NASCAR
Can a Ford Mustang Master the 2026 NASCAR Chase?
26 weeks of hard nosed, cutthroat racing have narrowed the NASCAR Cup Series field down to 16 for The Chase. Amid this first year of a revised championship system, five Ford Mustangs made the cut. Representing past champions, hungry veterans, and postseason newcomers, these five Mustangs are a very eclectic mix of talent. Can the 2026 Cup championship belong to a blue oval? Here are the title chances ahead for the best of the best from Ford.
Ryan Blaney – 2,075 points
The flag bearer so far for Team Penske, Ryan Blaney has arguably seen his best season to date in 2026. The No. 12 Ford has visited victory lane three times this regular season, and starts The Chase as the second seed. Only 25 points off the overall lead, Blaney is poised for another deep postseason showing. The 12 tops many lists as a heavy threat for a second Cup title. Announced this week though, team 12 will swap pit crews with Austin Cindric. Pit road has been Blaney’s one area of concern this season. Going into the 10-week fight with new guys doesn’t faze the 12 team’s confidence.
“I firstly want to thank the guys who were with me all year,” Blaney said. “They were with us through thick and thin. We had great times together and was able to win a few races. I appreciate the work they did and to get us where we’re at. And then this decision, Team Penske just looked at it. They figured how can we change things up to where we think it will benefit the whole company. And this is what they decided. I’m thankful for what my guys did. I’m looking forward to working with the new team. I feel like they’ve been really solid on pit road all year, and a lot of them are guys I’ve worked with in the past. A couple of them are new guys to me, but I’m looking forward to it. I think it really speaks highly of Team Penske’s depth that they can shift guys around and have them be able to get plugged into other teams pretty seamlessly. I’m looking forward to seeing how that goes.”
“I felt very strongly about going into The Chase even before this. I think our team has done a good job of figuring out speed in the racecar. Figuring out how to get better on pit road, overcoming sometimes where we have adversity. I felt great about it before everything – even Sunday – so I still feel really good about it as well. It’s one of those things that on the personal side you create relationships with a lot of those guys. They go to battle with you every single week, so that side has its own emotions. But at the end of the day, there’s a business side to it. ‘Hey, this is the best way we have to win Roger Penske a championship,’ so you welcome those guys in with open arms. ‘Hey, welcome to the team. You’re on the 12 group now. How do we all operate as a group?’ I feel great about it. No matter which way it went I felt really good about it.”
A large underlying story of the 2026 NASCAR campaign has been Toyota dominance. Blaney finds himself as the highest-ranked Ford, among a sea of the rival manufacturer. The last 10 tracks do line up great for the 12 crew. This was evidenced by their 2023 title and Championship 4 appearances in three of the last four years. Now in the consistency-based Chase, Blaney should be seen as a heavy favorite to stop Toyota’s march. If Blaney can stay alive until the final four weeks, few could beat him at all of those tracks.
Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang on the grid at Daytona International Speedway before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Joey Logano – 2,035 points
Can Even Year Joey Logano strike again for a fourth time? The three-time Cup champion is ‘4 The Haters’ as he’s dubbed this season. Ford No. 22 starts The Chase as the ninth seed. Logano may be seen as the poster child for the playoff format, but he’s one of only two drivers (alongside Denny Hamlin) to race the Chase before. The three-time Cup winner for Ford likes his chances this year at title number four. Logano is ready to hit the ground running in Darlington.
“Every race is equally important,” Logano said. “They all score the same amount of points and it averages out over 10. So it’s pretty simple at this point. It’s not like there’s a cut off race or a Round of 8 or whatever that may be. Every race means the same.”
“I don’t know if it really changes a whole bunch. Even though they call it The Chase, it’s still way different than what the Chase was then – the way the seeding is and the separation through the field. It’s pretty different and we have stages now too, so it’s quite a bit different than the old way too. It just has the same name.”
“A reputation that we’ve earned over the years is that, unfortunately, during the regular season we seem to just be OK. And then it gets to game time and the 22 starts to show up. So I feel confident in our team that we can do it. People think that way because we have done it and we’ve done it multiple times. So I feel like we can show up again when it matters and do it in a different format.”
Nobody has a bigger chip on his shoulder to perform under The Chase than Logano. He desperately wants to prove his doubters wrong that team 22 can win championships with any format, and be as clutch as ever. Logano has shown winning pace this year on flat short ovals. The next 10 weeks feature three of these tracks. Logano merely needs to survive past the intermediate ovals where he’s lacked this year. While Logano was perfectly suited for the playoffs, that same ferocity could be rewarded in The Chase.
Joey Logano’s No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang on the grid at Daytona International Speedway before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Chris Buescher – 2,030 points
The picture of consistency in 2026 among Ford drivers, Chris Buescher is back in The Chase. Making the postseason for the first time in three years, on paper team 17 should thrive in this environment.
“It’s nice, but I told you all at the beginning of the year we would be here,” Buescher said. “The Chase format fits how we go about things and had this been the case the last couple of years, we’d be sitting here as well. It’s not the case and that’s largely of our own doing as well and the format and we didn’t hit it right. We didn’t win the races when we needed to, but this is good to be back. This is something we knew was gonna be achievable. Really, until the last month, I thought we were gonna roll in here fifth or sixth in seeding, but we had a little bit of a fall back the last little bit. That being said, we’ve got a lot of really good racetracks coming up. I’m excited to get this thing fired off. Darlington is one of my favorite tracks. We’ve run extremely well there. We have lots of good ones coming and there’s still time to win races.”
“It remains to be seen how this format is gonna work out and with everything being reset it’s a whole lot closer than it was a week ago, so the potential is there. We have a lot of good racetracks coming, so if we can go out here and put up two or three really strong days to start, then there really is no ceiling.”
The opening 26 weeks of the season did not see Buescher win, but he did earn 10 top-10s. Daytona could have been another banner day for the 17, until Buescher was wrecked from the lead at the end of Stage 1. Entering The Chase as the 10th seed, Buescher looks to improve on his 2023 run that ended at eighth in points. Buescher has high optimism for a few tracks ahead including Darlington, the 17 cannot be counted out just yet.
Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang on the grid at Daytona International Speedway before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Austin Cindric – 2,005 points
Another fast Ford making The Chase on consistency, Austin Cindric could bring some heat. Starting out as the 15th seed, Cindric has a steep climb ahead to get out of the basement, but Penske speed should not be overlooked. The No. 2 had a breakout top-five run earlier this year at Darlington, a feat only matched once ever since. Should Cindric repeat that effort this weekend, he could erase a chunk off his points deficit to the leader.
“I feel like our postseason is 100 percent a swap in mentality,” Cindric said. “I feel like we can be free and go be aggressive for the next 10 weeks. Whereas I feel like for the last three months we’ve been points racing, so I’m looking forward to that opportunity.”
“I think for me, a very achievable goal is just improving my personal best as far as where I finish in the championship season standings. So, I think that’s all very attainable. But yeah, looking forward to seeing what we can do and and in the areas that we can grow and honestly looking forward the opportunity to just be able to be aggressive for the next 10 weeks given given where we’re seeing.”
Penske and Ford overall have lacked front-running pace on intermediates so far in 2026. The Chase features three of these tracks, meaning Cindric could be out to lunch there. On the flip side, however, the 2 has won recently at Gateway, Talladega, and ran well at Darlington in March. There is a path forward for Cindric to gain lost ground and possibly join his teammates as a title threat.
Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang on the grid at Daytona International Speedway before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Ryan Preece – 2,000 points
Still riding high on Cloud Nine after his Daytona heroics, Ryan Preece is Chase racing for the first time. The RFK Racing driver pulled off the ultimate 11th hour win and in Saturday at Daytona. Even finishing second would have left the No. 60 Ford outside looking in. Joining teammate Chris Buescher in the title fight, Preece said he’s soaking in this brand new experience but is ready to get back on track as a contender.
“If anything, that same mentality has carried over and I think that’s what we’ve been missing,” Preece said. “I’ve been missing. We’ve all been missing. I feel confident. At the end of the day, we’ve won two races this year – one points paying and one non-points paying – but why not? There’s only one place for us to go and that’s forward.”
“I’m soaking it in. Sunday was a time to I guess be surrounded by a bunch of neighbors and friends and family and enjoy it, but much like that saying the clock resets at midnight and the job and the way you’re gonna attack everything, that’s what we’re focused on.”
Preece is the ultimate underdog on this year’s Cup Chase grid, starting out as the last man in. It would take a Herculean effort for the No. 60 Ford to gain more ground. But the RFK Racing team even making it here was already a tall task that surprised some. Momentum can be real and Preece was in the mix at Darlington in the spring. Anything can be possible over 10 weeks, including this team going to the moon again.
Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Kroger/Oikos Ford Mustang on the grid at Daytona International Speedway before winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Making up five of the 16 Chase berths for 2026, Fords are nicely positioned for the 10-week hunt. Team Penske and RFK Racing alike have loads of talented people both at the track and behind the scenes. They are all hard at work now building Mustangs to contend for wins and championships. There may be no better place for Ford to kick off The Chase than Darlington, where a few Mustangs were fast in the spring. Past that, the postseason’s slate of tracks does offer ample opportunities for Ford to be in victory lane early and often.
Written by Peter Stratta
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