DGR-Crosley switches to Fords

Tyler Ankrum in the DGR-Crosley Toyota

DGR-Crosley announced a manufacturer change Wednesday as it joins forces with the historic Ford Performance family, effective immediately. The David Gilliland-led driver development program will field Ford entries across multiple racing series including late models, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

The multi-year manufacturer agreement will help further develop Ford’s pipeline of young talent to support its successful efforts in NASCAR’s top series.

“We’re very excited to have DGR-Crosley come to Ford as part of our long-term efforts to develop drivers for NASCAR," said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “We have just scratched the surface of what is possible in developing the next generation of Ford drivers with people like Chase Briscoe, and we believe a coordinated effort with a team like DGR-Crosley will help move that process forward successfully. David Gilliland was a trusted and valued Ford driver in NASCAR for many years, and we look forward to renewing that relationship with him in this new effort."

The partnership will also provide DGR-Crosley and its drivers with assets that will help elevate its program to a championship-caliber organization across multiple racing series. While Ford is new to the driver development program that was established in 2017, Gilliland has a long-standing relationship with the manufacturer. The veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver was a part of the Ford family for nearly 10 years in his full-time racing days.

“I’m super excited about the partnership with Ford and how things are lining up for 2020," said team co-owner Gilliland. “I spent a lot of time racing Fords throughout my career, and it’s really special to now be able to bring them into our race shop. A lot of time and consideration was spent on this decision, and internally we know that this is the move that we needed to make in order to advance our program to the top level. We have a great group of hard-working, talented people at DGR-Crosley, and with Ford coming on board, our future is really bright. We’re excited for all the things ahead."

A lineup of DGR-Crosley drivers that will join the Ford Performance team in 2020 will be released in the coming days.