After a year away from the circuit in 2025, Mustang Challenge returns to action this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a 17-car field, marking the series’ return to the venue that hosted its inaugural event in 2024.

Ten entries are set to compete in the Dark Horse class, while seven cars will make up the Legends category for the pair of races at the Lexington, Ohio, circuit.

In the Dark Horse class, Cole Loftsgard enters the weekend looking to maintain his championship lead in the No. 42 Round 3 Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R after seeing his advantage trimmed during the series’ most recent event at Laguna Seca.

Among the drivers hoping to close the gap is second-place points contender Devin Anderson in the No. 22 TechSport Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R. Anderson arrives at Mid-Ohio with momentum on his side after claiming victory in Race 2 at Laguna Seca and currently trails Loftsgard by 60 points in the championship standings.

Two teams return to the grid this weekend, including the No. 28 G2 Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse R of Lucas Gigliotti, which was absent from the Laguna Seca round, and the No. 25 Flying Lizard Motorsports entry driven by Ethan Low. Flying Lizard Motorsports, which last competed at Sebring in the Dark Horse Legends class with team principal Bruce Griffin, moves up to the premier Dark Horse category for the Mid-Ohio weekend.

Wheelhouse Motorsports welcomes back Ford CEO Jim Farley in the No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R for his final scheduled event of the 2026 season. Additionally, former Indy NXT driver Nolan Allaire rejoins Spark Performance to pilot the No. 3 entry.

In the Legends category, Chris Clarke and the No. 9 Paley Motorsport w/ AAG Racing Mustang Dark Horse R enter Mid-Ohio holding a slim 20-point championship lead over Tom Tait and the No. 8 Wheelhouse Motorsports Mustang Dark Horse R. While Clarke did not sweep the Laguna Seca weekend, a pair of podium finishes helped him assume the points lead after Alex Bachoura was absent from the entry list. Bachoura is also expected to miss the foreseeable future following the birth of his first child.

The only change to the Legends field comes with the addition of Dave Luaces, who joins Birdhouse Racing this weekend in the team’s No. 37 Mustang Dark Horse R.

Race 1 of the Mustang Challenge weekend is scheduled for Friday at 1:50 p.m. ET, with Race 2 set for Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on Peacock and streamed internationally on IMSA’s official YouTube channel and IMSA.tv.

 

Image Courtesy to Mustang Challenge/Ford