NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin was synonymous with Ford, but his recent comments suggest the carmaker is investing less in NASCAR and potentially shifting its focus towards Formula One.<\/p>\n
Speaking from the perspective of a longtime manufacturer-backed driver, Martin reflected on Ford\u2019s historically conservative approach to funding across the sport. <\/p>\n
He acknowledged not having full clarity on the carmaker\u2019s internal decisions, but he maintains Ford has historically focused on supporting its top teams rather than building a wide development network in the lower NASCAR tiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy experience with Ford is they\u2019ve always been super tight with the purse,\u201d Martin said in the podcast. \u201c\u2026I don\u2019t know what their level of help for Jack Roush or the Wood brothers was, or even Robert Yates, but you know, they have not invested in up-and-coming drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin also pointed out key differences in the strategies of all three manufacturers, highlighting Toyota\u2019s developmental driver programme as the benchmark, while also contrasting Ford\u2019s strategy with Chevrolet\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cChevrolet doesn\u2019t do a broad program like Toyota does. Thank goodness for Toyota, for their driver development program is spectacular. Chevrolet does a very targeted program. Tristan McKee is a product of that. He\u2019s going to be a superstar in NASCAR, that kid. They don\u2019t spend as much, but do a heavy target on the right ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
The difference also becomes particularly noticeable when you realise Keelan Harvick and Michael Edwards, both children of long-time Ford drivers, have deviated from legacy and signed up with Toyota\u2019s developmental programmes, thus leaving Ford\u2019s pipeline of upcoming talent rather thin, if there is any.<\/p>\n
What really draws attention is Martin\u2019s comment that suggests Ford is probably shifting its priorities towards Formula One, where it made a comeback after a lengthy hiatus, supplying power units to Red Bull Racing\u2019s secondary team, Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n
\u201cFord just doesn\u2019t invest, and right now it looks like they\u2019re even less. They\u2019re probably shifting their money toward F1. I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford\u2019s thinning portfolio in NASCAR is only bound to raise concerns further. In the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts series, Ford is represented by just Hettinger Racing. <\/p>\n
In the Truck Series, the Blue Oval fields only two full-time teams. Even in the Cup Series, its portfolio is reduced to just four teams, while Chevrolet and Toyota continue to grow.<\/p>\n
However, there may be a bright spot, or two, for Ford in this rather cloudy phase after all.<\/p>\n
The Two Bright Spots For The Blue Oval<\/p>\n
Team Penske and RFK Racing continue to be the heavyweights for Ford in the Cup Series. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric finished in the Top 10 at Martinsville.<\/p>\n
Blaney particularly finds himself in the second spot on the points table, given his victory at Phoenix and his consistent performance throughout the season so far.<\/p>\n
RFK\u2019s performance in recent times might also be a ray of hope for the Blue Oval, as two of its drivers currently sit in the Top 10 points standings. The team turned things around after a disastrous practice session in Las Vegas, and Brad Keselowski nearly took the top spot in Darlington.<\/p>\n
Keselowski also recently became the 35th driver to achieve 600 starts in the Cup Series. Unfortunately, he could not celebrate that milestone with a victory at Martinsville, as he finished thirteenth.<\/p>\n
With NASCAR set to return this weekend, Ford currently sits last in the manufacturer standings, having slipped from the second spot, but it hopes to continue the good run. <\/p>\n
That said, the Blue Oval still needs to address the gaping holes in its investment strategies in NASCAR, and with an influential voice like Mark Martin speaking up, Ford would certainly be advised to at least listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin was synonymous with Ford, but his recent comments suggest the carmaker is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-588856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}