The Fallon Corner - August 2027
Prior to last year, a new regulation change in the ASCA proved to be light work for Ford to keep up with.
Throughout the modern era, the manufacturer had no issues adapting with the radical chassis switch to the current bodies in 2015, the brief low downforce period from 2020-21, or introducing the Ford Mustang to the Cup Series in 2022 and not missing a beat.
During this time period Diego Orkedi and his organization Orkedi Bros Racing continued carrying the banner for the blue ovals as the sport’s newest dynasty, with Nick Orkedi and Cameron Atwood also contributing to the six championships won by Ford over a decade long stretch from 2015-24.
That’s what makes the 2026 campaign such a surprising letdown from the sanctioning body’s most dominant manufacturer.
A radically different rules package featuring V6 turbo hybrid engines designed to make the industry carbon neutral proved to be the biggest regulation change in 11 years - and clearly not one Ford was prepared for.
Only one win coming in the penultimate round on fuel mileage by a rookie driver, a winless season for a four time champion, and not a single blue oval finishing inside the top six in the final standings - the worst season Ford as a whole has posted all through their illustrious tenure in the ASCA.
However, despite coming off such a down campaign heading into the new year a lot of optimism surrounds the Ford camp that hasn’t been seen in quite a long time.
The manufacturer looked at themselves in the mirror, made some changes across the board, and the early returns from testing bear out a resurgent blue oval brigade could be on the cards in 2027.
In this column we’ll be diving into Ford’s swift one-year rebuild across three different organizations, and assess their chances of taking the fight back to Chevrolet and Toyota this season.
Driver Changes
At the end of the day, no proper ASCA rebuild will be complete without the right talent behind the wheel - which is the first place Ford went to look for changes to make in 2027.
Luckily, they just so happened to boast one of the most highly touted prospects in the sport’s history under their control at the Craftsman level: Caden Dunham.
Still being a teenager at the time of making his full time Cup debut, many could argue the 19 year old is being ‘rushed’ considering his race craft in the lower leagues left a lot to be desired a year ago; the main reason his surefire title bid ultimately fell short.
But the raw pace that Dunham has is something that simply cannot be taught, and CJ Barrymore Racing were a team in desperate need of a spark entering the new year.
With Ryan Dixon announcing his departure from the squad very early in last year’s campaign coupled with the season-long turmoil on Cameron Atwood’s side of the garage and Ian Adande’s struggles to adapt in his debut season, the organization looked to be heading nowhere fast and had a decision to make.
Were they going to bring in a fellow veteran face to replace Dixon behind the wheel of the iconic No. 6, or would they stop kicking the can down the road and kick off a much needed rebuild by bringing in a young talent?
The outfit made the logical, but bitter decision and chose the latter; hoping that by getting Dunham seat time with the ASCA’s best he can work out the flaws with his race craft on the fly while his raw pace speaks for itself.
Dunham also provides the blue ovals with a dynamic duo of young superstars to compliment Orkedi Bros Racing’s reigning Rookie of the Year Graham Daugherty, the manufacturer’s perfect answer to the youth movement slowly but surely taking over the sport heading into the next decade.
Ford also vetoed the reported attempted buyout of Carson Schmidt’s contract by Orkedi Bros Racing, showing that even if the 24 year old multi time race winner doesn’t re-sign to the team after this season that they are fully committed to keeping him in house behind the wheel of a blue oval moving forward.
It is worth mentioning Tico Bowden Motorsports bringing Toby Beckett into the fold, but with the current state of that organization it’s tough to imagine he’ll ever reach the true potential he was once thought to have at Ronnie Woods Motorsports.
Crew Chief Hirings
Unless you’re Diego Orkedi, every great driver needs a great crew chief supporting them atop the box if they want to accomplish anything at the top level of the sport.
In total, five of the nine full time Ford teams made changes to their crew chiefs heading into 2027; including the entirety of CJ Barrymore Racing, which is a much needed direct admittance by the manufacturer to their struggles a year ago.
The most high profile of the hirings was for the four time champion: Seth Fowler received the big promotion from Dexter Andrews Motorsports’ Craftsman squad to supporting one of the greatest (but most volatile) drivers the ASCA has ever seen.
It’s been no secret the issues Orkedi has undergone clicking with his last two crew chiefs Sheldon Price and Sam Rosberg, the latter not even making it a full season at the helm, which certainly spooked many high profile names from taking the prestigious offer to begin with.
However, having worked with the likes of Laquon Scransen and Marcus Edwards atop the box of their No. 16 Craftsman Series entry since its inception, Fowler has his fair share of experience with larger than life personalities: but this will be his toughest challenge yet.
Early returns indicate the pair have gotten on well posting the second fastest time in testing along with Diego all but guaranteeing a record fifth championship run this season - although it’s worth seeing if this is just the honeymoon phase or if the goodwill between driver and crew chief will last.
Now at the age of 36 coming off his first winless season in over a decade, is this even the same Orkedi behind the wheel who dominated the ASCA landscape for so many years the sport has grown to know and disdain? Only time will tell.
As for CJ Barrymore Racing, seeing the success that Snoots Enterprises had employing a crew chief swap last year - they decided to try one of their own.
From the No. 6 to the No. 21 team goes Oliver Betts, and Chris Barrymore’s longtime crew chief Rick Stevens swings over to the No. 6 in an attempt by the team to give their young talents the best possible chances to succeed.
CBR also didn’t forget about Cameron Atwood, finagling Adam Steinbach away from Michael White Racing to lead a No. 17 camp that was full of nothing but drama and turmoil a year ago.
Having called the shots for rising star Tony Del Valle II the past two seasons, Steinbach is more than used to the pressure and is one of the brightest young minds in the industry for a reason - someone who could work well enough with the 2023 champion to convince him to stick around long term.
Manufacturer Updates
About a month ago, Ford revealed they had made ‘significant’ updates to their powertrain entering the new year.
While many people scoffed and laughed this off as just the manufacturer talking themselves up, the proof turned out to be in the testing results with Orkedi Bros Racing taking a 1-2 courtesy of Graham Daugherty and Diego Orkedi.
It certainly remains to be seen if these upgrades will provide OBR, CBR, and TBM the necessary horsepower to compete with Chevrolet and Toyota; but according to the team’s wind tunnel data early returns look ‘promising’ that the blue ovals may have concocted something special.
Combine this with the driver + crew chief changes made in preparation for 2027, and it’s very unlikely Ford fails to put a car in championship contention or at least multiple drivers in victory lane this year.
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