A track-only race car needs a race series to take part in, and Ford has one ready for the lucky ones able to afford a Mustang Dark Horse R. The Mustang Challenge is a fully IMSA-sanctioned single-make race series that all owners of a Mustang Dark Horse R can take part in. Racers will compete in two classes, Dark Horse and Dark Horse Legends (for drivers 45 years and older), vying for cash prizes and a $100,000 scholarship for a Mustang GT3 or GT4 seat in 2025.
Ford’s Mustang Challenge will take competitors all across North America, with five rounds and 10 races at some of the USA’s most iconic racetracks. The series kicks off at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in Lexington, Ohio, in early June before visiting New York’s legendary Watkins Glen International later in the month.
In August, the series visits Wisconsin’s Road America and Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, with the latter running alongside a 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship weekend. Finally, the Mustang Challenge closes out with racers duking it out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in early October. Like the COTA weekend, the Indianapolis round is a companion event, happening concurrently with the 2024 Indianapolis 8-Hour race.
You’re not just buying a high-performance Mustang when you buy the Dark Horse R — you’re also paying for the privilege of racing in a competitive, one-make series at some of America’s best-loved circuits. If that doesn’t get you excited, then the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R might not be for you.
