What stands behind Ford’s commitment to becoming ‘the Porsche of off-road racing’

3000 units. That’s the number of trucks initially projected by Ford executives to be sold when they took the cover off their ground-breaking F-150 Raptor at the 2008 SEMA show. Today the Blue Oval is marketing the third generation of its high-performance off-road truck to enthusiasts around the globe and has morphed into both a Raptor Ranger mid-size offering as well as the Bronco Raptor SUV.

This success has led Ford directly to the forefront of today’s international interest in the off-road adventure and motorsports space. In fact, marching orders from company CEO and racing enthusiast Jim Farley clearly define the mission: Farley wants Ford to be “the Porsche of off-road racing.”

Ford and Polaris are leading the factory efforts back into the off-road racing space, with Honda, Chevrolet and Can-Am also supporting motorsports efforts to some level. Word on the trails is that Toyota is taking a serious look at joining the high-performance off-road market, as is RAM. While it may not reflect the halcyon factory truck racing era of the late 1980s to early 1990s, enthusiasts and racers around the world can certainly give thanks today to a pending uptick in factory participation and support.

The company’s all-out assault at the recently completed 58th BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000 made clear Ford brass is committed to making that bold undertaking a reality. Not only was Ford celebrating 15 years of Raptor in Baja, but it was the last official event under the Ford Performance umbrella. Starting next year, all motorsports will be conducted under the Ford Racing rebranding.

“Baja is Raptor. This is our proving ground,” explained Ford Racing Off-Road Motorspors Supervisor Brian Novak. “That’s how learned to set up our proving ground on those initial trucks before launching the 2010 production units. This is where we learn. Baja is part of Raptor’s DNA.”

Indeed, the Raptor concept has authentic Baja roots that stretch back even further. Former Ford executive Jamal Hameedi, who had served as program manager for the 2005 Ford GT, had also taken interest in long travel off-road trucks and specifically luxury pre-runners. A relationship with Todd Clement and Tommy Morris of Wide Open Baja soon ensued. The company was famous for high-end tours of Baja with specially built, open-wheel buggies, but also in building state-of-the-art prerunner Fords – most specifically the red front I-beam truck driven by Mario Andretti in the iconic film “Dust to Glory.”

“One of are key goals here is that tech transfer in learning. We bring other engineers down that may not be part of the motorsports program so that when they go back and work on Raptors at home, they’ve seen the hardcore terrain – and what it takes to get the job done after going all night,” added Novak.

Ford’s Baja 1000 effort included 12 Ford engineers, with an additional 68 team members, drivers, co-drivers and support staff. On hand were 28 Blue Oval vehicles, with prerunners and chase trucks provided by Ford’s Arizona proving grounds.

There was a massive armada of battle-tested talent behind Ford’s four-truck Baja effort.

All that was needed to properly support a four Raptor attack piloted by a hand-selected mix of familiar off-road racing royalty and some fresh new faces. The recently completed No. 8135 F-150 Raptor for the Stock Full category was entered for Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Ford factory driver Brad Lovell, along with King of the Hammers champion Jason Scherer and Austin Robinson. A second F-150, this one the potent No. 8152 Raptor R, teamed John Williams, Jason Hutter and Boyd Jaynes.

The all-star line-up of Vaughn Gitten Jr., Loren Healy and Bailey Campbell were teamed in the No. 766 Bronco Raptor for the Stock Mid-Size class (pictured, top). They were competing for a category victory against Le Mans 24 Hours champion and former Porsche factory driver Romain Dumas, Bailey Cole and Wayne Isrealsen in the No. 773 Ranger Raptor.

When racing with this type of production vehicle it’s all about mechanic sensitivity, added Ford Off-Road Motorsports Program Manager Mike Nienhuis. “It’s the same in road racing. You set your pace but must keep in mind you’ve got to give it to the next guy.”

Four factory Ford entries. It was the largest such effort since the now legendary Ford Rough Rider program of the late 1980 and early ’90s, that, at one point, campaigned seven trucks in various SCORE full-size, mini-truck and SUV categories. Memories of Bill Stroppe’s original Bronco and Big Oly NORRA Mexican 1000 programs are cemented via fading black and white images showing multiple race-prepped Fords crossing into Mexico on large, double-decker car haulers. Most of those entries, however, were for privateers like Larry Minor and actor James Garner.

Ford’s Baja 1000 campaign took months of careful planning and coordination. All those human and mechanical assets require a multi-layered war plan to function, and that management task fell largely on the experienced shoulders of Lovell and fellow Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Curt LeDuc. From an initial shakedown and team meeting in Johnson Valley, Calif., weeks before the race to multiple days of pre-running, photo shoots, data acquisition and more team meetings, Ford’s ultimate game day strategy was focused, honed and then re-honed again.

Taming the Baja sounds cliché in 2025, but reality proves the time-tested stereotype. 168 four-wheel teams officially started the race. Only 92 reached the finish line within the 36 hours allotted by SCORE International.

Lovell, Robinson and Scherer took a class victory and a 60th overall finish in their F-150 Raptor.

Ford’s ultimate performance story at the 1000 could fill a book. Baja is always going to Baja, with some torrential rain only adding to the difficult theater of war the race has represented since 1967. From the Raptor Ranger hitting a rut and tearing the front suspension corner at race mile 19 to Lovell, Robinson and Scherer taking a class victory and a 60th overall finish in their F-150 Raptor, each entry and a tired factory crew overcame the endurance challenge to complete every mile and see the Ensenada finish. Gittin Jr., Healy and Campell also claimed a category win in the No. 776 Bronco Raptor, while despite heroic efforts the Ranger Raptor and Raptor R failed to complete the race under SCORE’s mandated 36-hour time limit.