Ford Looks to Capitalize on Chevrolet’s Under-the-Radar Decline as Ryan Blaney’s Win Puts Rumors to Rest

If recent results are anything to go by, it’s clear for everyone to see that Ford has finally got their act together. After a poor start to the season, which left them winless for three months, Ford has now secured four wins in the last eight races. The most recent one is Ryan Blaney’s victory at Pocono Raceway, finishing ahead of Denny Hamlin on a track that has traditionally been dominated by Toyota.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet, who began the season strongly, has only managed two race wins in the last two months. This allows Ford to make their mark during the business end of the season, hoping that it’s their Dark Horse that excels in the playoffs to win the championship.

Chevrolet’s pain is Ford’s gain

With just five races remaining until the playoffs begin in Atlanta, Ford will feel that their cars are in a good position to compete against Toyota at the business end of the season. The Ford Mustang Dark Horse, particularly the one driven by Ryan Blaney, showed lightning-fast pace at Pocono Raceway, putting rumors to rest that Ford had found something to boost their campaign. It’s evident that they have, as all three Team Penske drivers are featuring in the playoffs, and confidence is at an all-time high that Ford has developed a competitive car as the season has progressed.

Speaking about Ford’s resurgence and Chevrolet’s decline, YouTuber Eric Estepp said, “On the Cup side, they (Ford) went winless in February, March, April, wasn’t until mid-May when Brad Keselowski broke the winless streak at Darlington. And it was around that same time that rumors began to surface that Roush engines, Ford had found something.

“Maybe they were trying something new and it sure seems like since then, that something new has worked. In the past eight races, Ford has won four of them, all three Team Penske drivers have made it to Victory Lane. Ford has clearly got better but I think this trajectory was always expected. It now appears as though Chevrolet has actually fallen behind.”

Chevrolet’s decline from earlier this season has been very evident. Let’s take Trackhouse racing driver Daniel Suarez as an example. The 32-year-old won the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Cup Series but has managed just one top-10 finish in the last 12 races. The lack of performance in his No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro means that he has failed to finish in the top 20 ten times this season.

The exception to Chevrolet’s decline has been Hendrick Motorsports. While teams such as Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Spire Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing, and JTG Daugherty Racing have struggled because of Chevrolet’s decline, NASCAR’s most successful team remains unaffected. Why is that? It’s because Hendrick Motorsports simply has the resources to surpass hurdles that other teams cannot, and enough data to optimize their cars to their maximum potential and remain in contention for the championship.

Chevrolet needs to develop a new car to keep pace with Ford and Toyota

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One of the biggest reasons Chevrolet outperformed Ford earlier this season was the fact that they were using their older car. This meant that the manufacturer had momentum on their side as well as the data to support it to optimize their car and get it running to its maximum potential. Meanwhile, Ford and Toyota built new cars, which meant that getting them running and competitive to their optimum capability took time. However, their long-term outlook paid off, as both Ford and Toyota look set for the future while Chevrolet is struggling at a crucial part of the season.

Speaking about Ford and Chevrolet’s new cars, Youtuber Eric Estepp said, “I think we’re finally seeing the result of Toyota and Ford introducing a brand new car, a brand new body style, and Chevrolet using something that’s now become outdated. At the beginning of the year, Toyota and Ford’s notebooks on the new Camry, the new Mustang Dark Horse were very thin. They had very little real-world data. Over the past few months, they’ve built out their notebook, they have tons of data, while Chevrolet, who started the year with a full notebook, has seemingly maybe plateaued.”

If Chevrolet hopes to remain competitive in the NASCAR Cup Series, they need to develop a new car, fast. Their best hope will be to have a new car ready by the beginning of next season, but they will have to make do with their existing Chevrolet Camaro during the crucial end of the ongoing campaign. As they say, it’s not always about the car, but the driver and Chevrolet hopes that their drivers, especially the likes of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, who are at the top of the driver standings, will get the results at this crucial stage. As for others, they will have to make do with what’s available and hope for a better car next season.

What are your thoughts about Chevrolet’s decline this season? Let us know in the comments!