Penske crew chief Brian Wilson understands frustration around Ford's NASCAR struggles

For Ford followers, the 2026 NASCAR season has been nothing in need of irritating. 

Ford has just one win to its credit score by way of the primary 18 races of the marketing campaign, which was Ryan Blaney’s win at Phoenix on March 8. There are solely 4 Ford drivers at the moment contained in the provisional Chase area, two of which, Ryan Preece and Austin Cindric, are within the remaining two spots. 

Cindric’s crew chief, Brian Wilson, understands that frustration. Cindric has solely 4 high 10s this season and is preventing tooth and nail to make the Chase with eight races left within the common season. 

“I will echo the identical frustration,” Wilson stated Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We all know we have to be higher than this. I believe everybody is tough at work.”

Ford attempting to make balancing act work

Ford is, as Wilson famous, centered on its long-term NASCAR effort. With a brand new Ford Mustang Darkish Horse physique coming for the 2027 season, the producer is attempting to steadiness instant success with making certain it will not be too far behind the eight ball when 2027 begins, simply as Chevrolet has been with its new Camaro physique this yr.

“There is a new physique that is within the works for subsequent yr,” Wilson stated. “I am listening to some actually good issues about that. It is actually promising. Clearly short-term, we’re proper in the midst of the playoff hunt right here. We all know we have to discover some extra velocity. 

“We have been working exhausting. We’re looking for beneficial properties anyplace we will, whether or not that is within the setups, or the our bodies and even Roush Yates [engines]. All aspects of the sport, we’re attempting to get as a lot as we will get.”

Whereas a lot of the Ford camp has struggled, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher sits seventh within the standings and was as excessive as fifth in early Could. In the meantime, Penske’s Ryan Blaney is third and leads the Cup Sequence with 13 top-10 finishes. 

Cindric enters the July 5 race at Chicagoland 12 factors above Erik Jones for the ultimate Chase berth.