Rushbrook sees potential for driver crossover from Ford’s NASCAR teams to its GT3 program

There are clear prospects of F1 star Max Verstappen joining Ford’s Hypercar program in the near future, thanks to the Blue Oval's ties to Red Bull Racing, but what about the potential for headline-grabbing sports car crossovers with its NASCAR operation? Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Racing, says it's a possibility.

The natural fit for any crossovers between Ford's NASCAR and endurance programs in the coming years would be at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, either with a Mustang GT3 or a Ford GTP entry if the brand opts to take its prototype to IMSA in the future. The Rolex 24 is a race held at the site of the most prestigious NASCAR race and crucially, takes place in January, outside the Cup Series’ grueling 38-event season.

So, is it realistic for Ford's Cup Series drivers and/or teams to take on the challenge in the near future?

“Brad Keselowski’s comments last November (about RFK wanting to partner with Ford to go sports car racing) were specifically, if we are doing IMSA, he was saying he’d like to run the Hypercar team out of RFK. He’d love to race it as well,” Rushbrook (pictured above) told RACER. “I’m not against it. I think there’s actually an opportunity with a GT3 car, right, as these GT3s are in many ways similar to NASCAR, with the next-gen car. We love the crossover, like when (Supercars driver) Cam Waters, for instance, came over to do a NASCAR race.”

There was talk in recent years that NASCAR Cup Series manufacturers Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota could potentially each enter a car in the race with a set of drivers plucked from their stock car stables. The status of that initiative is unknown, although Rushbrook confirmed that Ford has explored it.

“I know we’ve talked about it,” Rushbrook added. “I don’t know if Chevy or Toyota, or others, have, but it would be great to do it. They could be competitive, it would be a great story, but it would cost a lot of money. Are they going to win? Maybe, but it’s always a matter of budget.”

IMSA President John Doonan told RACER the potential for the three NASCAR Cup Series OEMs and a set of their star drivers coming together to compete at Daytona's 24-hour race is an exciting one for his organization.

"We've seen NASCAR drivers come over in the past, and we believe the Rolex 24 attracts star power," he said. "Having the three Cup Series manufacturers in the race with guest cars would be something we would welcome with open arms and love to see."

On the broader subject of Ford's participation in IMSA, and specifically a move to the GTP class with its forthcoming LMDh challenger, its stance hasn’t changed since Rushbrook first outlined Ford Racing's prototype plans. He remains non-committal about bringing the unnamed ORECA-based challenger to North America.

While bullish on the idea of Ford NASCAR drivers at Daytona, Rushbrook says the Mustang program in GTD Pro already serves the company well in IMSA. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images

Rushbrook did, however, make it clear that he was not concerned about the category's health following Acura's recent announcement of its departure at the end of the 2026 season. Instead, his apprehension regarding an expansion of IMSA’s top class continues to stem from the scale of Ford’s current commitments in the paddock.

“We’re always looking at a five-year cycle plan, where are we going to be racing for the next five years, making those decisions. Mustang GT3 has been fantastic because we can race as a factory in IMSA, we can race with customer teams here (in WEC) and SRO, and other series around the world,” he explained to reporters at Spa. “That’s working great for us. Part of the reason we’re going Hypercar is for the overall win at Le Mans because of our history there, but also to race as a factory in WEC because we can’t do that with the Mustang.

“When we look at IMSA, we’ve got so much presence there already. You look at the last two race weekends we had, over 30 Mustangs racing in three different series throughout the weekend. I don’t know that we need more Ford presence than that, and we’re able to do it as a factory (in GTD Pro). It’s a wonderful series, great tracks, great competitors, but we don’t see as much need to go there with Hypercar.”

He did leave the door still ajar for Ford to compete in the big IMSA Endurance Cup races, such as the Rolex 24, though. “That is talked about. Is there an opportunity to do the Daytona 24 Hours in 2028 or 2029, of course? But I’m not saying ‘yes,’" he said.

As it stands, Ford is focused fully on getting its WEC effort off the ground in 2027. There is no firm date or plan for a full LMDh car reveal, but Rushbrook suggested that we’re likely to see it for the first time in spy shots from its initial August rollout at Paul Ricard. Its driver roster is gradually nearing completion, with more news on that expected next month. And around 70 percent of the positions have been filled within the team ahead of the start of track testing.