Show Notes
Over 100 years of Ford throwing everything they had at every finish line on Earth. James Pumphrey, Vin Anatra, and Zach Redpath dig through Ford's archives for the best stories in racing, from Le Mans to NASCAR to the Baja desert. 8 episodes. The first two drop September 30. Follow now so you don't miss it. Produced by Speeed in partnership with Ford Racing.
More from You Better Win: The History of Ford Racing
Long before the Raptor changed truck culture, a soft-spoken California race car builder named Bill Stroppe fell in love with the Ford Bronco. James, Vin and Zach trace how a publicity stunt grew into the Baja 1000, and how Stroppe and Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones turned a napkin sketch into Big Oly, the winged Bronco that smashed the Baja record by more than an hour. From there it's six decades of Ford using the desert as its lab, from the Rough Riders to today's Raptor and Ford's push to win Dakar.
When Enzo Ferrari walked away from a deal to sell his company to Ford, Henry Ford II set out to beat him at the race Ferrari owned: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. James, Vin and Zach dig into how Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles and a crew of unsung engineers turned the GT40 into a world-beater, and how Ford went from humbling defeats to a historic 1-2-3 finish in 1966. Along the way they compare the real story to the hit film Ford v Ferrari, pore over Miles' original test logbooks in the Ford Archives, and hold the internal note that gave this series its name.
Before NASCAR had a name, Ford V8s were already tearing up the sand at Daytona Beach. James, Vin and Zach trace Ford's stock car story from the flathead V8 and Bill France's first races to the Wood Brothers inventing the modern pit stop, the 427 wars, and Richard Petty walking across the street to drive a Ford. Then come Jack Roush's self-funded leap into Cup racing and Penske joining the Blue Oval, all the way up to Joey Logano's championships in the Mustang.
In 1967, Ford paid £100,000 for a brand-new V8 it had never seen run. It won its very first race, then went on to win 154 more. James Pumphrey, Vin Anatra and Zach Redpath dig into how Henry Ford II, Colin Chapman's Lotus and a tiny engine shop called Cosworth built the DFV, and how Ford then sold it to anyone who wanted one. Suddenly small teams could beat the giants, and names like Williams and McLaren got their shot. Plus how that thread runs from Jackie Stewart's team to Jaguar to Red Bull, and Ford's return to F1 in 2026.
In 1901, Henry Ford was 38, out of work, and one failed company deep. So he built a racecar and challenged America's biggest name in cars to a head-to-head race in front of 8,000 people. James Pumphrey, Vin Anatra and Zach Redpath kick off You Better Win: The History of Ford Racing with the story that started it all. From the Quadricycle and the 2 AM test drive that required an axe, to the Sweepstakes upset over Alexander Winton at Grosse Pointe, to the 999 and Barney Oldfield. Plus James and Vin ride in an exact replica of Sweepstakes at The Henry Ford, and the crew explains where the name "You Better Win" came from.