Those heading to the Ford Performance Racing School next year will be in for a totally new experience. The racing school said in a Wednesday announcement that it will leave the Utah Motorsports Campus and instead operate at two sites in the U.S.
The racing school will be split between pavement/track-based programs and off-road programs. This will create Ford Performance Racing School East and Ford Performance Racing School West. The eastern outfit will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Out west, a new facility in Tooele, Utah, not far from the Utah Motorsports Campus that currently hosts the school, will handle the off-road programs.
One program will be available at both the East and West schools: the ST SUV Experience. Ford said ST SUV owners will have the choice of booking the program at satellite facilities in Park City, Utah, and Asheville, North Carolina.
Ford Performance Racing School
Ford Performance explained the decision to leave the Utah Motorsports Campus comes as the programs continue to grow. The ST line has also expanded to the brand's SUV portfolio for the first time with the Edge ST and Explorer ST. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the strategy shift comes after Chinese automaker Geely purchased the Utah Motorsports Campus in 2018. All contracts were set to be honored. When Motor Authority asked Ford if the move out of the Utah Motorsports Campus had anything to do with Geely's purchase, Bill Johnson, sales and marketing manager for Ford Performance Racing School, said the move is "strictly due to outgrowing the facility."
Ford Performance Racing School
At either facility, the experience promises to be incredible. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ford will take advantage of the in-field track, the oval, and the dragstrip. Buildings already onsite will support Ford and its racing school guests for programs like the GT350 Track Attack and ST Octane Academy. At the western unit, a new facility will include classrooms, offices, and a vehicle maintenance center. Expect plenty of high desert trails and tall mountain routes for the Raptor Assault off-road program. Further, Ford said the new facility will serve as a training ground for Michelin and BFGoodrich.
Assuming all goes according to plan, Ford said the pavement-based schools will begin in spring 2020. The west-side activities should be up and running at the beginning of 2020.