Ford Performance

Ford Performance
Company type	Division
Industry	Automotive; Motorsport
Predecessor	Ford Racing; Ford Team RS; Special Vehicle Team; Ford Performance Vehicles; Ford Performance Racing (Australia)
Founded	October 10, 1901; 123 years ago, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S.
Founder	Henry Ford
Headquarters	Dearborn, Michigan, United States
Products	Performance car; Supercar; Performance parts; Racing parts
Parent	Ford Motor Company
Website	performance.ford.com

Ford Performance (formerly Ford Racing) is the high-performance division of the Ford Motor Company and the multinational name used for its motorsport and racing activity.

History

1896 – Henry Ford reached a top speed of 20 mph in his first car, Quadricycle.
1901 – Henry Ford defeated Alexander Winton (the most accomplished automobile builder/racer of the era) in a 10-lap race on a one-mile oval at the Detroit Driving Club, Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He overcame his rival's more powerful car in Sweepstakes, a racing car of his own design.^[1]
1902 – Ford 999 (named after a famous New York Central train), driven by Barney Oldfield, Master Driver of the World and America's Legendary Speed King, defeated Alex Winton at Grosse Point in the 999 as a result of the publicity and financial backing of Alex J. Malcomson the Ford Motor Company was launched
1903 – Ford 999, driven by Oldfield, lapped the Indiana Fairgrounds dirt track at a then-record 60 mph?
1904 – Henry Ford, driving his rebuilt 999, sets the world one mile record on a frozen lake near Detroit.
1904 – Frank Kulick drove a Ford 20 hp racer to the one and five mile world track record for middleweight racers.
1907 – Kulick set the world 24-hour track endurance record, traveling 1135 miles driving a Ford six cyl Model K.
1909 – A Ford Model T won the transcontinental New York to Seattle cross-country race (about 3600 km).
1932 – Ford introduced its V-8 Flathead engine, bringing V-8 power into mass production with the slogan "Everyman’s power for the road, and Everyman’s power for racing".
1932 – Two car mechanics win the Swedish Winter Grand Prix driving a Ford special.^[2]
1936 – Ionel Zamfirescu and P. G. Cristea won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Ford V8 "Flathead".^[3]^[4]
1949 – Jim Roper, driving a Lincoln, won the first NASCAR race.^[5]
1950 – Jimmy Florian, driving a Ford, wins the first NASCAR race in a Ford branded vehicle at Dayton Ohio^[6]
1963 - Tiny Lund wins 1st Daytona 500 for Ford.
1965 - Jim Clark gives Ford its 1st of 6 Indy wins between 1965 and 1971. source: IRL: Ford clinches first Indianapolis 500 win
1967 – Jim Clark, driving a Lotus-Ford, won the Dutch Grand Prix. This is Ford's first grand prix victory.
1968 - Graham Hill, driving a Lotus-Ford, won both the driver's world championship and the constructor's world championship. This is Ford's first of both respective championship wins.
1976 - Ford via Cosworth won its 1st Indy 500 and would dominate Indy with the Cosworth DFX over the next 10 years by winning every race plus 2 more with the XB version for a 12 Indy win total between 1978 and 1996 The Ford-Cosworth DFX powered 81 consecutive Indy car victories from 1981 to 1986, and 153 victories total. Won all USAC and CART championships between 1977 and 1987. Source - Cosworth DFX Indy Engine
1994 - Michael Schumacher bags his first driver's world championship with Ford-powered Benetton B194 car.
2000 - Dale Jarett wins Ford's 10th Daytona 500.
2003 – Giancarlo Fisichella, driving a Jordan-Ford, won the Brazilian Grand Prix. This is Ford's 176th and last Grand Prix victory.
2011 – Trevor Bayne wins the Daytona 500 in a 1–2–3 finish for Ford. It was Ford's 600th NASCAR victory.
2012 – Michael Shank Racing wins the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona with a Ford engined Riley chassis (Allmendinger/Negri/Pew/Wilson), Starworks Motorsport finishes 2nd in Grand-Am Daytona Prototype driver standings (Ryan Dalziel), and wins the 1st North American Endurance Championship, also with Ford power.
2013 – Greg Biffle wins the Quicken Loans 400, Ford's 1000th NASCAR win.
2014 – Debut of the Ford EcoBoost twin turbo engine for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates win the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring using the engine.
2015 – Ford Racing, alongside Ford Team RS and Special Vehicle Team, merged into a global entity named Ford Performance, as they also will make 12 performance cars by 2020. Wins Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona overall with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (Kanaan/ McMurray/ Larson / Dixon) using Ford Ecoboost Riley DP.
2016 – Ford entered four Ford GT cars in the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro class, finished 1–3–4–10.
2018 – Joey Logano wins at Homestead Miami Speedway and wins Ford Performance its first NASCAR cup championship since 2004 and First Manufacturer's Championship since 2002.
2023 – Ford announced their return as a Formula 1 engine manufacturer for 2026 after nearly 20 years of absence in Formula 1^[7] and will partner with Red Bull Powertrains as Red Bull Ford Powertrains.^[8]^[9] Red Bull Ford Powertrains will supply engines to Red Bull Racing and RB Formula One Team.^[10]
2024 – As part of their partnership with Red Bull and the company's broader STEM and DEI initiatives to "further attract more women to the sport across all levels and roles", Ford signed a title partnership deal with Red Bull to form the Red Bull Ford Academy Programme in support of Emely de Heus for the 2024 F1 Academy season.^[11]^[12]