Racing is in Ford’s DNA, and it has been since Henry Ford won that first race with Sweepstakes in 1901. Since then, Ford’s involvement in motorsports has come under different names and used a number of logos, but the dedication has remained the sam
As Ford celebrates 125 years in racing, here is a look back at some of the names and logos Ford has used for its racing efforts.
Before the 1980s, Ford did not have one dedicated racing entity, but it still had a strong presence in the motorsport world. In 1962, the Ford Drag Team was formed, bringing Detroit horsepower to the staging lanes. In 1963, the Total Performance program was created, and racing efforts in the ‘60s were a part of that program. That year, racing programs fell under the Special Vehicle Activity name, but that was an internal designation. When the GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, it was Ford as a whole that earned the victory, not one specific racing division.
In 1981, Ford created an in-house division to manage its motorsport, performance parts, and high-performance production car programs. This division, called Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), oversaw Ford’s factory-backed racing programs across several series from 1981 until 1993. During these years, Ford’s racing efforts were branded with the Ford Motorsport logo, which underwent some evolutions but always featured the traditional Blue Oval above the word “motorsport” in block lettering.
In 1993, Ford shifted its strategy for its performance programs. The road-car division of SVO became its own entity called Special Vehicles Team (SVT). The original SVO team, renamed to Ford Racing, would solely focus on racing and performance parts. By the year 2000, Ford was consistently using the name Ford Racing Technology and the Ford Racing logo for its racing efforts. This logo was the Blue Oval positioned above the word “racing.”
In 2014, Ford Racing became a part of the new Ford Performance, a division that merged Ford Racing, the SVT, and Ford TeamRS (the group that managed Ford’s World Rally Championship and European performance car programs) into one entity. This unification allowed Ford Performance to not only be about racing, but also road cars, off-roading, and aftermarket parts.
During the Ford Performance era, the logo started out as the Blue Oval above the words Ford Performance. In later years, the logo was the words “Ford Performance” in block lettering.
Over the years, other Ford brands and logos were affiliated with the company’s performance and racing programs, including Autolite, Motorcraft, Ford Electronics, and Special Vehicle Engineering. This showcases the importance of motorsport to Ford Motor Company.
The latest evolution came on September 4, 2025, when Ford Performance became Ford Racing once again.
This change signaled a mission to tear down the wall between race teams and the engineering of Ford vehicles driven on and off the road. The new Ford Racing organization brings the road car and race car development programs closer together than ever before, creating a direct pipeline of racetrack innovation to road car innovation.
The logo is the traditional Ford oval above the word “racing” and uses one specific color: Ford Racing blue.
Jamie Myler is a senior research archivist at Ford Motor Company.
