In his rookie season, Cole Loftsgard and Round 3 Racing have launched and maintained an impressive title bid, leading both the driver’s and teams’ championship standings heading into the final round of the Mustang Challenge season.
Loftsgard has hit the ground running, winning seven of 10 races and only missing out on a podium finish once, with a P4 result in Race 2 at Laguna Seca. The driver has made a statement, proving that the Mustang Challenge series fosters competitive racing, even for those unfamiliar with the Dark Horse R platform.
In the previous round at VIR, Loftsgard and title rival Devin Anderson’s regular battle for the lead led to an uncharacteristic incident that required Loftsgard to launch a recovery drive after being run off the track midway through the race.
This is Loftsgard’s first time racing here in the Mustang Challenge series, but the Round 3 Racing driver has extensive experience at the Circuit of The Americas. However, Loftsgard claims that this track has been difficult to crack in the past.
“I’ve raced here a couple of times with the WRL series. I feel like I’ve always been trying to figure out how to drive this place,” he tells DSC.
“I actually felt in that first practice session that a couple of things clicked for the first time, so that was good timing. But yeah, it’s just a very awkward track for me.”
As the crucial last round of the championship in 2026, Loftsgard feels the pressure to perform at this track that he doesn’t necessarily gel with. Based on his practice results, though, the championship leader looks like he has found his footing quickly heading into the competitive sessions of the weekend, topping FP1 and finishing second in FP2.
“Our car is actually really good. We unloaded straight off the truck well. The balance was good, compared to where we were at with VIR. So the big thing is, you know, mentally I’m just trying to take it like any other weekend,” said the driver between practice sessions on Friday. “I’m just trying to think, ‘Hey, it’s just another race weekend.’ If I keep performing the way I have been all year, we’re good.”
As for approach, Loftsgard is well aware that a pair of clean, points-earning races will effectively lock up the title for him and his team. The driver takes this perspective into the weekend, potentially prioritising finishing rather than pushing to the very limit.
“Obviously, racing with a little less risk [in this scenario], you don’t want to increase your risk even by a little bit because at this point it’s not worth it.
“There’s a cost-benefit analysis there, and that’s changed [things] a bit. But I don’t think we can be conservative. When you get conservative, that’s when bad things happen. So, especially in Race 1, you know the goal, and the goal is the same.”
A rookie championship bid in this series would have been difficult to predict heading into the season. Still, Loftsgard’s quality as a driver, along with the hard work of the Round 3 Racing team, has enabled them to step up and knock it out of the park in their debut effort.
Round 3’s performance in the following two sprint races will be critical to securing the championship, but Loftsgard is proud of the team’s efforts regardless of where he stands at Ford’s end-of-year banquet come Sunday night.
“I’m excited. I mean, I’m super happy to be in this position; I didn’t think I’d be here in this spot at the end of the year, so that’s pretty cool. Whatever happens, it’s been a great year.”
A fun addition to the weekend for Loftsgard is his friend and team boss Brad McCall strapping into the #70 Round 3 Racing Dark Horse Legends class entry this weekend for the first time. After sharing the track with Joe Koenig and Oleg Gorshkov over the course of the season, McCall finally sprung for a taste of the action in Texas.
“I’ve been trying to talk [McCall] into this the whole season. I’m like, “Brad, you have to experience this car if you’re the team owner, and if you’re going to be doing this for years, you’ve got to do at least one race,’ so I’m excited for him.
The competitive spirit of the team’s championship leaders, of course, includes the team boss himself, who wants to show well in his one-off performance.
“He’s been hard on himself; he wants to be successful, of course- don’t we all? But yeah, happy for him that he could finally be in the car instead of just sitting on the pit wall on the radio.”
Loftsgard will line up in second position for Race 1 this evening behind his championship competition, Devin Anderson, in the #22 TechSport Racing Mustang, looking to put in a clean, solid performance in the first of two 45-minute contests.
Image courtesy of Ford Racing
