It’s no secret that Ford CEO Jim Farley loves racing. He’ll be gearing up once again later this month when he races the Mustang GT4 in the inaugural IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, a first for the Ford boss. He will participate in Roar Before the Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway.
Farley fielded the car for Multimatic Motorsports in the competitor-packed GSX class. He will race against cars such as the BMW M4 GT4, Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, Mercedes-AMG GT4, and Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Farley won’t be driving the only Ford in the class, with KohR Motorsports racing another Mustang GT4. Farley and company will compete in two 45-minute single racer races, with the GSX class running side-by-side with nine LMP3 cars.
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Farley, who runs one of the largest automakers, really enjoys his time behind the wheel. Last month, the CEO took late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon for a spin on the M1 Concourse race track, which is located about 30 miles north of Detroit. He drove no. 98 Race car Ford Mustang Gen2 Supercar Australian specifications (not unlike NASCAR), made Fallon smile from ear to ear. He will race the same number at Daytona. And last summer, Farley raced in the Le Mans Classic, driving the no. 64Ford GT40. He finished second in his class.
Racing will be at the heart of Ford’s branding as the new year progresses. When the automaker unveiled its seventh-generation Mustang in September, it also announced no fewer than six racing Mustangs planned for the new S650 generation, including the GT3 and GT4 models. The Blue Oval is also working on versions for NASCAR and NHRA Factory X, and it is hoped the race will serve as advertisement for the new Mustang and Ford brands.
The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge begins on Friday, January 20, with practice, followed by racing on Saturday and Sunday, January 21 and 22. You can watch Farley’s race live on Peacock, where IMSA will broadcast both races.
