The Ford Mustang Challenge North America series finished up its six-round season at the Circuit of The Americas last weekend, crowning new Dark Horse and Dark Horse Legends class champions, Cole Loftsgard of Round 3 Racing and Tom Tait of Wheelhouse Motorsports.
To celebrate, the American manufacturer held an end-of-season banquet just outside Austin to present the series driver and team champions with their trophies and bring the paddock together one last time after a great season of racing.
Held at a classic Texan barbecue restaurant, County Line, it was packed with drivers, team members, family, friends, series organisers, primary sponsors and Ford representatives. DSC’s Jonathan Grace was also on hand, putting his broadcasting skills to a new use as the host of the Blue Oval event.
The good folks at Ford put on a great evening with multiple Texas-themed activation’s, including custom cowboy hats with a branding station, make-your-own spice rub bar, donkeys equipped with beer bottle-filled side bags, and a Mustang Challenge-branded photo opportunity on the back patio overlooking a valley as the sun set.
The awards ceremony honoured the top three driver’s championship finishers from both classes with stately glass awards with the shape of a Dark Horse R engraved inside it, decorated with the six tracks the stampede of Mustangs raced at this season.
Each podium-finishing driver also received a large cheque for their efforts, ranging from five-figure prize money hauls to a $100,000 cheque given to champion Cole Loftsgard.
Loftsgard’s prize details also included $100,000 towards a Mustang GT3/GT4 seat or another season of Mustang Challenge, a Mustang GT4 test, and a free set of event tyres for 2027 courtesy of Michelin.
IMSA President John Doonan and Michelin operations manager Joe Ignacio both spoke during the awards ceremony, looking back on a competitive season of racing.
“IMSA is so fortunate to be able to sanction a number of single-make championships. These single-make championships are the prized possession of the OEM they represent,” said Doonan.
“When you think of Ford, what do you think about? You think about a Mustang, and for Ford to establish the Mustang Challenge Series and to allow us to host this championship in the IMSA family, we’re forever grateful.
“We’re thrilled and can’t wait for 2027 and beyond!”
The 2027 Mustang Challenge season will bring new opportunities to the paddock, with the Spa Invitational and the addition of Daytona and Road Atlanta to the already-stacked line-up of ‘regular season’ races at Sebring, Laguna Seca, VIR, and COTA.
Wrapping up the night, the Mustang Challenge paddock dug into some buffet-style barbecue and swapped stories about the season.
While on-track rivalries and competition are alive and well in the Ford one-make series, they were nowhere to be found that night in Austin; instead was a community of racing fans with the shared experience of being in the fabric of the Ford Racing family.
Images courtesy of Ford Racing
