Ford’s NASCAR Program Takes a Major Hit as High Profile Leadership Exit Prompts Concerning Admission From OEM Director

Last week, Ford released a statement regarding their future in NASCAR, yet within the statement was a revelation that cannot go unnoticed. Mark Rushbrook, Global Director at Ford Racing, said that finding a replacement for one longtime executive, Pat Di Marco, will not be an easy feat. It was quite meaningful coming from a manufacturer that has been active in the sport for many years. When people talk about manufacturers in NASCAR, the conversation generally revolves around engines, cars, drivers, and championships. Not too often do we hear about the person behind the scenes, connecting all those, which makes Di Marco’s departure quite significant. For several years, he had played a vital role in establishing and maintaining communication lines between NASCAR, Ford, and their racing teams. “It’s going to be a massive undertaking to find somebody to replace Pat because he’s been the bedrock and the foundation we’ve leaned on, so it’s a big hole to fill. It’s a very important job because we’re committed to NASCAR. We want to be in NASCAR forever and win races and championships, and we need somebody in the job that can carry it forward,” Rushbrook said, via Ford Racing. Di Marco announced his retirement on June 1 after more than three decades with Ford. Inside the NASCAR ecosystem, he had become the day-to-day bridge between Ford, NASCAR officials, and Ford’s teams – managing everything from technical support, like wind tunnel and simulator allocation, to helping shape competition vehicle development. In other words, when Ford teams needed alignment, Di Marco was often the person making sure it happened. Di Marco’s journey with the company started back in 1995 through the Ford College Graduate program after completing a master’s degree in engineering at The Ohio State University. Early on, he worked in data acquisition and ride-and-handling development before eventually moving into a full-time role with Ford Special Vehicle Operations in the NASCAR Truck Series. And unlike many executives who eventually drift away from the original passion, Di Marco never forgot why he entered motorsports in the first place. “I’ve been living the dream. I went to the Indianapolis 500 when I was 11 years old in 1982, and at the time watched the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history between Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears. I said to my dad, ‘I want to be one of those guys down there some day’ and 14 years later, when I walked into the Truck Series garage at Watkins Glen on July 1, 1996, I was,” Di Marco said, via Ford From the Road. His rise inside Ford NASCAR kept accelerating. In 2014, Di Marco became Ford Racing supervisor. By 2016, he had moved into the NASCAR Ford Racing program supervisor role, overseeing relationships across NASCAR leadership and Ford’s competitive operations. Then in 2019, he stepped into his most recent role as NASCAR and Analytics Manager, which eventually made him one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in Ford’s stock-car program. As of now, Ford Racing has not announced who will replace him. And judging by Mark Rushbrook’s comments, finding that person may be much harder than simply filling a title. The timing, too, isn’t great. Ford is already facing pressure from Toyota and Chevrolet as its cars stay embedded largely in winless columns. Besides Ryan Blaney’s singular victory at Phoenix, the program has nothing to show. The concerns aren’t entirely new, either. “But looking forward to a great ’26 and more consistency across the board, which I think with the RFK (Racing) cars running up front (Thursday) night, Ryan Preece with the win at The Clash. I think there’s some upside for ’26 for the Ford Motor Company,” Di Marco said last year, manifesting a reality that still seems too far. THE WINS THAT MATTERED FOR DI MARCO For all the engineering meetings, technical reports, and manufacturer strategy sessions, Pat Di Marco still remembered moments in NASCAR through wins. And not just because they counted in record books. “When Joey Logano won the championship in 2018 after such a long drought, that was one of my most memorable moments. Another was being part of Jack Roush winning his first Cup championship with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and again with Kurt Busch in 2004.” Di Marco had lived through multiple eras of Ford’s NASCAR story. During the early 2000s, he worked as a resident engineer with Roush Racing and experienced one of the manufacturer’s strongest stretches, helping support championship-winning efforts with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch in 2004. Then came the drought. He didn’t win another Cup championship for 14 years. That’s why the 2018 title hit differently. In 2018, Joey Logano captured his first NASCAR Cup Series championship driving the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske by winning the season finale at Homestead and beating fellow Championship 4 contenders head-to-head. Rushbrook later admitted: “That 2018 championship was fantastic for the company and for me in my role, but to see how much it meant to Pat still makes me emotional to this day.” And maybe that’s the best summary of Di Marco’s career. He closed his retirement message simply: “My thanks to Ford and the Ford family for giving a kid from Cleveland, Ohio, the opportunity to live his dream… We’re here to win, and when we do, everybody is happy.” Now Ford’s challenge is finding someone who sees the job the same way – not just as work, but as something worth building a lifetime around.