Ford Racing Continues Their Driver Development Issues

Three years ago, one of the early articles featured on Pit Pass Network covered the lack of developmental drivers under Ford’s umbrella. At the time, Ford’s representation in NASCAR’s lower series was severely lacking. With 15 fulltime Cup teams fielded in 2022, Ford only had 10 fulltime Xfinity and Truck Series teams. Among those were the promising prospects of Zane Smith, Riley Herbst, Tanner Gray, and Hailie Deegan. In the 3 years since that article, the newly rebranded Ford Racing has completely dropped the ball in course correcting this issue. Ford Racing’s establishment in NASCAR’s lower series is comical at best. With the departure of the Haas Factory Team and RSS Racing, that leaves AM Racing and part of Joey Gase Motorsports as the lone Xfinity Series Ford teams.

Heading into the 2026 season, the number of lower series Ford teams sits at 11. With two organizations leaving next season, the best Ford team in the Xfinity Series will be AM Racing. While Harrison Burton reestablished the team as top of the B-tier, AM Racing should not be the flagship organization of a manufacturer. In the Truck Series, Front Row Motorsports leads the way with their 2-truck team. ThorSport houses 4 teams, but they do not feel long with the blue oval. It would not be surprising to see them defect to Ram this offseason.

Within those 11 lower series teams, how many drivers are there that show promise for the future? Who can be reasonable foreseen as moving his way up through the rankings to become the next big thing? Chevy has Connor Zilisch while Toyota has Corey Heim. Ford Racing has Layne Riggs?

Revisiting the 2022 Prospects

As discussed in the 2022 article, there were only 4 Ford Performance drivers in the lower series. Of those 4, only 1 remains with Ford Racing today. Had it not been for Trackhouse stumbling backwards into a driver logjam, that one driver would not be with Ford still. Zane Smith departed Front Row Motorsports for Trackhouse Racing for the 2024 season. After a rough rookie year, Trackhouse decided to split from Smith with Shane van Gisbergen moving to Cup fulltime while Zilisch was making waves in ARCA. Smith is still an intriguing young driver, who might see his career upended again depending on the outcome of the charter trial.

Meanwhile, Riley Herbst and Tanner Gray left for Toyota. The Gray brothers remained with the former David Gilliland Racing to join TRICON. Still driving the 15 truck, Tanner Gray’s development has seemingly stalled. 2025 was his career season, but he missed the playoffs while managing to win Talladega.

Riley Herbst jumped to the Cup Series this season after finding his footing in the Xfinity Series. While Herbst greatly improved his stock since 2022, his rookie season has gone as most expected. Due to contractual reasons, 23XI Racing is expected to bring Herbst back for a second year despite Corey Heim looking more than ready to be Cup racing.

Finally, Hailie Deegan’s NASCAR career seems to have flamed out. Another mediocre Truck Series season in 2023 led to landing a ride with AM Racing in the Xfinity Series for 2024. That season went south quickly, as Deegan got booted from the ride mid-season. This year, Deegan tried her craft in IndyCar’s NXT league.

The Current Landscape of Ford Racing

Ford Racing’s Cup Series team count currently sits at 11 fulltime rides. Under the assumption that the trial does not alter things drastically, there should be no change in that number for the 2026 season. Team Penske, Wood Brothers, and RFK Racing have their lineups set for next season. Front Row Motorsports recently announced an extension with Zane Smith while there should be no other changes to their lineup. The only true question mark is whether Cody Ware is back fulltime in the 51.

Looking at the lower series, the current roster of Ford drivers with potential promise is non-existent. The list starts and ends with Layne Riggs, at least for drivers with potential upward mobility. Riggs’s progression through his 2 years with Front Row give optimisim for his potential Cup prospects. Outside of Riggs, there is no one else. Ty Majeski looks to be a Truck Series lifer. Jake Garcia could be someone to watch if things work out well. This season was a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, Chandler Smith is on his third manufacturer in as many seasons. Every other fulltime Ford driver is a lower series lifer.

Even if Ford had young prospects, where would they drive? Losing Haas and RSS Racing is a massive detriment. If you thought maybe Ford would look to align a smaller team with AM Racing, that has proven to be incorrect thus far. The smaller organizations are linking up with the Chevy teams, including Jeremy Clements Racing and Viking Motorsports.

Lack of Focus on NASCAR

What is most alarming in this situation is the lack of urgency from Ford Racing. As these teams are leaving, Ford seemingly is sitting on their hands when it comes to NASCAR. Meanwhile, their efforts in IMSA and F1 seem to be where the focus has shifted. For their upcoming January 15 launch, the big talking points surround those series rather than NASCAR. Obviously, Ford Racing needs to pay attention to every series they are in, but there is an ignored fire raging in America’s top racing series.

One could argue this is overreactive. Afterall, Ford has been experiencing great success in certain areas in NASCAR. Ford teams swept the top three championships in 2024. For the first 3 seasons of the Gen7 car, a Ford won the Cup Series championship. Sure, the OEM is being punked by Chevy and Toyota in the Manufacturer’s Championship. But the championship success is still there.

However, any sporting entity that does not have at least a partial eye to the future is doomed to fail. Unless there is a surprise announcement coming before the cars hit the track at Daytona, Ford Racing will be severely underrepresented for 2026. That is concerning in of itself, but the future does not look bright. Zane Smith and Layne Riggs will be shouldering the entire weight of carrying the Ford torch in the coming years.

Ford will have to depend on the castoffs from the other two OEMs to replenish their rosters once drivers like Brad Keselowski retire or other drivers depart. Maybe Penske or RFK Racing will step in to stop the bleeding, but that does not seem likely. There has been more news of Brad Keselowski being interest in IMSA than a lower series team.