Who would have thought that Ford Performance would have six cars in the playoffs, given the way teams under their umbrella started the season? When the American car manufacturer announced the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the 2024 Cup Series, there was plenty of speculation and skepticism surrounding the performance of the car, and whether it would be able to compete against Chevrolet. As it turns out, they couldn’t, especially at the beginning, as Chevy went on to win the opening three races.

However, a lot has changed since then, and with playoffs starting at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski’s spotter TJ Majors has urged rivals to not underestimate Ford at their peril, despite the manufacturer being the underdogs.

TJ Majors optimistic about Ford’s playoff hopes

Just like the name on the car, Ford will be the ‘dark horse’ going into the playoffs. After all, nobody predicted that Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric would have made it into the Round of 16, especially not at the expense of Kyle Busch or Bubba Wallace. However, they did, and with race wins no less, proving that on their day they are more than capable of getting a result. While it’s unlikely that the trio will make it to Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway later this year, they can help some of the safer bets progress further into the postseason, using their increased numbers to an advantage. This unpredictability might have people betting, especially with turnkey sportsbook solution that provides thorough and up-to-date playoff odds.

Expressing his optimism about Ford’s chances in the playoffs, Brad Keselowski’s spotter TJ Majors said on the ‘Door Bumper Clear’ podcast, “I know Joey can get hot, Blaney can get hot. There’s Brad, super consistent. I feel like I still feel like we have a good shot at it. Obviously, we don’t have the buffer for any mistakes, but if you go out there and have solid top-five runs and you’re in that spot, I’ve been in that position before where we were the underdog the whole time. We win Martinsville, still the underdog. Then we go there and win the championship. Anything can happen. Some of them guys that you’re going to say are the Championship favorites tend to make some mistakes. So, when they make the mistakes, the others have to capitalize.”

Unsurprisingly, Ryan Blaney has 8-1 odds to defend his Cup Series championship, proving to be one of the favorites to lift silverware at Phoenix Raceway. The Team Penske driver is undoubtedly the strongest contender for Ford Performance in the playoffs, and his two wins in the regular season are encouraging signs of his postseason ambitions. Two-time Cup Series winner Joey Logano is another driver to watch out for, and the 34-year-old comes with plenty of experience, having competed for the title five times in his career.

RFK Racing co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski is also one of Ford’s stronger contenders who could potentially challenge for the Cup Series at the end of the season. The 40-year-old won the championship in 2012 and was the quickest to adapt to the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse, winning the 2024 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway earlier this season. The consistency that he has shown at NASCAR’s highest level means that he currently has 20-1 odds of winning the title, proving to be one of the safer bets for a driver under the Ford roster.

Could another Ford car be added to Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing?

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There has been plenty of speculation about Roush Fenway Racing expanding to three full-time Cup Series charters by 2025. The team has fielded two cars at NASCAR’s highest level since 2017 with Brad Keselowski piloting the No. 6 Ford and Chris Buscher alongside him in the No. 17. RFK Racing has also fielded the No. 60 car for select races this season, which has been driven by the likes of Cam Waters, David Ragan and Joey Hand in the season so far. However, with the team potentially getting a sponsorship from Kroger next year, it could open the door for a third team.

Shedding light on the matter, Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass wrote on X, “Brad Keselowski said no news to share on whether RFK would expand to three cars next year. Indicated it would be another month or so before he would have anything finalized/had anything to say on it.”

What does this mean? It indicates that while Keselowski isn’t shutting down the possibility of a third charter, the outcome would depend on the charter agreement. However, Pockrass has previously expressed his optimism that RFK Racing is the most likely team to purchase Stewart-Haas Racing’s charter, despite the co-owner remaining coy about the situation. It would be interesting to see how does Michigan native’s Cup Series finish at the end of the season could play a role in the team’s expansion, particularly if he wins the championship at Phoenix Raceway later this year.