I love single-make racing series. I'm excited to learn more.
Photography Courtesy Ford
Using the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, the new IMSA Mustang Challenge will hold 12 races across six weekends in 2024.
The Mustang Dark Horse R, a turnkey race car, is powered by a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 producing more than 500 horsepower. It joins two other Mustangs slated for IMSA competition next season: the GT3 and GT4.
“Mustang Dark Horse R bridges the gap between Dark Horse and Mustang GT3 and GT4,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports, in a press release. “Production-based Mustangs have raced from the very beginning, all the way back to winning the 1964 Tour de France, even. Dark Horse R offers our passionate customers not just an attainable, factory-built race car, but also a racing series to compete with other Mustang enthusiasts.”
IMSA will sanction the series while the Ford Performance Racing School will manage it. The 2024 schedule will be released along with IMSA’s other 2024 schedules next week at Road America.
Ford included the following list in the press release that highlights the modifications used to turn the road-going Dark Horse into a Dark Horse R:
Exterior
Interior
Powertrain
Chassis
Brakes/Wheels/Tires
I love single-make racing series. I'm excited to learn more.
The previous iteration of Mustang Challenge (2007-2010) was pretty cool. Hopefully this re-boot will have similarly large fields and good racing.
So, MX-5 cup, Lamborghini Trofeo Cup, Porsche Cup, and now Mustang Challenge? I already don't watch the first three because it's boring racing, often with more time under caution than green...
In reply to racerfink :
How on earth can anyone possibly describe the MX-5 Cup as 'boring racing'?
It's often the best racing of the entire weekend.
Looks great, sounds great, and has 500hp. "The Dark Horse R starts at $146,595" which is nearly double the cost of a MX-5 Cup car, but something like $70K less than a Porsche Cup car. I'm curious to see what the field sizes will be for this.
racerfink said:So, MX-5 cup, Lamborghini Trofeo Cup, Porsche Cup, and now Mustang Challenge? I already don't watch the first three because it's boring racing, often with more time under caution than green...
So they all get "Cups". For Mustang drivers, it is a "challenge"? 
I dont know why but that amused me.
jb229 said:In reply to racerfink :
How on earth can anyone possibly describe the MX-5 Cup as 'boring racing'?
It's often the best racing of the entire weekend.
Not when they spend 38 minutes of a 45 minute race under yellow.
In the video above, the female driver's suit clearly has a ThorSport logo. They are the NASCAR Truck team HQ'ed here in my home town of Sandusky, OH.
Then, looking a the Thorsport website the driver then has to be Hailie Deegan. Reading that I see this 22 yr old is the daughter of a X-Gamer,
Further more, watching the track, my guess is this was shot at The Corvette Track in Bowling Green, KY. If so, some irony there of a Mustang shoot at the Corvette track.
John Welsh said:In the video above, the female driver's suit clearly has a ThorSport logo. They are the NASCAR Truck team HQ'ed here in my home town of Sandusky, OH.
Then, looking a the Thorsport website the driver then has to be Hailie Deegan. Reading that I see this 22 yr old is the daughter of a X-Gamer,
Further more, watching the track, my guess is this was shot at The Corvette Track in Bowling Green, KY. If so, some irony there of a Mustang shoot at the Corvette track.
Not sure what track it is. But that is absolutely not NCM. They have no high fencing, zero runoff, no dirt, etc.
John Welsh said:Further more, watching the track, my guess is this was shot at The Corvette Track in Bowling Green, KY. If so, some irony there of a Mustang shoot at the Corvette track.
LMAO no that's GingerMan in western MI.
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