Dear Mustang Racers,

We launched Mustang Cup North America in 2025, and we are excited to announce its growth into something even bigger and better in its second season. The series serves as the starting point for the Ford Racing Pyramid, allowing drivers — like you — to get a start driving a platform you could race your entire career, no matter where your professional aspirations may take you.

We want our one-make racers to have the best experience possible. The first step to curating that experience is picking the best venues and dates.

We will open our year by making our debut at Sebring International Raceway March 6-8. Being at the iconic track just weeks before it hosts the 2026 12 Hours of Sebring is an incredible opportunity and the perfect way to kickstart the season.

For our second weekend of racing, March 27-29, we will visit Barber Motorsports Park, another new track for the series but a favorite stop on anyone’s wish list.

We will be racing during the IndyCar weekend at Barber, giving our drivers an exciting opportunity to race alongside a major North American motorsports series. We will head to Circuit of The Americas for the season’s midpoint from May 7-9, a track where we saw plenty of exciting racing in 2025.

We will make our return to two tracks in the second half of the season, starting with Virginia International Raceway June 19-21. VIR will host our 2025 season finale in November, and few venues boast such a challenging track surrounded by such beautiful scenery.

Next up, August 14-16, is Elkhart Lake’s Road America, an impressive circuit characterized by elevation changes and high speed sections.

To wrap up the 2026 season, we will make our debut at another legendary track, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, September 11-13.

The 2026 Mustang Cup North America calendar will allow competitors to learn tracks in their Dark Horse R vehicle they will likely visit in higher levels of sports car racing. Three of the six tracks on the schedule will also host Mustang Challenge North America rounds, and all six tracks will host Mustang GT4 or GT3 racing.

From Mustang Cup North America, you can move up to Mustang Challenge North America, where you will race the same Dark Horse R alongside IMSA and WEC rounds. Then, opportunities could arise for you to race a Mustang GT4, then a Mustang GT3, and maybe you could take it all the way to the top: the new-in-2027 Ford WEC Hypercar program.

There are two rounds of thrilling Dark Horse R racing remaining in the 2025 Mustang Cup North America season, and while we gear up for those rounds, we are also excited about what 2026 has in store.

With a calendar like this, it’s hard not to be. With our returning teams and more reaching out each day to join the series, our sophomore season is set to take us to the next level. We hope to have you join us as we build your career through Mustang Cup North America.

Mustang Cup North America

Debuted in 2025, Mustang Cup bridges the gap between driving experiences and Mustang Challenge. The series, sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC), offers an upscale environment for hobby racers and novices looking to make their first venture into professionally organized racing. It serves as the first level of the Ford Racing Sports Car Pyramid and gives drivers the opportunity to develop the fundamental skills necessary to move up in the sports car racing world.

Mustang Cup has two championships, the Miles Cup and Parnelli Cup, with each championship holding one qualifying session and one race per event weekend. This format allows two fellow racers to share one car, splitting the cost, track time, and fun of a race weekend. Within each championship there are two classes — the Dark Horse class and the Dark Horse Legends class.

The Dark Horse class includes all drivers within the championship, while the Dark Horse Legends class is an optional classification for racers 40 and older. Each Mustang Cup weekend includes three 30-minute practice sessions, two 15-minute qualifying sessions, and two 40-minute races.

Chris Ward is the Global One Make Series Manager at Ford Racing.