It's finally happening! After competing for eight years in the Xfinity Series, the Ford Mustang is finally joining the Cup Series, the top tier of NASCAR. The Mustang will replace the Fusion, which the company has been racing in the premier series since 2006.

"We’re combining America’s favorite sports car with America’s top stock car racing series," said Mark Rushbrook, global director at Ford Performance Motorsports. "Mustang always has been about affordable performance, which can be traced to innovations we’ve made competing in racing, like NASCAR. Mustang is a perfect fit for our racing heritage today and tomorrow."

Keep reading for the full story.

Replacing the Fusion After 13 Years

The pony car is still going through initial testing and has yet to be submitted to NASCAR for approval. This will happen this summer, according to Ford, which will make the race car available for the 2019 season. The first official race for the Mustang will be the Daytona 500 in February 2019.

There isn't much data to run by as of this writing, but the Mustang race car should fall in line with the other NASCAR race cars. The body will mimic the road car, but certain changes approved by NASCAR will be made to the aerodynamics. Power will still come from a V-8, but it won't be the same engine from the Mustang you can buy in dealerships.

Ford is hoping that the Mustang will bring home the first manufacturers' championship in almost 20 years. Ford's last win dates back to 2002 when it was still running the Taurus. Although competitive, the Fusion lost to Chevrolet for 13 consecutive seasons between 2003 and 2015. The most recent couple of championships went to Toyota, which became the first non-American company to win the Sprint Cup. Ford has won 15 championships since 1955, significantly less than General Motors, which has 43 under its belt.

Having won the NASCAR Xfinity Series in all but one season since 2011, the Mustang has already proved its worth. In 2018, Ford is taking on the Cup Series with six teams and 13 teams, numbers that could increase for next season. The current Fusion has one last shot at glory though, with Ford not far behind Toyota in the championship standings with more than a half-season to go.

Joining Australia's Supercar Series Too

The Ford Mustang is also making its debut in Australia's top-tier Supercars series. Traditionally disputed by four-door sedans from Ford and Holden, the series is changing dramatically now that both carmakers have ended local manufacturing. While Holden is still running Commodore sedans, the Falcon race car is headed for retirement and Ford is replacing it with the Mustang.

The 2018 season will be the last to see the Ford Falcons charge against the Holden Commodores and the Nissan Altimas. Starting 2019, the bespoke Supercars chassis will receive a Mustang. Due to the fact that Gen2 Supercars rules allow two-door cars in the series, Ford will be able to replace the four-door Falcon with a coupe. The new race car will be developed in cooperation with Team Penske and Tickford.

References

Read our full review on the 2016 Ford Fusion Nascar.

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford Mustang.

Read more Ford news.