Paley Enjoying “Best of Both Worlds” in Globetrotting Year

Photo: SRO/JEP

Sam Paley said he’s been enjoying a busy and diverse year of sports car racing on three different continents, while wearing two hats, although all aligned under the Ford Racing umbrella.

The 24-year-old American, a member of Ford Racing’s Driver Development Team, is in his first seasons of racing overseas, in both the GT4 European Series and Monochrome GT4 Australia, while also juggling team ownership in both Mustang Challenge North America and Mustang Cup USA.

It has made for a globe-trotting year, where Paley has already racked up more than 100,000 air miles jetting between North America, Europe and Australia, often on consecutive weekends.

He explained his end-of-year return to Mustang Challenge competition as a driver in 2025 helped re-establish his Paley Motorsport operation, which was initially built for Mazda MX-5 club and Cup racing.

“That’s something I really enjoy doing and something I wanted to do. Given my relationship with Ford, it just made sense to pivot that same enterprise, just in the Ford Racing ecosystem,” he told Sportscar365.

“That was Goal 1 of the year and Goal 2 was… obviously I’m a race car driver at heart; I love driving and I’m still aspiring to achieve the many goals that I have set for my personal career.

“I was really motivated to try and look for opportunities outside the U.S.

“Jenson [Altzman] is a good friend of mine and he went over to Australia, and I was talking to some people initially about the Mustang Cup that has got announced in Australia.

“Then that started a conversation with Adam Wallis. We hit it off quite quickly. A deal came together very easily and it’s been great to race with his son, Jack, whose done a phenomenal job this year and has really, really improved in his first year with the series.

“Hopefully we can get some good results in that championship because the team’s definitely been making massive strides.”

Paley said the GT4 European program with Belgian outfit TeamFloral came together the week before the season opener at Paul Ricard.

“Obviously Erik Evans, Marco Signoretti, a lot of North Americans, did well in the series last year and won a couple of races,” he said. “In terms of excitement and competition levels, it’s the pinnacle GT4 series in the world.

“It was all a bit last minute. I was having some conversations with Ford and with what they’re trying to do going forward. They’re really making a big push in Europe.

“They wanted a lot of us to go over there and drive and get the experience of being in the European paddock and driving on some of European tracks.

“Conversations sped up very quickly and luckily I was able to find a great home with Jean-Marc and Ruben [Valckenaere] and Filip [Vava] at TeamFloral.”

Paley and co-driver Michiel Haverans have already achieved success in their Mustang GT4, with two podiums in the highly competitive series, including last time out at Spa-Francorchamps.

“It’s been a very good experience so far,” said Paley. “I think I’ve become a much better driver from it. These European tracks are certainly a lot different than the American tracks.

“It’s been very cool being able to experience three different continents and three different environments of racing all in the same year.”

Having “Right People” Key to Success of Paley Motorsport in North America

Paley admitted the “biggest challenge” has been balancing two race programs while also running his burgeoning single-make series team, which has achieved wins and podiums in Mustang Cup USA and Mustang Challenge North America competition this year.

“They really all work off each other,” he said. “The key is making sure you have the right people in place when I can’t be at the track.

“For example when I was at Spa, we had two cars competing at Watkins Glen with Paley Motorsport with AAG Racing in Mustang Challenge.

“Our team manager and engineer, Rick Reynolds, does a really good job of running the program in my absence. I’ve learned so much from him and being able to lean on him is truly a very, very important element of it all.”

Paley has also credited having a good network of driver coaches that fill in for him when he’s unable to attend the IMSA and USAC-sanctioned weekends due to his driving duties, including reigning Mustang Cup champion Will Lucas as well as Justin Piscitell and Aidan Fassnacht.

“The key is knowing the right people, how to put them in a position of success, and of course making sure they’re able to help the drivers achieve their goals and perform at their best,” he said.

“Without some of the connections that I’ve made in the last few years in the U.S., it definitely wouldn’t be possible.”

He believes his overseas racing experience will also pay dividends for his team.

“Heading into next year for the 2027 Mustang Challenge Spa Invitational, we’ve got some drivers and clients heading over there, and I got the chance to drive Spa three weeks ago,” said Paley.

“That’s going to make my life a lot easier in terms of car setup and driver coaching. We’ve also got a lot of good data and video to give our drivers before they even get over there, which of course is rare and difficult for a U.S. team.”

Paley: Ford Racing Pathway “Crystal Clear” for His Racing Future

As for his racing career, Paley said he’s targeting a GT4 championship title in the short-term but admitted he’d love to step up to the Mustang GT3 EVO in the future and tackle iconic events such as the Nürburgring 24, although also not ruling out a return as driver to IMSA competition.

What’s helped him in both his racing and business, however, has been his close affiliation with Ford Racing.

“The support from Ford has been amazing,” he said. “The big struggle a lot of drivers have that I’ve certainly had in the past is, ‘What is the path, what is the direction?’

“With a lot of manufacturer and series out there, ‘Well I’m in ‘X’ series and the clear next step is this.’ But after that where do I go from there?

“I think Ford has done such a good job building and evolving this ecosystem where the pathway and direction is crystal clear and they’ve really provided us the support and the resources to develop, to hopefully continue in that direction on that path and continue to advance throughout the ranks of motorsports.

“I really appreciate the support. Whether its at the sim in North Carolina, whether it’s at the track with people like Andy Priaulx, Jonathan Bartlett or Chris Ward.

“Having that direction and my goals in the sport be as clear as they are is a blessing and a lucky position to be in.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John