Inside The Garage: Can Team Penske Keep Momentum With New Ford Body In 2027?

Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.) — The Team Penske drivers would need a lot to go their way in order to win a Cup title. But from where they were midway through the season, the fact that they even remain in contention is an accomplishment. Struggles earlier this year on the intermediate tracks suggested that Ford would not be a factor at all in The Chase. Instead, Ryan Blaney sits fifth in the standings at 85 points behind and Joey Logano is 92 points back. Blaney finished fifth, fifth and third in the Kansas-Vegas-Charlotte stretch. Earlier this year, he was 24th at Kansas, 16th at Vegas and seventh at Charlotte. Logano’s ninth-place finish gave him back-to-back top 10s and his combined points at these three tracks were 85, compared to 59 at those tracks earlier this year. Austin Cindric wasn’t great late at Charlotte but earned back-to-back top fives at Kansas and Vegas. "There's no secret of early in the year and then the summer, it's like, ‘Oh boy, we're in big trouble. They really have a leg up on us,’" Blaney told me and other reporters after the race. "And these three tracks were super important, and I think our whole building has done a really good job of getting better. "I think we've gained a step. We're still about half a step behind. Their fire-off speed is just unbelievable. It’s just hard to keep up with them taking off, and I gain about half of it back at the end of a run. But obviously, the math does the math there. So we’ve still got a little work to do." The question will be how they build on this so they don’t start behind next year. Ford will have a new body in 2027. "It’s not really the body that the gains have come from," Logano told me and other reporters on Saturday. "A lot of it is the setup and finding something finally that kind of seems to fit what I want, what I need in the car. "Yes, there's going to be somewhat of a learning curve with a new body, but the things that we have found and the things we like and what I need in the car isn't really body-dependent." Blaney believes they can build on it. "There's things you can take, and a lot of people that are a lot smarter than me are going to do the right work to figure out just overall balance," Blaney said. "How Ford built this new body, it was a lot of discussions on where do we need to be better — front downforce, rear downforce, side force, all the little things. "And Ford kind of went to work and tried to do the best they can. You can always learn." Ford officials will obviously be coy on exactly what they are working on for the new body. Ford Racing Global Director Mark Rushbrook told me in an interview last week that 2027 will bring some unknowns. "You go to the new body because it has greater potential in terms of what is designed into it. And as much as we know from CFD [computational fluid dynamics] and the wind tunnel, as with the past homologation and approval from NASCAR, we still don't know how it is going to race on track on all these different style of tracks," Rushbrook said. "We'll learn more as we start the season. We've made some very good improvements in the body, and I think we have a good understanding to start. But until we get out there with 40 cars, we don't know everything yet." There are even more unknowns as far as 2027 and Ford, including how the departure of Brad Keselowski from RFK Racing will impact that organization. "We have confidence in how RFK will go forward in their commitment to continuing to improve, continuing to put three cars on the race track as well," Rushbrook said. "So we look forward to what their future is." Would he like that future to include Keselowski? "At this point, it's what is the opportunity given how late in the season this has developed," Rushbrook said. Keselowski also left the door open. "We’ll see. If Ford wants me, I would certainly listen to that," Keselowski said. It certainly has been a long roller-coaster season for much of the Ford camp. And even with the improved performance at Penske, it seems like they are ready for a break and a little bit of a reset. "The season is plenty long," Logano said. "I wish we found this speed earlier in the year. Things would look a little different right now. But it is what it is. That is how racing goes." JGR-Gabehart Update A hearing in the Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit against Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports is scheduled for Tuesday. The suit is regarding whether Gabehart and Spire have violated the restraining order that enforces Gabehart's non-compete clause now that he's moved to Spire from JGR. Gabehart, the team’s Chief Motorsports Officer, was recently put on administrative leave, which JGR cites as an example that Spire has acknowledged a violation. Gabehart and Spire contend he did not violate the order and Spire has reiterated, adamantly, that it has not received any JGR "trade secrets" from Gabehart. JGR contends that there are two separate issues, the restraining order and the taking of its trade secrets. "JGR is not required to prove that Gabehart’s comments were brilliant, novel or outcome-determinative," JGR said in a court filing. "Instead, JGR must only show that Gabehart provided prohibited services." In The News — Haas Factory Team confirmed that Cole Custer will remain in its No. 41 Cup car next season. Custer is 32nd in the Cup standings. — In O’Reilly Series moves, the Burton cousins announced their next steps. Harrison Burton will move from Sam Hunt Racing to Peterson Racing next year, while Jeb Burton will go from Jordan Anerson Racing to RSS Racing. — The Kaulig Racing free agent truck will have familiar drivers who currently race other disciplines in its trucks over the next two weeks. INDYCAR driver Conor Daly will drive this weekend at Phoenix and three-time Cup champion and current NHRA driver Tony Stewart will be in the truck at Talladega. — Team Penske, Arrow McLaren and ECR announced multiyear extensions to remain as Chevrolet teams in INDYCAR. — Austin Dillon, Zane Smith and Erik Jones will conduct a tire test for Goodyear on Tuesday and Wednesday in Charlotte. RIP Monte Dutton was a pivotal member of the NASCAR media corps for decades, writing for the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette and other racing outlets. He died Oct. 8 at age 68. Social Spotlight They Said It "I'm so proud of him. People want to lay sh-- on me or whatever or say I'm hard on him. But it's what it takes."— James Small, Crew Chief for Chase Briscoe