Roger Penske claims Ford drivers will have new car for 2019 NASCAR season

Ford didn’t look like it needed much help in the Clash at Daytona, but the Team Penske boss says it’s getting it anyway next year.

While they are a tick slow in qualifying, the Ford drivers had no problems at all running up front during the Clash at Daytona on Sunday. Brad Keselowski, who has been the most outspoken driver in the garage about how Ford is at a disadvantage compared to the other manufacturers, drove to victory fairly easily with only his Team Penske teammates and fellow Ford driver Kurt Busch in anything resembling hot pursuit.

That doesn’t mean the Fords will necessarily stack up well as soon as the Cup Series leaves Daytona, but Roger Penske says they will only need to worry about any lack of performances versus the Toyota Camry and brand new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 until the end of the season.

According to Autoweek, Penske said a new Ford NASCAR model is on the way in 2019.

"“I think we thought the same thing coming out of St. Petersburg last year in IndyCar that we might not have the power Honda had and we won 10 races. I keep reminding the team that. We’ve got to race all year. We’ll have a new body next year.”"

This might come as news to NASCAR, which has not announced a new Ford for 2019 nor backed up Penske’s statements. For various reasons, it probably can’t at the moment.

But it does follow that NASCAR would give Ford a new body after doing the same for both Toyota and Chevy. Not only does it look good from a competition standpoint, as all three manufacturers would have new cars within just a few years of each other, but it also helps the car companies out by allowing them to market their newest vehicles.

For Ford, there’s at least some question about which model that might be. The future of the Ford Fusion is very much up in the air, so it remains to be seen what the company might choose as its next race car.

Next: Clash instant reaction: Fords will be fine in the 500

Still, the big takeaway here is that the secret arrival of a new Ford in 2019 really isn’t so secret. Here’s hoping that doesn’t lead to the Toyota camp griping about how their two-year-old Camry is at a disadvantage, but history would suggest that’s at least a possibility.