Ford CEO Jim Farley joins MDK Motorsports for Mustang Challenge

• Drivers Tom Tait Jr. and Gabe Tesch join MDK roster;

• Ease Logistics signs on as sponsor
  

MDK Motorsports is set to bolster its team lineup with top-tier racing talent as passionate racing enthusiast and Ford CEO Jim Farley joins the ranks to compete in the first event of the inaugural season of the Mustang Challenge.

Farley, along with new MDK-featured drivers Tom Tait Jr. and Gabe Tesch, will launch the series at its inaugural event, which will be hosted at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, from June 7 to 9. Tait Jr. and Tesch will continue to race in the subsequent four events of the five-race series, all featuring the new Ford Mustang® Dark Horse™ R race car.

MDK also announced that Ease Logistics, a six-time Inc. 5000 company and Top in Transportation on Fortune’s list of America’s Most Innovative Companies, will be an MDK Team sponsor, and primary sponsor for Tesch.

Farley’s passion for automobiles continues outside of the workplace. He is a collector and racer of vintage vehicles, and it is not uncommon to find him on tracks around the world racing his 1965 Ford GT 40, 1966 427 Cobra, or 1978 Lola 298, among others. He also recently launched DRIVE, a podcast that rekindles America’s love affair with cars.

Tait Jr. joins the MDK team as a seasoned racer with a track record of success. He earned an outstanding 85% podium finish rate in numerous top-tier events. His resume includes competing in the 2022 and 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championships, as well as the 2018 and 2019 Porsche GT3 Cup Sprint Trophy Championships.

Tesch rounds out the MDK roster fresh off the 2023 Skip Barber Formula Car series and spent 2022 competing in the British National Formula Ford Series. A pediatric brain cancer survivor turned race car driver, Tesch’s life was documented in the film “Do Something Extraordinary,” streaming on Amazon.

“I am so excited to participate in the first Mustang Challenge race of 2024 at Mid-Ohio with the team from MDK Motorsports,” said Farley. “This is an amazing time for Mustang as we grow our family to include grassroots racing all the way up to the Mustang GT3 which will compete at Le Mans next week. Like all the racers this weekend, I have a lot to learn in a short amount of time, but I can’t wait to get out there and enjoy some close battles with like-minded Mustang racing fans.”

“It’s incredibly thrilling for MDK Motorsports to welcome Jim to the team as part of this inaugural season of the Mustang Challenge racing series,” said Megan Kvamme, CEO of MDK Motorsports. “Jim, along with Tom and Gabe, completes an impressive MDK roster for this season – an exceptionally talented team that promises to be a formidable force on the racetrack.”

Jan Magnussen with MDK added, “Having Jim, Tom, and Gabe on board is incredibly exciting. Their combined talent and enthusiasm will undoubtedly elevate our team’s performance on the track in Ohio. We look forward to pushing the limits and making our mark in this exhilarating new racing series.”

Created by Ford Performance and sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), the Mustang Challenge allows drivers up to FIA silver ratings to compete on a level playing field against other racers aboard the same 500 horsepower, V8-powered car – the engine sourced from the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse coupe road car.

Each event will feature two 30-minute practice sessions, one 15-minute qualifying session, and two 45-minute sprint races. The series will be the home of the Mustang® Dark Horse™ R, Ford Performance’s latest turnkey race car. It begins a potential ladder of opportunity up to the Ford Mustang GT4 and on to the ultimate expression of the Mustang racing lineup, the Ford Mustang GT3.

Additional Mustang Challenge events this year will include the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, June 20-23; the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 2-4; the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas August 31-September 1; and the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana October 4-6.