Ford has already announced what it plans to bring to the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season. Now, fans are getting their first glimpse of what that car could look like on the racetrack.
A heavily camouflaged Ford Mustang was spotted turning laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday, Oct. 13, offering an early look at the manufacturer’s next Cup Series entry. The car, identified as the No. 38 Ford of Front Row Motorsports, was taking part in a Goodyear tire test alongside Chevrolet and Toyota.
The timing is particularly interesting. Ford is preparing to introduce the Mustang Dark Horse SC at next year’s Daytona 500, and the Charlotte sighting suggests development of its new Cup body is well underway.
The car’s disguise kept much of its design hidden, but it didn’t prevent some intriguing details from emerging.
Ford’s 2027 NASCAR Mustang Takes to the Track at Charlotte
The car spotted at Charlotte wore a blue-and-white camouflage scheme similar to one Ford has used on its racing prototypes. Its appearance immediately drew attention because the manufacturer is preparing for its first significant Cup Series body update since introducing the current Mustang Dark Horse in 2024.
Ford announced in January that the Mustang Dark Horse SC would make its NASCAR debut at the 2027 Daytona 500.
The Charlotte test offered a closer look at the direction that new design might take.
Photographs published by Motorsport.com show a noticeably different front-end profile beneath the camouflage. The changes are consistent with Ford’s move toward the Dark Horse SC, although the full body design has yet to be officially unveiled.
The No. 38 on the test car also identified Front Row Motorsports and Zane Smith as Ford’s representatives.
Ford Racing confirmed to Motorsport.com that the car was being used for a planned NASCAR and Goodyear tire test and that its camouflage reflected the fact that the new design had not yet been formally revealed.
For Ford, the work comes at an important time. The current Mustang has been competing against Chevrolet’s Camaro-based Cup car and Toyota’s Camry XSE, with intermediate-track performance remaining a particularly important area of development.
The 2027 body offers Ford an opportunity to address those challenges while bringing its NASCAR entry closer in appearance to its newest production Mustang.
NASCAR’s Charlotte Test Offers Another Look at 2027 Plans
The Ford wasn’t the only car on track.
NASCAR confirmed to Motorsport.com that the test included the No. 3 Chevrolet, No. 38 Ford and No. 43 Toyota. The session was focused on developing the intermediate-track tire for the 2027 season.
That distinction matters. Although Ford’s new body attracted much of the attention, the test was not exclusively about the Mustang.
Goodyear and NASCAR are also working on the tire package that teams will use at intermediate tracks next year, making Charlotte a valuable testing ground for all three manufacturers.
Ford’s next Cup car, meanwhile, is still several months away from its scheduled competition debut.
The manufacturer has not publicly unveiled the finished NASCAR version of the Mustang Dark Horse SC, and the camouflage makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about every aerodynamic change.
Still, the Charlotte test provided something fans hadn’t previously seen: Ford’s next-generation Mustang Cup body actually running on a NASCAR track.
And with the 2027 Daytona 500 approaching, it won’t be long before the disguise comes off.