Ford Racing Is Older Than Ford Motor Company. This New Podcast Revisits Its Most Important Chapters

“You Better Win.” The three-word phrase delivered from Henry Ford II on the eve of his company’s podium sweep at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans has become synonymous with Ford Racing over the years. With the division marking its 125th anniversary this year comes the launch of an eight-episode podcast that takes its title from Ford’s inspirational words, which kicked off the first of four straight victories at the legendary race. 

“What sums up motorsports better than that sentence?” series host James Pumphrey asked, noting that he and the production team behind the podcast decided on the name after seeing one of the actual cards that had been used to spread its message. “That was the attitude of Ford Racing, especially in the performance era of Hank the Deuce (Henry Ford II), where it’s like no matter what you have to do, just go win.”

The first two episodes of the limited series, hosted by Pumphrey, Vin Anatra, and Zach Redpath, premiered on Sept. 30, and new episodes are released weekly. The show is produced by Speeed, a popular automotive, lifestyle, and technology media brand that also has a dedicated YouTube Channel. 

While Ford Racing took what is quite possibly its most significant victory at Le Mans, it wasn’t established there. The beginning came some 60 years earlier as an upstart engineer named Henry Ford was struggling to make a name for himself in a crowded early automobile industry. The series goes all the way back to that race. Ford’s upset victory helped secure the funding to establish Ford Motor Company.  

“It all started with a race car,” producer Jesse Wood said. “(Ford Archivist) Ted Ryan in a new video says that Ford Racing is older than Ford ... I think it will come as a surprise to a lot of people, but it also goes to show just how intrinsically linked racing is with Ford.”

The series also revisits Ford’s first run in Formula 1™, where the company powered numerous champions to Grand Prix victories and championships as an engine supplier. Other highlights on the podcast’s schedule include a look at Ford’s legacy in NASCAR, which has included various series championships and manufacturers’ titles. The show also delves into the off-roading and drag racing disciplines during its run. 

“Ford has really touched every corner of motorsport,” Pumphrey said. “If there was someone racing a car at some point, Ford has been involved in it. ... There really isn’t a type of motorsport that Ford isn’t only involved in but pretty influential in.”

Hitting the History Books 

Wood added that research for the series added even more depth to their familiarity with the company’s motorsports pursuits and helped the group to see legendary Ford names as real people, calling Henry Ford’s initial struggle to found an automotive company “very inspiring.” 

Condensing more than a century of history into eight hour-long episodes was not an easy task, Redpath said. To do so, the team focused on people-centric storytelling that homed in on specific topics.

“It was a challenge for sure to pick and choose what was going to make it,” he said. “We focused on the people. That was ultimately like the filter that we ran everything through. ... We would always opt for the story that featured a central person, character, or somebody at Ford who is particularly passionate about something and pursued it.”

Rolling Out the Red Carpet 

Ford’s Archives team also played a supporting role in developing the series, helping supply the Speeed crew with access to the company’s vast collection of archival assets, including handwritten logs from testing at Le Mans. Pumphrey said that access helped give the storytelling more of a first-person perspective. 

“They really rolled out the red carpet for us,” Wood said. “And just getting to walk through those vaults and seeing some of the old manuscripts and trinkets and concept cars and stuff. It was not only very impressive but kind of moving at times.”

While the podcast leans heavily into the company’s racing heritage, it doesn’t lose sight of the team’s future, dedicating the series’ final episode to what is yet to come for Ford Racing. “You Better Win” is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. The podcast can also be found on Fordracing.com and the Ford Racing YouTube channel.