The Ford Mustang Challenge North America season resumes at VIRginia International Raceway this weekend alongside the only IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship GT-only race.
In the penultimate round of the season, competitors will be eager to earn vital points over the two sprint races ahead of the season finale at Circuit of the Americas, when the series will feature on the WEC Lone Star Le Mans bill.
15 Mustang Dark Horse Rs will hit the 3.27-mile track in Alton, Virginia, with eight cars in Dark Horse and seven in Dark Horse Legends.
Championship leader Cole Loftsgard (featured) carries a two-race win streak into this weekend after taking three victories in the past four races between Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen earlier this summer.
However, series veteran Devin Anderson is keeping the Round 3 Racing driver honest in the standings, just 120 points back after taking key victories in Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio and standing on the podium in all but one race this season.
Sandy Satullo and Will Lucas, sitting third and fourth in the Dark Horse standings, are both looking for their breakout wins this season, but may have some competition from newcomer Ethan Low for the podium places. Low finished in third position in his fourth-ever Mustang Challenge race in Race 2 at Watkins Glen, quickly showing pace in the Dark Horse R with Flying Lion Motorsports.
Reigning champion Robert Noaker swept both races in the Dark Horse class for the series’ first appearance at the track in 2025. Noaker will compete this weekend in the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing GT4 Mustang this time around in the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, opening the door for new winners to take the top step on Saturday and Sunday. In Dark Horse Legends, Zachary Lee won Race 1 in class for McCumbee McAleer Racing and current class points leader Tom Tait was victorious in Race 2.
Tait heads to VIR in the top spot of the Dark Horse Legends standings with the confidence of a prior win at this event. The Wheelhouse Motorsports driver’s consistency and ability to keep his nose clean have served him well this season.
Chris Clarke and Paolo Salvatore sit second and third in the championship, both looking for good results to close the 120-point and 210-point gaps to Tait, respectively. Reigning victor Oleg Gorshkov will return in the Round 3 Racing #70 car after making a big statement at The Glen, taking both wins and fastest laps, and leading from flag to flag in Race 2.
New honours will be awarded at VIR to the highest-placing Ford Racing Driver Development Team competitor with the JKTG Driving Research Award. This award recognises the Driver Development Team member who showcases their commitment to the key principles of the JKTG Foundation’s Driver Research Campaign: learning, opportunity, and evolution.
The Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy funds cancer research, as well as policy projects and events that promote a commitment to improving the quality of care patients receive.
The two drivers in the running for this award this weekend at VIR are Devin Anderson and Will Lucas, Ford Driver Development drivers who have been working closely with the American manufacturer early in their racing careers.
Race 1 begins Saturday, August 22, at 9:25 am ET, followed by Race 2 on Sunday, August 23, at 9:45 am ET. You can stream both on the Ford Racing YouTube channel and DSC.
Image courtesy of Ford Racing
