The Blue Oval has seven cars in the Busch Clash, giving them a slight edge over longtime rival, Chevrolet, who has six. Ford has claimed nine victories in the history of the race.
Ford has been around in the NASCAR Cup Series a long time dating back to 1949 when Jim Roper won the first-ever race driving a Lincoln. Since then, the Blue Oval has racked up 17 manufacturers titles beginning ten years later. Now the company looks to reach double digits in a no point race that kicks off Daytona Speedweeks.
There are a total of seven cars entered in the non-points event at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday (3:00 p.m., Fox Sports 1) from three teams, Roush Fenway Racing, Team Penske, and Stewart-Haas Racing. Here is who will be driving those cars:
- Brad Keselowski (Penske)
- Kevin Harvick (SHR)
- Ryan Newman (RFR)
- Aric Almirola (SHR)
- Ryan Blaney (Penske)
- Clint Bowyer (SHR)
- Joey Logano (Penske)
The Busch Clash began in 1979 and has continued in one form or another since then.
Ford’s previous Clash winners are:
- Bill Elliott (1987)
- Geoffrey Bodine (1992)
- Dale Jarrett (1996, 2000, 2004)
- Rusty Wallace (1998)
- Mark Martin (1999)
- Joey Logano (2017)
- Brad Keselowski (2018)
Elliott was the first Ford driver to win a non-points race in the NASCAR Cup Series. The format was a little different from what it is today with a single 20-lap run (50 miles), taking the checkers in his famous No. 9 Thunderbird. A week later, he won his second career Daytona 500.
Logano snapped the 13-year Busch Clash winless streak with his victory in 2017. He was in the perfect spot at the end when Denny Hamlin and Keselowski made contact, slipping by for the victory.
Meanwhile, Keselowski started the 2018 campaign with a Busch Clash win, en route to his first NASCAR Cup Series title. Ford also took home the manufacturer’s championship that year.
In all, Ford has run 16 different models:
- Edsel
- Lincoln
- Cougar (Mercury)
- Montego (Mercury)
- Cyclone (Mercury)
- Comet (Mercury)
- Marauder (Mercury)
- Monterey (Mercury)
- Thunderbird
- Torino Talladega
- Torino
- Taurus
- Mustang
- Galaxy
- Fusion
- Fairlaine
SEE MORE FROM THE BUSCH CLASH: Toyota Clash Preview
