Why teams in revamped Ford line-up can (and can't) lead Blue Oval attack

Ford mean business in the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship.

After doing the championship and Bathurst double last year, Ford have only strengthened their ranks into the new season, signing on Triple Eight Race Engineering as their new homologation team.

It marks the first time since 2009 that Triple Eight will run with the Blue Oval, with their attack spearheaded by 2025's dominant force Broc Feeney and 2024 champion Will Brown.

Triple Eight essentially step into the pace of Toyota-bound Walkinshaw Andretti United, and will also prepare an entry for SCT Motorsport, taking Ford's car count to 11.

So, will Triple Eight continue their dominance over the field, or will one of the established Ford teams rise to the challenge to lead the way? Talking to Supercars.com, Cam Waters welcomed Triple Eight to Ford, but insisted he wants to beat them, too.

Having unpacked the new-look Chevrolet line-up, Supercars.com looks at the reasons why each Ford team can (and can't) lead the way for the Blue Oval in 2026.

Have your say in the poll below!

Red Bull Ampol Racing

Can: Red Bull Ampol Racing are quite simply the gold standard of Supercars, and have been for 20 years. They have changed manufacturers before without a dip in performance, and it's hard to see that story changing with their latest change back to Ford.

Can't: Triple Eight have enjoyed a long and successful relationship with KRE Race Engines, which dates right the way back to Kenny McNamara's initial involvement with Triple Eight in 2003. Now, KRE remain with Chevrolet, with Triple Eight to run Ford's engine program in-house. Whether this - or indeed Triple Eight building and preparing a third car for SCT Motorsport - impacts the performance of the two Red Bull entries could be worth keeping an eye on.

Penrite Racing

Can: Penrite Racing unlocked a winning formula last year, and have largely kept the same pieces into the new season. Matt Payne and Kai Allen might be the youngest driver pairing on the grid, but what they lack in experience they make up for in raw speed and talent. With stability for the most part, the major changes Triple Eight are going through could present a massive opportunity, especially early in the season.

Can't: Whilst there is stability for the most part, there are a few key personnel changes heading into the new season. The most substantial change is the departure of David Cauchi as Team Principal, with the former Triple Eight engineer instrumental in taking the team forward. There are also engineering changes, as Alister McVean moves to an overarching Head of Performance role, with ex-Ferrari F1 employee Riccardo Corte stepping in as Allen's race engineer. Whether or not there will be a bedding in period for Corte remains to be seen.

Tickford Racing

Can: Out of all 12 teams in the Supercars paddock, Tickford retain the most stability into 2026. Cam Waters and Thomas Randle remain, as do their respective engineers Sam Potter and Chris Stuckey, We saw last year with Waters' remarkable opening account in Sydney that when they're on song, they're hard to stop. The dawn of a new year once again represents the perfect opportunity to strike...

Can't: ...however they have to maintain the rage for a full season. Waters is the most successful driver for Ford in the Gen3 era, winning 10 races, but hasn't been consistent enough to challenge for a title. Randle also needs to win races when the opportunity presents itself, having knocked on the door of a race win several times in the past few years.

Shell V-Power Racing Team

Can: Dick Johnson Racing's rebuild is taking shape, with Brodie Kostecki winning three races in trademark fashion last year. However, there were quiet weekends, with Tasmania a particularly low point for the team. But by the end of the season - save for his mammoth qualifying crash on the Gold Coast - Kostecki was right in the thick of things more often than not. If that momentum continues to build, he'll be hard to contain come Finals

Can't: If they are to finish the year as the best of the Ford teams, the strength of the teams that finished above them last year means it needs to be a two-car effort. Kostecki welcomes a new teammate in rookie Rylan Gray this year, whose expectations have publicly been stated as, ''consistent finishes and progressive improvement.' Whether that entails finishes at the head of the field or not remains to be seen, but you would expect Kostecki to do the lion's share at least to start the year.

Blanchard Racing Team

Can: Blanchard Racing Team might have lost the technical support of Toyota-bound Walkinshaw, but in their place will come Triple Eight Race Engineering. BRT will be the only team to enjoy technical support from the 13-time teams' champions this year, and also welcome James Golding in place of the retiring James Courtney. Aaron Cameron also remains having shown immense promise towards the end of the year.

Can't: Golding has already gone on the record to say how his switch to BRT has brought new life into his career, but now that must turn into results on track. Whilst Golding has been brought in to lead the team further forward, you can argue that he hasn't got the strongest runs on the board in that regard, though the other side to that story is no team he has driven for has given him the chance. Regardless, it will be an interesting story to watch.

SCT Motorsport

As the sole single-car operation on the grid, SCT Motorsport won't lead the way for the Ford contingent from a points perspective, but they can certainly make a strong account of themselves. Having departed the Brad Jones Racing stable, SCT now find themselves running a Triple Eight-built Mustang with rookie Jackson Walls, who was a contender for the Super2 rookie of the year title last year. With arguably the strongest equipment on the grid, there's every chance that SCT could make a leap forward, but Walls has yet to make a single Supercars start.

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.