What might the 2015 Sprint Cup schedule look like?

By Jul 31, 2014, 1:00 PM EDT
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When NASCAR chairman Brian France said recently that he expected only minor changes to the 2015 Sprint Cup schedule, fans and media immediately began speculating on what those tweaks might be.

There may not be wholesale changes, based upon what France said, but next year’s Cup slate will look at least a little different. Based upon various sources and things we’ve heard and/or read, we’re going to chime in with our ideas and why we think that way. Granted, this is all speculation, but there’s a good likelihood of at least some of these guesses happening.

First off, we expect Darlington to become the second race of the season, one week after the season-opening Daytona 500. We’ve heard a number of rumors on this and, frankly, it makes sense.

Darlington’s weather in late February is typically in the 60s, sometimes in the 70s. While we would prefer to see The Lady In Black go back to her long-traditional Labor Day weekend slot, or even the Mother’s Day weekend slot, we think this could be a good place on the schedule for the Track Too Tough to Tame.

If that happens, look for the next several races to be pushed back at least a week, which should be a big boon weather-wise for places like Bristol and Texas, that often are affected by cold temperatures and inclement weather early in the season.

And, if Darlington does take Phoenix’ usual spot as the No. 2 race of the season, we’ve heard a couple of different angles about what happens to the early season race in the Valley of the Sun.

The first rumor we heard was that Phoenix will follow Darlington, essentially being pushed back a week, and then have Las Vegas follow the next week, as has been the case for the last several years.

If that happens, we’d likely see Bristol pushed back to the last week of March, Fontana to the first weekend of April and Texas pushed back to the second weekend of April.

Here’s what we think the early season schedule may look like: Daytona, Darlington, Las Vegas, Bristol, Fontana, Phoenix, Martinsville and Texas, taking us into the middle of April, before the first of three scheduled off-weekends would occur.

There’s also a slight variable that could happen: Daytona, Darlington, Las Vegas, Fontana, Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix and Texas or Texas and then Phoenix.

To cluster Las Vegas and Fontana, and then Phoenix and Texas (or vice-versa) would make a great deal of sense geographically and expense-wise for teams.

As for the rest of the season, rumors have flown for the last several years that the Brickyard 400 would become the kickoff race to the Chase for the Sprint Cup in September, and that Chicagoland would move from its current spot as Chase opener to a mid-to-late July Saturday night race, essentially flip-flopping dates with Indy.

Could those rumors finally come true in 2015?

We’ll find out when NASCAR officially releases the schedule, expected to occur sometime in late September. Again, everything is speculation at this point, but it should be interesting to see which guesses and rumors actually prove to be true in the long run.

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).