The brand new Ford Mustang Dark Horse was unveiled on Wednesday at the American Motorsports Hall of Fame in Daytona Beach. Several Ford drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series were on-hand for the reveal, in tandem with the concurrent Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic at Daytona International Speedway.
The body displayed iconic Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 branding and a design highlighting the heritage of Ford Racing. A street equivalent of the car was also showcased, highlighting the 2027 machine’s similarity to what’s available to consumers at the dealership. The most visually prominent change to the body from the 2026 version appears to be a more pronounced nose.
“When we introduced the Mustang Dark Horse SC in January and announced it was coming to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2027, we had no time to waste,” said Ford Racing Global Director Mark Rushbrook. “Racing makes our road cars better, and our road cars make our race cars better. We put that philosophy to work here, incorporating key elements from the Dark Horse SC into the new Mustang race car to help make it even more competitive every week.”
Getting Over The Line
Though they won eight races in 2026, Ford was the one manufacturer who did not have a driver left in championship contention on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ryan Blaney, who won the season finale and three other races, was the top Ford at fourth in points. Joey Logano won three times and placed seventh, while Ryan Preece won once and ranked 15th.
“You don’t make a car to be worse,” Logano said on Wednesday. “We like to think that the new Dark Horse SC is going to be better and faster. But again, we do understand there’s going to be a bit of a learning curve there.”
Learning On The Fly
Team Penske remains Ford’s most successful current Cup Series team, accounting for seven of eight Ford wins in 2026. RFK Racing scored the other at Daytona International Speedway. None of Front Row Motorsports’ three full-time drivers came close to cracking the Chase field, and the team earned only two top-five finishes from Zane Smith.
“We just kinda gotta wait to know,” said Front Row driver Noah Gragson on Wednesday about improvements from the new Mustang body. “The first couple races we won’t really know, Daytona, Atlanta, places like that. But once we get into the mile-and-a-half swing I think we’re really gonna see what improvements and differences have been made.”
