Ford Racing is making a big change for the future. The OEM partner is bringing a new Mustang to NASCAR for the 2027 Cup Series season.
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Ford Racing announced the news on Thursday night during its season launch event in Detroit, Michigan. 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney drove the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC out for the event and then Global Director of Ford Racing Mark Rushbrook dropped the big news.
The Mustang Dark Horse SC will make its debut with the 2027 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. It will be the top option for Ford-affiliated teams as they compete for Cup Series wins and spots in The Chase.
"I am excited to announce tonight that we will, in 2027, we will take the Dark Horse SC and debut it at America's race track with America's race team, the Daytona 500," Rushbrook said.
Earlier today, @FordRacing unveiled the Dark Horse SC. Now, Mark Rushbrook has announced it will come to #NASCAR in 2027. pic.twitter.com/bL336Ht1WM
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) January 16, 2026
This marks the third time that Ford has debuted a new Mustang in the Gen 7 era. The OEM partner debuted its new model in 2022 as NASCAR moved into its new era. Ford then moved to the Dark Horse for the 2024 and 2025 seasons while celebrating success. Joey Logano, in particular, won his third Cup Series title while driving the Dark Horse.
Now, the Cup Series drivers at Team Penske, Front Row Motorsports, and Wood Brothers Racing will all move to the Dark Horse SC.
What is the Dark Horse SC? According to a press release from Ford Racing, this is the "most advanced, powerful, and track-capable" Mustang. It is a vehicle that Ford Racing developed alongside the Mustang GTD supercar and the Mustang GT3 race car.
To truly test the car's capabilities, Ford's engineers took this new Mustang Dark Horse SC to Sebring International Raceway and Virginia International Raceway. They added Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes and a ducktail-shaped decklid to the track pack that improved the rear wing's efficiency by 10% without creating visibility concerns.
Additionally, Ford's engineers took 3D-printed titanium accents from the Mustang GTD race car and incorporated them into the Mustang Dark Horse SC Special Edition. Ford also crafted a new aluminum hood with a massive vent to improve powertrain cooling.
If car owners remove the hood vent tray, they gain 2.5 times the downforce. The track pack's carbon fiber wing generates 620 pounds of rear downforce at 180 mph.
Obviously, the various touches from the consumer version of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC may not make it into NASCAR. Ford Racing will have to submit the body to executives and get approval to field the Mustang in Cup Series events.
Regardless of the final version, Ford Racing knows that it can move forward with another high-powered car that can potentially drive customers to the showrooms around the country.
