Ford racing school expands to North Carolina

Following a successful decade-plus run at the Utah Motorsports Campus, Ford Performance is expanding its Racing School operations not only in size but also from a locational standpoint. Rather than basing its entire business in one place, Ford is creating Ford Performance Racing School East and Ford Performance Racing School West. The decision moves all track and pavement-based schools to Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS), while the off-roading experiences will still take place in Utah.

Going forward, there will technically be four different locations that host Ford’s driving classes. Road courses will be in Concord, North Carolina, off-road courses like the Raptor Assault will take place at a new dedicated facility in Tooele, Utah, and the new ST SUV Experience owner program will be hosted at “satellite locations” in Asheville, North Carolina and Park City, Utah. 

The shift was a two-fold decision. In addition to growing beyond its current setup, the move spreads the love across the country. Moving the track classes to the east coast makes it more difficult for people on the west, but it helps the overall program by offering experiences on both sides of the U.S. CMS makes perfect sense, as North Carolina is one of America’s biggest racing hubs, and it offers a new infield road course, the oval, and the zMAX dragstrip. Ford plans to launch the GT350 Time Attack and ST Octane Academy programs (plus other “retail school programs) in spring of 2020. 

In Tooele, Ford will be operating out of a newly renovated 45,000-square-foot headquarters, which has offices, classrooms, vehicle maintenance areas, and vehicle storage areas. Like before, Ford will still use Utah’s gorgeous and diverse landscape for its Raptor Assault program, which includes desert runs and mountain trails. A dedicated off-road course will also be used as a training ground for Michelin and BFGoodrich. 

The new ST SUV experience will be offered for Edge ST and Explorer ST owners. Planting the flag in Park City allows Ford to add a lifestyle element to the experience, in addition to the mountain drives and “high-energy performance driving exercises.” And in an interesting twist, the program will also offer the opportunity to do biathlon shooting at Soldier Hollow, which hosted events during the 2002 Winter Olympics. 

The expansion comes not long after news broke in November 2018 that Geely was set to buy the Utah Motorsports Campus, though Ford says the moves were made purely based on a need for more space and diverse facilities.