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NASCAR Cup Series: 5 bold predictions for the 2019 season

By William Richard

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Car2Can Ford, walks with crew chief Rodney Childers during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Car2Can Ford, walks with crew chief Rodney Childers during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 10: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 10: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

#4: Ford Mustang faces minimal struggle

One of the many changes coming to the NASCAR Cup Series garage for the 2019 season is the switch from the Ford Fusion to Ford’s legendary muscle car, the Mustang. After years of the Mustang running in the Xfinity Series, Ford executives figured that it was time to move the classic car up to NASCAR’s top series.

The first question that comes to mind with this sort of change is if there will be any drop-off in performance. This is an especially touchy subject after fans witnessed the struggles that Chevrolet’s new Camaro faced during the 2018 season.

Last year, Chevrolet drivers won just four races on the 36-race schedule, and they continually fell behind both Ford and Toyota. Naturally, the same question has to be asked in regards to Ford’s switch to the Mustang.

Personally, I believe that Ford will face minimal struggles in 2019. Unlike in Chevrolet’s switch from the SS to the Camaro, the front end of the Ford car is not changing much, as the front end of the Mustang is very similar to that of the Fusion.

Chevrolet’s change took the semi-rounded nose of the SS and completely changed it to the wider and boxier nose of the Camaro. Such a drastic change creates major aerodynamic problems without enough research and development.

Looking at the new front end of the Mustang, Ford designers have done an amazing job with a great new look that required very little change aerodynamically. The front end of the Mustang might as well be the front end of the Fusion but with new decals. For this simple reason, I don’t foresee Ford losing a step to the competition in 2019.

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