Cole Loftsgard is coming off an impressive 2026 campaign aboard the Round 3 Racing No. 42 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R.
Loftsgard capped the season by securing the Dark Horse (DH) championship, adding multiple race wins and podium finishes along the way as he completed a breakthrough campaign. With the 2026 Mustang Challenge season now in the books, Loftsgard has had an opportunity to reflect on the season that culminated in his first Dark Horse class title.
“The word that keeps coming back to me is validating,” Loftsgard said. “I know that’s boring, but for me it’s the most true statement I can make. I’ve been spending a lot of time and energy and, you know, a lot of my own money in the early days, even up to recently trying to make this happen. There’s been a lot of sacrifices, and I’m not just talking about this year, but ever since late 2018 when I tried to get back into racing. It’s been a long journey. So, for or it to all accumulate into a championship here, it’s validating a bad effort. But more importantly, it also shows me that I can do this, that I’m a capable driver.
“It’s pretty cool to say that I’m a championship-winning driver at the IMSA level. There’s not a lot of people on the planet that can say that. And it’s really an honor. It’s really, really cool to be part of that group.
“Obviously, I’m excited for what it means for the future and how this can help propel things. But, you know, really at a personal level, it’s that for me right now. It’s validating. It reaffirms to me that I can do this and, you know, it makes me feel that, you know, I’ll be ready for anything in the future as well.”
A Championship Built Through Adaptability
Loftsgard’s championship campaign was anything but straightforward. While the Round 3 Racing driver could rely on the performance of his No. 42 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R to deliver wins at times, battles with some of the top drivers in the Dark Horse class presented different challenges throughout the season.
Those circumstances required Loftsgard to adapt from race to race, with both pace and racecraft playing important roles in his championship pursuit.
“The season itself was very interesting,” Loftsgard said. “It was a melting pot of different races. I felt like we had races in many different ways. Some races we had to win through pace, some we had to win through race craft, whether it was, you know, offense, defense.
“When you have a season like that and you can walk away as a champion and, you know, after having to race multiple different ways and earn it multiple different ways, you know, that’s pretty cool.
“I wish we were a little bit stronger at the end of the year. COTA was a little bit disappointing. But COTA aside, I think we put together a year to be really proud of and effort to be really proud of. I’m the driver of the team, but obviously the people behind me, everyone on the team, my car chief, car owner, all the mechanics. I mean, this is a team sport and it’s their championship as much as it is mine.”
One of Loftsgard’s primary championship rivals was Devin Anderson, who piloted the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R for his family-owned TechSport Racing operation.
Anderson also produced a multi-win campaign and remained in contention for the Dark Horse drivers’ championship, resulting in several notable battles with Loftsgard throughout the season. Loftsgard believes that level of competition will benefit both drivers as they continue progressing through the Ford Racing ladder.
“It’s huge,” Loftsgard said. “Devin and I actually had a really nice conversation about this at the banquet. We both told each other that we appreciated the other because the other made us better because we had to elevate our game to compete against each other and we’re in these side-to-side scraps, we’re in these situations where we have to play offense or defense.
“That’s good for both of us because if one of us just runs away with a championship, you don’t really have the experience of that throughout the year. You’ve got good pace. That’s awesome. But you miss out on the chance to develop your race craft. And the further up the ladder you go in racing, the more it becomes about race craft and how your race craft separates you.
“I think Devin and I really elevated each other this year. That’s going to be a very important tool for both of us as we progress. Not just Devin, but there are numerous guys in the Mustang Challenge paddock that I had good moments with.
“When everyone races clean and everyone races with respect, but they race with passion and, you know, desire and, you know, everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to be on the podium. That’s the recipe for good racing and good driver development as well.”
Built Through Years With Round 3 Racing
While Loftsgard’s competition played a role in his development, so too has his longstanding relationship with Round 3 Racing.
The partnership dates back several years, with the 2026 championship representing the latest chapter in a relationship built through endurance racing and shared success.
“Brad (McCall) and everybody on the team have a lot of passion for what they do,” Loftsgard said. “They really care, they really care about what they do. That shows and not just their effort on the car, but everything just how they conduct themselves throughout the day. It’s a real privilege to have that.
“Brad and I met actually back in 2020. We met real briefly at a racetrack at a WRL event because we were racing against each other. He had his Porsche Boxster program and I had a 2010 Mustang V6. We’re like, okay, let’s go endurance racing. So, that was my introduction to Round 3 Racing was racing against them.
“I realized pretty quickly that trying to be a team owner and a driver is pretty difficult, particularly when you’re on a shoestring budget. I had two mechanics with me. It didn’t go very well. But, we did pretty well for what we had. I just realized pretty quickly that I needed to focus on the driving side of this. So, I talked to Brad and Brad initially we came to an agreement that was just a few races and GP3 Boxster, but it turned into a lot more.
“Right away it was just the right fit. It was awesome to work with those guys. I still have lifelong friendships with a few of the guys from the original crew back in 2021-22. So just a lot of good memories. We ended up winning a lot of races together. Obviously, what we did in WRL in 2024 and ’25 was pretty incredible. It just, it felt right. It just felt natural.”
Loftsgard had other opportunities to join different teams for the 2026 Mustang Challenge season, but his established relationship with Round 3 Racing ultimately brought him back to the program.
“I did talk to a couple other teams leading up into this season with Mustang Challenge,” Loftsgard said. “But, you know, I really, I wanted—I wanted to do it with Brad. When I initially talked to him about it, I actually wasn’t expecting him to be very perceptive about it, but he was, he was all about it. We put the program together.
“There were still some pieces that needed to come together financially, of course, and some other things, but those things came together. I’ve got some great people behind me who are with the team but are a little bit, you know, just outside of the inner team sphere.
“Joe Koenig with Trintech’s Drywall had been absolutely instrumental to where I’ve been able to go in racing the last couple of years. He kind of saved my career in many ways in 2024 with that Porsche program.
“After 2023, I didn’t have much going and I really wasn’t sure what I was going to be doing in 2024. I get the call from Brad. Brad introduced me initially to Joe and I get the call from Brad, hey, Joe wants you to come race with him Mid-Ohio for WRL. we did that and the rest was history.
“I owe Joe my progress from there and obviously he’s helped me out a lot with the Mustang program as well. It was cool to see him drive. He had a little bit of an up-and-down stretch in the Mustangs himself, but it was great to see him at least get that podium and get that redemption arc.
“There’s just—there’s so many people. I know it’s the cliché thing to say. But, you know, when you look back on the journey, you think of all the people on the team, all the people outside of the team. Friends and family, obviously, who are a big reason of why you got the opportunity you got, it just makes you very grateful.”
Loftsgard’s 2026 Campaign Continues
While the Mustang Challenge season has concluded, Loftsgard’s 2026 campaign is far from over.
The coming months will include additional opportunities behind the wheel, including his continued program in Brazil’s Campeonato Gaúcho de Endurance with Mottin Racing in the No. 46 AJR Prototype, along with additional commitments with Ford and a trip to Portugal.
“Well, it’s actually not an offseason,” Loftsgard said. “I’ve got two races left in Brazil to try to close out a championship there. I’m part of a three-driver team in this endurance series where we run out of prototype. We are the points leaders, barely.
“We won the first two races of the season and then we had a crash in the third one. The fourth one, we finished second. So, we’re the points leaders, but it’s not over. We have to battle through and try to come through these last two. But yeah, so I got that going on.
“Still got some stuff with Ford, actually. Then I’m also going to Portugal to do some stuff there. So, yeah, so it’s the offseason doesn’t really feel like an offseason yet. There still might be some races to be picked up along the way. But really, the more I can be in the car, the better because that’s what keeps you fresh as a driver, I think it’s if I’m out of a car for more than five to six weeks, you definitely feel that when you get back in the car. It’s not as automatic as it normally is session. So, I think it’s to your advantage if you can if you can stay fresh.”
One of those opportunities will come at Ford Racing’s Proud To Honor: Veterans Day Classic, which will feature IMSA’s Mustang Challenge machinery, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R and drivers from across the Ford racing program.
Round 3 Racing is set to field two cars in the special invitational event in November, with Loftsgard also expected to play a role in the team’s effort following his Mustang Challenge championship.
“Yeah, I’m excited for it,” Loftsgard said. “I know it’s—I’m really happy for Brad to land this event and, you know, I know he’s super excited to be approached for that and he deserves it.
“The team he’s assembled. The professionalism that the team has demonstrated throughout, not just this year, but obviously all the years that I’ve been with them, they really deserve it.
“Super cool. I don’t have as many details as I’d maybe like to have on it myself right now. I’m still kind of trying to figure out where I’m going to be plugging into and where I can be of assistance.
“But it’s just going to be great just to be there and kind of take it in and, you know, it’s obviously great to do these kinds of things alongside, you know, Ford as well. That’s going to grow our relationship. It’s cool to see these events with the amount of importance being placed on them. I think it’s very important for the motorsport community also for the greater community as well.”
GT4 Emerges as Loftsgard’s Focus
Heading into the coming seasons, Loftsgard sees the championship as a launching pad for the next step in his career, with a GT4 program emerging as his primary focus.
“It’s a great bargaining chip for sure,” Loftsgard said. “It definitely opens up the playbook for me for sure going into this year. This is the most-free season or pre-year funding that I’ve ever had. So that’s nice. I feel like we can do some stuff with that.
“Hopeful to do a pretty robust GT4 program. If I have my way, I would love to do a GT4 Europe and GT4 America program. Full schedules in both are probably not on the table, but maybe a full schedule in one, partial season in the other.
“The goal is to just get as much seat time as I can in that car and hopefully put some results together. I mean, at the end of the day, results matter, especially now. But I think the more seat time I can get in that car, the better of a chance I give myself to get those results.
“That’s the immediate goal is to try to put something together where I can just be in that car as much as possible. Hopefully there’s—there could be some options in Europe, had some conversations for stuff here in the U.S. as well. Maybe even some endurance racing, possibly with a previous series that I’ve been in or another series that’s similar.
“That’s all conversational at the moment. But there’s a bunch of irons in the fire. There’s a number of, you know, realities that could take place next year. Very excited for it. Certainly, it’s great to have this check mark on my resume. Teams a lot of times already know who you are now, which is great. It’s a little bit more difficult to get places in motorsports if you have to introduce yourself to people. People already knowing who you are makes it a lot easier.”
One of Loftsgard’s first opportunities to experience the Ford Mustang GT4 platform will come through the GT4 test awarded to the Mustang Challenge season champion.
The test will give Loftsgard an early opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Ford Mustang GT4 as he evaluates a potential move into the category.
“Super looking forward to that,” Loftsgard said. “I’ve driven a couple other GT4 platforms, but I haven’t driven, like, a modern, modern one. I haven’t driven one from the last year or two. I’ve driven a few of the, you know, older platforms, like maybe the Evo One platforms of the GT4 world. So, it’ll be cool to get into this car. I’ve heard great things about it.
“All the Ford development guys that I’ve talked to that have driven it say it’s awesome. It sounds great. I think it’s the best sounding GT4 car out there. Looking forward to that again.
“Getting seat time in that car is going to be important for me. I’m going to try to continue to get seat time and as much other stuff as I can too. As long as the opportunities in Brazil are there for me, I’ll keep doing that. And hopefully I can kind of find a nice balance between what I’m doing on the Ford side and what I’m doing over there.”
While Loftsgard’s focus is beginning to shift toward a potential full-time GT4 effort, he has not ruled out a return to Mustang Challenge for a one-off appearance in the series where he captured his first IMSA-sanctioned championship.
“I don’t want to say that, anything’s off the table because at the end of the day, you just don’t know,” Loftsgard said. “I mean, if you would have interviewed me in September 2023 and you would have asked me about 2024 plans, I would have been like, I don’t know, man. I’m probably just going to race the sofa, like, you know, maybe do some coaching.
“Maybe I’ll go drive the Nürburgring in one time. Like seriously, that probably would have been my answer. And it turned into a, you know, long three-year relationship with Trintech’s with Round 3 Racing and ultimately into this. I never want to shut out any possibilities.
“I don’t plan to be in the Mustang Challenge next year, but there’s always a possibility that there could be a one-off. I was actually really looking at that three-race championship, international championship that Ford talked about. That seems interesting to me with, you know, Daytona and Spa and Bathurst. But I just think the logistics, particularly the financial logistics of that are probably out of the cards. I don’t want that to take away from GT4 stuff. I think right now the GT4 has to be my focus.”
Round 3 Racing, meanwhile, is preparing for another busy season, with the team targeting a four-car Mustang Challenge program alongside its endurance racing efforts.
“We did talk a little bit about what a GT4 effort would look like. But at the end of the day, there’s only so many trucks, equipment and bodies that can be spread so thin. So, it’s probably not in the cards with Round 3 Racing, but there’s definitely a possibility that we could be doing maybe some endurance stuff together.
“I would really love to continue to drive with Round 3 Racing in some capacity next year and the years that come. I really—I have a great relationship with those guys. I really enjoy being with them and I think the feeling is mutual. I think we just—we have something good there and it works. It’s obviously been a very fruitful endeavor for us both. So, I hope we can do something. Hopefully by the end of October or November, we should have a pretty good idea.”
