• by Tanya Gazdik , January 30, 2025

Ford Motor Co. announced its new Ford Performance Junior team lineup Thursday night. 

“It's six racers from a variety of different series and background, but they're all racing a Mustang in open competition,” says Scott Bartlett, Ford’s global sports car marketing manager. The focus is on “creating a new development program that helps grow them as drivers and helps progress them in their motor sport career.”

Ford has launched a comprehensive racing pyramid with step-by-step pathways that begin with Ford’s junior racing program to the Mustang Cup and advances through the new Mustang Challenge, Mustang GT4, and up to the pinnacle of Mustang GT3. The pyramid is structured to guide participants from entry-level racing to more advanced stages and allows racers to progress through each level with the iconic Mustang.  

The Ford Performance Racing School outside of Charlotte, NC offers on-track driving instruction for every performance driving enthusiast, regardless of skill level or goal. All Ford Performance Racing School classes are conducted by highly-trained, race-experienced professional instructors.

“You don't even need racing experience to enter in Mustang Cup,” Bartlett tells Marketing Daily. “You go through a licensing school and you can get your racing license to come into that series. ”If you have a new owner that just bought a Mustang Dark Horse and they do their first track experience at the school in Charlotte, usually they say, what's next? What can I do next? … Now we actually have a path to cover every single level of experience from a brand new owner to someone that wants to get started into racing and then really all the way up into GT three. And that's ultimately the pinnacle of this ladder that we're creating here.”

The automaker's commitment to fostering young talent cements Ford’s brand as a global and top tier performance brand, Bartlett says.  

Ford Performance Junior Team members will receive mentoring from Mustang GT3 racing drivers, coaching during selected race weekends, simulator sessions with Ford Performance engineers. guidance on the physical and mental demands of professional racing and training in sponsorship, social media, and participation in Ford-sponsored experiences.

“If you look across the landscape of motorsports, there's not many, or if any, that use the exact same chassis all the way down from the one-make racing series, at an entry level point, into GT4 and then into GT3,” he says. “But you can stick literally with the same chassis all the way up from your first-ever track day all the way up to GT3 and racing at Le Mans.”

Ford Performance offers several owner experiences for Mustang owners including the Dark Horse Track Attack and Mustang Unleashed. For truck owners, the automaker offers the ST SUV Experience, F-150 Raptor Assault, Ranger Raptor Assault and Bronco Off-Roadeo.