Ford is good about getting their top performing cars out in the public eye, but what happens to those cars that seem like a good idea but end up under performing in the limelight? Well, they end up on Leo Parente’s list of secret Ford race cars, for one, which he shares this week on the DRIVE network’s show Shakedown. Check it out above and tell us which cars he’s missing!

When talking about Ford performance, two cars instantly come to mind- the Mustang and the Ford GT. But while these cars are no secret, they actually have ties to some of the lesser-known Ford Racing ventures, like the original Mustang concept design, the Mustang II-turned IMSA racer, the Ford GT70 and even the McLaren-built Ford GT-X1 Spider. And that’s not even the half of it.

Parente also discusses the Dick Johnson Tru-Blu XD Falcon of famed Australian racing status, the J-Car, which was brought to the states as a US Le Mans test mule and lead to the design of the Mark IV, the P68, and even the ’58 Ford Thunderbird that raced in the first Daytona 500. And then of course, there is the ’65 Yellow Banana Galaxie raced by Junior Johnson, the ’69 Torrino Talladega and the never-raced King Cobra Talladega.

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You're well aware of the Fords on the track these days, but chances are you haven't heard of of either these!

All these cars and more have propelled Ford Racing forward to where they are today, even if many of them were far from successful. But what would a good racing program be without a few flops in the mix?