and Josh Bilicki with Rick Ware Racing finished P10.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series raced Saturday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway while two Ford Performance teammates finished in the top 15 as Riley Herbst with Stewart-Haas Racing finished in P10 and Jason White with Ryan-Sieg Racing finished P15.
POWERING THE PLAYOFFS
Six drivers powered by Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines earned a spot in the NASCAR Cup series playoffs: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola, and Kevin Harvick.
RYAN BLANEY – TIED FOR 2ND 
Ryan Blaney earned his spot in the playoffs after winning at Atlanta, Michigan, and this past weekend at Daytona. This year marks his 5th consecutive season in the playoffs. Earlier in the year, Blaney led 157 of 500 laps at Martinsville and looks forward to leveraging his knowledge and success at this track on October 31st.  Blaney also has won at Talladega and looks forward to this superspeedway race on October 3rd.

JOEY LOGANO – #9

Joey Logano earned a spot in the playoffs after winning the inaugural race at the Bristol Dirt track in March. This year he has had 8 Top 5’s and 13 Top 10’s. Logano is a 27-time Cup winner and previous NCS champion. He is one of only a handful of drivers with at least four Championship 4 appearances and aims to advance this year as well.

BRAD KESELOWSKI – #10

Brad Keselowski earned his spot in the playoffs after winning at Talladega in April. Keselowski has had a lot of success at Talladega: this track marked his first Cup series win and a total of 6 wins at this track. He looks to use this experience when the series visits on October 3rd. In total, Brad has 35 Cup series victories and has been to the playoffs 9 times in the past 10 years. After finishing 2nd at last year’s championship, Brad is eager to take another swing at the top spot this year.

Our team at Roush Yates Engines succeeds with support from our
world-class partners. 
MICHAEL MCDOWELL – TIED FOR 12TH
Michael McDowell earned his spot after capturing a win at the Daytona 500 season-opener in February. This win marked the first time that a Ford Mustang won the infamous race. 2021 marks his 14th season in the Cup series and winning one of the series’ biggest races was a defining moment in his career. McDowell is fast at superspeedways and road courses and looks forward to racing at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval in the playoffs.
ARIC ALMIROLA – TIED FOR 12TH

Aric Almirola shook up the playoff picture late in the season by winning at New Hampshire and clinched his playoff spot. This year marks his 4th year in the playoffs after making it 3 years in a row in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Almirola has been fast at superspeedways with 8 consecutive top 10’s at Talladega and looks to use his experience when the series visits the track.

KEVIN HARVICK – #16

Kevin Harvick clinched his playoff spot based on points. Harvick has 119 combined series wins which makes him 3rd all-time in NASCAR history. Last year, he won a career-high 9 races and led over 1500 laps. He was the top seeded driver heading into the playoffs last year and will use that experience to his advantage. This year, he has had 6 top 5 finishes and 16 top 10 finishes. Harvick holds the all-time record for Cup series wins at Phoenix and looks forward to the playoff-closing race.

33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 424 WINS – 383 POLES!
About Roush Yates Engines 
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

3 Series – 18 Teams – 81 Races

CINDRIC CUP SERIES DEBUT IN DAYTONA 500

Posted on: January 20th, 2021
Location: post

MOORESVILLE, NC – January 20, 2021 – Reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Austin Cindric will look to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut next month in “The Great American Race.” Cindric will drive the No. 33 Ford Mustang for Team Penske as he attempts to qualify for the 63rd Daytona 500. Miles Stanley, who has worked as race engineer for Team Penske’s No. 12 and No. 22 Cup Series teams, will serve as crew chief for Cindric and the No. 33 Ford team in 2021.

“There is a lot to be excited about heading into Daytona,” said Cindric. “It doesn’t really even need to be said that the Daytona 500 is the biggest crown jewel race in NASCAR and one of the biggest races in the world – so to have a shot to be in the show while driving for Roger Penske is a big opportunity. Qualifying our way into the race as an ‘open’ car will be a big challenge. I look forward to working with Miles and all of the guys on the No. 33 team, while also continuing my focus on winning back-to-back Xfinity Series Championships.”

As he tries to earn a starting spot in the Daytona 500, Cindric hopes to make his Cup Series debut following a season that saw him score six victories and 19 top-five finishes on his way to the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. The 22-year-old Cindric will return to defend his NASCAR Xfinity Series title this season and he will also compete in select Cup Series races in the No. 33 Ford Mustang before he joins the series full-time in 2022, driving for Wood Brothers Racing.

Stanley joined Team Penske prior to the start of the 2013 race season and served as an engineer for crew chief Todd Gordon and driver Joey Logano.  During his first seven seasons, the No. 22 team amassed 21 wins (including the 2015 Daytona 500), 100 top-five finishes,159 top-10s and the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship before Stanley transitioned to race engineer for the No. 12 Ford team and driver Ryan Blaney last season. Prior to joining Team Penske, Stanley served as crew chief for Robby Gordon’s NASCAR operation.

“Ever since I joined Team Penske in 2013, I’ve been able to grow as an engineer and learn from some of the best in the business,” said Stanley. “Now I get the chance to become a Cup Series crew chief with one of the formidable organizations in the sport, which is an amazing opportunity. To get to do it with Austin at Daytona International Speedway is a perfect recipe for success. I look forward to working with him and hitting the ground running with the No. 33 Ford team in Daytona and the other Cup Series races that Austin runs in 2021.”

Stanley will continue to work with the No. 12 team during all of the other 2021 Cup Series races.  Additional 2021 Cup Series races for Cindric and the No. 33 Ford Mustang team will be announced in the future.

*Courtesy of Team Penske

Ford Performance Sweeps Daytona!

Posted on: February 15th, 2021
Location: post
Daytona Beach, FL – February 15, 2021 – Michael McDowell and Austin Cindric brought home two victories for Ford Motor Co., sweeping the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity races at Daytona. McDowell, from Front Row Motorsports, won his first Daytona 500 and NASCAR Cup Series race. While Cindric captured his first Xfinity win at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night for Team Penske.
“Congratulations to Michael, Drew, Jerry, Bob, and the Front Row Motorsports organization for winning the Daytona 500,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “This was such an amazing weekend of racing, to win both the Cup and Xfinity races is such a blessing. Congrats, to Austin, Brian, Roger, and Team Penske for winning the Xfinity race and marking Roush Yates Engines’ 150th NASCAR Xfinity win. I’m so proud of our entire team and our partnership with Ford Performance to power these fast Fords.”
It was a story book ending for McDowell, recording the Ford Mustang’s first Daytona 500 win and his first win in his 358th career start. McDowell is the eighth driver to get his first win at Daytona.

“I just can’t believe it,” McDowell commented. “The only thing I can think of is just God is so good. For so many years I’ve just been grinding it out trying to stay in this sport. Bob Jenkins gave me a great opportunity to go full-time in a competitive car and Drew Blickensderfer and my whole entire team we’ve been working so hard for years to get into this position and I’m so thankful to Love’s Travel Stops and Speeco and Ford, Doug Yates. All of my Ford partners out there. I just can’t believe it. I’m so thankful. It’s amazing.”

The 500-mile, Great American Race all came down to the last lap. McDowell, following Ford teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, found himself in position to take the lead after Logano and Keselowski had an on-track incident in Turn 3 of the final lap. McDowell took the lead, and it became a drag race to the checkered flag with Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon. After a video tape review, McDowell was announced the official winner, beating Elliott by over a car length as the raced ended under caution.

“There’s no better way to start the season than by winning NASCAR’s biggest race,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “There aren’t many things that Mustang hasn’t achieved in its storied history, but winning the Daytona 500 was one of them and we’re excited about adding that to the list.”

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick finished P4 and Cole Custer P11, while Team Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski finished P12 and P13 respectively.

Austin Cindric, in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang, brought home the first NASCAR Xfinity Series win of 2021. This marked Cindric’s first win at Daytona International Speedway, securing his position in the 2021 Playoffs to defend his 2020 Championship title.
In an overtime finish, the current NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion, Cindric held off a hard charging Brett Moffitt on the last lap, to take the checkered flag .104 seconds in front of Moffitt to record his ninth career win. This also marked the first Xfinity win at Daytona for team owner Roger Penske.

“What a way to kick off the season,” commented Cindric. “I’m really proud of the speed our boys brought with me in the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang. I really feel like over the no practice races we made our superspeedway cars better, so to be able to showcase that tonight makes me really proud, proud of the effort of the guys in the shop and obviously our road crew. To start off our season like this is incredible.”

Ford Performance teammates led a combined 67 laps out of the 122-lap race, led by Cindric with 28 laps and newcomer Ryan Sieg from RSS Racing with 23 laps before he was collected in an on-track incident to finish 31st. Jason White of NXT Motorsports finished tenth and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst finished 26th.
The NASCAR Series will be back at Daytona International Speedway this weekend to run the Road Course.
33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 414 WINS – 371 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

New Partnership Announcement with Mass Finishing Inc. and Roush Yates Engines

Posted on: March 10th, 2021
Location: post
MOORESVILLE, NC – March 10, 2021 – Roush Yates Engines announced today it has reached a multi-year partnership agreement with Mass Finishing Inc.

Mass Finishing Inc. (MFI) was founded in 1995, in Howard Lake, MN. In 2016 it was acquired by Innovance, but continues to operate sales and production out of its Howard Lake plant and is 100% employee owned.

For the past two decades MFI has been providing the best in class polishing and deburring equipment to the aerospace, medical, and automotive industries. Their experience coupled with their product innovations created a natural partnership with Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions.

“We are always looking for ways to improve our processes and products,” commented Dan Keenan, Chief Technical Officer at Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions. “The HZ Barrel Finisher will reduce our overall cycle time and produce a superior isotropic finished part. The MFI team has been outstanding to collaborate with and has made it a true win – win for us and our customers.”
We are excited to take delivery of our HZ-160 High Energy series Centrifugal Barrel Finishing (CBF) system from MFI. The HZ series is the fastest and most economical form of finishing machine available. They are the industry workhorse in polishing, deburring and de-flashing parts. From engine components in the motorsports industry to mission critical military components, this tumbling machine is the versatile and cost-saving solution we have been looking for to polish and deburr our world-class precision components.
“MFI is proud to partner with such a prestigious racing name and looking forward to the rewards the partnership will bring for both companies on the sales floor and racetrack,” said MFI Sales and Marketing Manager, Cole Mathisen. “Having access to a premiere engine shop to help provide performance data related to our surface finishing capability is huge.”

About Mass Finishing

Mass Finishing, Inc. is an industry leader in polishing and deburring machines based in Howard Lake, Minnesota. MFI’s Tumbling and Vibratory machines are designed to finish and deburr parts in mass quantities in a fraction of the time it would take to finish just one part by hand.

With over two decades of experience, Mass Finishing has developed thousands of processes to handle any troublesome job. For more information about Mass Finishing visit Massfin.com or contact them at (888) 260-6277.

About Roush Yates Engines

Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, machining, building, and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder for the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

About Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions

Out of the passion for power and performance excellence, Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions (RYMS) was formed. RYMS machines high performance engine components to support engine design and development. Although rooted in motorsports and the automotive industries, RYMS has leveraged their passion for CNC manufacturing excellence and applied it to the aerospace, defense, and medical industries.

We have created a world-class facility, staffed by a diversified professional team from the aerospace, defense, motorsports, power generation, and high-tech sectors from around the United States.

Our dedication to quality is exhibited by our commitment to meet AS9100 Rev D certification and ITAR registration standards. This is paramount to our continued success and growth.

CINDRIC WINS BACK-TO-BACK IN PHOENIX

Posted on: March 15th, 2021
Location: post

AVONDALE, AZ – March 15, 2021 – Austin Cindric backed up his 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Championship win in Phoenix, scoring his second win at Phoenix Raceway and recording his 10th career win. Cindric took the Ford Mustang to victory lane for the second time in the 2021 season for Team Penske and Ford Performance.
“Congratulations to Austin, Brian, Roger and the No. 22 team,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Austin raced like a champion, smooth and confident throughout the entire race. We are proud to be part of powering Austin to his 10th Xfinity win with Ford Performance.”
Cindric was in a class of his own, winning Stage 1 and leading a race high 119 laps out of the 200 lap Call 811 Before You Dig 200 race, including the last 54 consecutive laps.

In a late race restart with 2-laps remaining, Cindric led the field back to green from the outside lane. The No. 22 Ford Mustang was able to hold off the hard charging field, crossing the finish line .360 seconds in front of Ty Gibbs. Cindric leads the driver points standings with 248 points, 47 points ahead of second place.

“You have to work hard the rest of the year to get here,” said Cindric in post-race interview. “That is where my focus is. I have my name on the wall there and the goal is to be back here with a shot to do it again.”

Stewart-Haas Racing captured a top-5 finish with No. 98, Riley Herbst finishing fourth.

The Ford Mustangs ran strong in the NASCAR Cup Series, on Sunday, leading a manufacturer’s high 197 laps in the 312 lap Instacart 500. Four Ford teammates finished in the top-10 led by Stage 2 winner, Joey Logano in P2, Brad Keselowski in P4, Kevin Harvick in P6, and rounding out the top-10 was Stage 1 winner, Ryan Blaney in P10.
The NASCAR Series is headed to ‘Hotlanta’ to race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series will strap in to run the second race of the season in Sebring, Florida this weekend.

33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 415 WINS – 375 POLES!

 

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

BLANEY DRIVES TO VICTORY LANE IN ATLANTA

Posted on: March 22nd, 2021
Location: post
HAMPTON, GA – March 22, 2021 – Ryan Blaney scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the 2021 season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday and recorded Ford’s fifth straight win in Atlanta. Blaney became the second Ford driver to drive a Ford Mustang to victory lane this season and sixth different Cup winner in as many races.
“Congratulations to Ryan, Todd, Roger, and the No. 12 team,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Ryan and the No. 12 crew executed throughout the day and they kept digging until the final lap. Thanks to Ford Performance and their employees that continue to provide our teams the tools needed to win races.”
Blaney and the No. 12 pit crew worked together throughout the entire race to get the No. 12 in position to challenge for the lead. Blaney was able to come from more than two seconds behind to chase down the No. 5 of Kyle Larson with just eight laps to go, then took the lead with a cross over pass. Blaney was able to stretch his lead and take the checkered flag to record his fifth career NASCAR Cup Series race win.
The No. 12 Ford Performance Mustang led the race three different times for a total of 25 laps, but none more important than the last eight. This marked the 80th win for Team Penske with Ford Performance and the 180th Cup win for Roush Yates Engines.
“Gosh, we had a great long run car all day,” commented Blaney in post-race interview. “It took us a little bit to get going. I was pretty free all day, so we made a really good change to tighten me up where I needed it and it looked like Kyle was getting loose and I’m happy it worked in our favor that there was a couple long runs at the end that kind of let us get there. We’ve been good this year and had some bad breaks and it’s nice to close out a race like that. That was awesome.”
Roush Fenway’s Chris Buescher drove a strong race, finishing P7 and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick recovered from an earlier race tire issue to finish P10.
Two Ford Performance teams finished in the top-10 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Riley Herbst from Stewart-Haas Racing finished P6 and Ryan Sieg from RSS Racing in P10.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time ever dirt track race this weekend. It’s time to sling some dirt!

 

33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 416 WINS – 376 POLES!

 

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

LOGANO MARKS HISTORIC WIN AT BRISTOL

Posted on: March 30th, 2021
Location: post

BRISTOL, TN – March 30, 2021 – Joey Logano won the inaugural Spring dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. For the first time in more than 50 years, NASCAR Cup Series raced on dirt and Logano adapted to the new surface to become the seventh different Cup winner this season and record his 27th career Cup series win.
“Congratulations to Joey, Paul, Roger, and the No. 22 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It’s great to see another Ford Mustang in Victory Lane this year. Joey and the No. 22 crew did a great job adapting to the track surface and conditions, finding a way to get the most out of the No. 22 to win the race. We are fortunate to have great partnerships that provide resources on and off the track to support our racing programs.”
Logano and his crew worked together, continuously making the No. 22 Ford Mustang better and better throughout the race. Logano was able to work his way around the No. 99 of Daniel Suarez to take the lead on lap 193 and win Stage 2 of the race, setting himself up to be the leader going into the final stage of the race.
In an over-time, 2 lap shootout, the No. 22 led the field back to green and was able to pull away from the field to take the checkered flag .554 seconds ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 47. Logano led the last 61 laps of the 253-lap race.
“Man, it’s incredible,” commented Logano. “How about Bristol on dirt? This is incredible, unbelievable racetrack. There were so many first-time winners and different winners than there has typically been I said, ‘We’ve got to get a win to make sure we get in the playoffs,’ so it’s amazing to get this Shell/Pennzoil Mustang into Victory Lane at Bristol. There’s nothing like winning at Bristol, but putting dirt on it and being the first to do it is really special.”
Roush Fenway’s Ryan Newman drove a great race, finishing P5 and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney was able to recover from a ten-car incident mid-way in the race to finish P8.
The NASCAR Series will head to Martinsville Speedway in two weeks to take on the famed “Paperclip”, the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule.

33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 417 WINS – 376 POLES!

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

KESELOWSKI ONCE AGAIN FINDS VICTORY LANE AT TALLADEGA

Posted on: April 26th, 2021
Location: post

TALLADEGA, AL – April 26, 2021 – Brad Keselowski found victory lane at Talladega Superspeedway, marking his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and 35th of his career. This was Keselowski’s sixth overall win at Talladega, following up his last win from 2017.
“Congratulations to Brad, Jeremy, Roger and the No. 2 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “We really enjoy racing at the superspeedways and today was no exception. The Ford Performance teams worked well together throughout the race, and we are blessed to be part of the Ford Family, providing the horsepower for these fast Ford Mustangs.”
In Talladega fashion, it was anyone’s race to win in over-time, but the Ford Mustangs controlled the first three rows coming to the two-lap restart. On the last lap, the leader of the race and Stage 1 winner Matt DiBenedetto went to block a hard charging outside lane, leaving the No. 2 of Keselowski open air on the inside. Keselowski jumped on the opportunity to drive his Ford Mustang to the front and lead the last and most important lap of the race to take the checkered flag at Talladega. This marked Ford’s 31st win at the superspeedway, which includes 11 of the last 14 races.
“Merry Christmas,” commented Keselowski when asked about the last lap of the race. “What an awesome day today to bring the MoneyLion Ford Mustang into Victory Lane. The whole race I had a couple opportunities to take the lead, but I just kept thinking, ‘Man, keep your car in one piece.’  We’ve been so close here and it just didn’t seem to want to come together here the last few years and I’ve been on kind of a four-year drought here, but it’s nice to get number six.”
Six fast Ford Mustangs finished in the top-10 at Talladega, including winner Keselowski, Michael McDowell P3, Kevin Harvick P4, Matt DiBenedetto P5, Ryan Blaney P9, Cole Custer rounded out the top-10 with a tenth-place finish.
In addition, the Ford Mustangs were running strong in the NASCAR Xfinity race on Saturday when the race was called for rain. The Xfinity driver points leader, Austin Cindric led 24 of the 90-lap race and finished P2, while Ford Performance teammates Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg finished P4 and P5 respectively.
The NASCAR Cup Series is headed to Kansas Speedway for the Buschy McBusch Race 400.
33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 418 WINS – 378 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

2022 NEXT GEN MUSTANG POISED TO HELP DRIVE NASCAR CUP SERIES INTO THE FUTURE WITH ALL-NEW TECHNOLOGY

Posted on: May 6th, 2021
Location: post

DEARBORN, MI – May 6, 2021 – A completely new era in stock car racing is ushered in today as Ford unveils its all-new 2022 NASCAR Next Gen Mustang to the public in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Next Gen Mustang will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series starting next season.

The new car, which has been under development for two years, is completely different from its predecessor – redesigned from the ground up. Unlike past versions, with the exterior being the only noticeable change, this model is built for the future, featuring flexibility for technological advances such as a hybrid or electric powertrain.

Front of blue Next Gen Mustang in the studio

The new race car more closely mirrors its Mustang production counterpart, which maintains its title as world’s best-selling sports car.

“A lot of work has been done behind the scenes to make sure this Next Gen Mustang remains relevant to our customers,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “As the automotive industry continues to change, we’ll have the ability to keep up in the racing world without having to go through a complete overhaul or redesign of the car. This is something we’ve been waiting for and we’re glad the time has finally arrived.”

Changes include rack-and-pinion steering, independent rear suspension and 18-inch tires with aluminum forged wheels. The all-new body features a wider stance, while a symmetric exterior shell, tail and smaller greenhouse area closely resemble the production Mustang.

Rear profile of blue Next Gen Mustang in the studio

Rear of blue Next Gen NASCAR Mustang in the studio

“This car is true to the Mustang brand and we have to thank the Ford design team for working hand-in-hand with our aerodynamic engineers to ensure it is competitive on the track, while maintaining unique Mustang styling,” said Rushbrook. “That requires a lot of give-and-take on both sides, but with the new smaller greenhouse area and shorter rear deck, we were able to do a lot of things to make sure there’s no mistaking this is a Mustang.”

Development of the new car took place both in Ford’s Dearborn design center and at the Ford Performance Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina, where Ford’s NASCAR scale model and aero teams are located. Extensive development continues on full-motion simulators at the technical center, where both racing and production car work takes place.

Fronts of the blue Next Gen Mustang and a blue production Mustang on the track

“Mustang is an iconic brand for Ford and when I saw the Next Gen Mustang in person for the first time I was pumped,” said Team Penske driver Joey Logano, the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion. “The aggressive look of the nose and the changes to the greenhouse and tail make the car more authentic to the street Mustang than ever before. I know the fans are going to love the Next Gen Mustang and I can’t wait to get it on the track.”

Mustang came to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 and has won at least 10 races each of its first two years, including a season-high 18 victories in 2020 that helped Ford win the manufacturers’ championship.

The NASCAR Next Gen Mustang makes its competition debut on Feb. 20, 2022, at Daytona International Speedway for the 64th annual Daytona 500.

Front of the blue Next Gen Mustang on the track

Go visit Ford Motor Company’s website to learn more about Mustang.