Aric Almirola Ford Fusion car on display at Sebring International Raceway in 2017. (Photo by Dan Fisher)
For every journey, there is an end.
As for Ford in the NASCAR Cup Series, replacing the Fusion with the Mustang in 2019 is the beginning of an era for the Blue Oval.
Though expectations are high in the Ford camp, the pre-production script for the Mustang’s full-scale assembly comes first, said NASCAR.com on Tuesday, April 17.
According to Ford officials, the Mustang is still going through initial testing and will be formally submitted to NASCAR for approval this summer.
“NASCAR has a really good process that continues to get better every year,” Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook said during a Tuesday teleconference. “It’s a very well-defined process for timing. The submission will happen through June of this year, and then depending on how things go on that initial test, that will lay out the rest of our timeline.”
— NASCAR.com Press Release
With the Chevrolet Camaro in its first year competing full time in the Cup Series while fielding entries to teams in the NASCAR Ixfinity Series, it would seem that Pony car competition is beginning to grow in NASCAR’s top level series.
As Ford Performance Global Director, Mark Rushbrook, said in the NASCAR.com Press Release, NASCAR Cup teams with Ford entries look forward to the Mustang’s 2019 debut with great interest.
“We tried to leverage the skill across all of our teams,” Rushbrook said. “We’ve had active engagements from Roush Fenway Racing, Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing. They’ve been the main contributors to this, but (all of the teams) are anxious to get the best car on the track in 2019, so they’ve been very active with us.”
— NASCAR.com Press Release
Once the Mustang makes its debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona, expect Ford teams to saddle up and rub shoulders with the Camaro and Toyota Camry.
MotorMan Dan 