Mustang's 45th Anniversary Extravaganza

[mark@stangtv]

For the 45th Birthday of the old Pony, cars from around the nation will make their way Alabama for a weekend filled with activities. Everything from a road race, car show, to drifting will be on hand to help celebrate for this monumental event! We will be having coverage all weekend with reporting that will start Saturday evening.

Click Here to watch the Weekend Highlights Video.



Saturday Photo Gallery - Click Here
Sunday Photo Gallery - Click Here

Sunday Videos
Weekend Highlights - With over 2300 Mustangs in one place, this was the event to be at.
First Paxton Supercharged 2010 Mustang Debut
Vortech Superchargers new VTS Twin Screw
Doug Van Den Brink of Formula D at the 45th Anniversary Mustang Celebration

[mark@stangtv]

Ted Anthony made a clean sweep in round 3 of the 2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge championship at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, converting the pole position he won in the morning to a race victory in the afternoon to score maximum championship points as he crossed the line ahead of Andrew Caddell after the duo battled closely through the entire 45-minute race distance.

Click here to watch the video interview with Ted Anthony.



The race, staged as part of the 45th Anniversary Celebrations of the Ford Mustang, ran under green flag conditions for the entire race distance, and featured several battles through the 21-car field, starting from the very first corner of competition.

While the charts will show that he started and finished in first, the race was far from straight forward for Anthony, who has now won three of the last four Mustang Challenge Races. At the drop of the green, Caddell made a strong surge from the outside of the front row to take the lead cleanly in the downhill turn one left hander. Anthony fought right back, going side by side into the corkscrew-like corner nearly side by side before Caddell emerged as the clear leader by the end of lap one. The two stayed in close competition as Caddell was shadowed by Anthony, who made his move on lap 13 and made it stick to grow his lead to the checkered flag.



“The TC Motorsports guys gave me a great car over the long runs,” said Anthony. “At the end of the race, the car was perfect. It was so balanced, and I could put the car wherever I wanted and I just took care of those BFGoodrich Tires to take the win. We were going see-saw back and forth there—he was quicker in some places, and I was faster in some others, but then he made a small mistake and went off and I was right there to take the spot and made it stick. I could get used to this!”

Caddell looked to be showing a replay of his round 1 victory, moving to the front from the outside front row and taking the lead, but the champ had to settle for second place, matching his result from the Mustang Challenge visit to Barber Motorsports Park in 2008.



“I got a good start, and I’m starting to like the outside a little bit more!” said Caddell. “I got beat on the outside a couple times last year, but now I’m learning how to make the most of it this year. He (Anthony) ran a really good race and was keeping right there with me, and I just overshot the keyhole that lap and he was right there to get by me. It was a good race. He tried me one time when we were going into the kink and I though we were going to come together but he raced me clean. We just need to work on some things with this car for tomorrows race so we can be a little bit stronger here tomorrow.”

Source Mustang Challenge Series

[Andrew Casselberry]

Vaughn Gittin, Jr. was at the 45th Anniversary Mustang celebration showing his Mustang brothers and sisters on the property the versatility of his drift Mustang. After completing one of his drifting exhibition runs, Gittin spoke to us about the new car and his trip to Japan.



How’s the new 2010 car and based on last week at Long Beach how competitive is it?

“We just debuted the 2010 competition car at Long Beach last weekend. Finished 6th overall. I got a little abrupt breaking in front of me and I ran into Samuel Hubinettes Viper. Game him a little 2010 Mustang taste. For this weekend, I brought out my practice or exhibition car. The competition car is purely for competition. This car has the fiberglass body instead of the carbon fiber body my competition car has. When I demo I tend to push it a little bit further during shows. Carbon fiber is a little more expensive than fiberglass. We still get the light weight and it’s the same engine set-up. We are running the Ford Racing engine. So for me jumping from this into my competition car is pretty similar as far as feel, but the lighter car is a lot quicker in regards to response.”



Based on what you saw at Long Beach, how’s the competition look this year?

"Professional drifting is a cheaper NASCAR right now. The cars that are coming out, the builds, the manufactures support is impressive. The fabrication that you are seeing right now is unbelievable. My team is run by guys that used to be on Robby Gordon’s Cup team, ASD in Charlotte, NC. They are incredible, they know these cars and the set-up we are running now is so tight. Everybody looks at drift cars and say they are loose cars with a bunch of tire pressure. We are pulling the front corner out of turns. That’s how much bite we are getting now. All the new cars are beautiful and everyone is just getting used to them.“

"We were fortunate enough that the 2010 Mustang is the same chassis. Ford just improved on the chassis and we were fortunate enough to use our data. We are seeing a lot of these guys with new cars still trying to figure them out so we are at an advantage.”

Tell us about your recent trip to Japan.

“For me going to Japan and to see the roots of my passion was just incredible. A dream come true for me. I always wanted to go to Japan because it was those guys and those tracks that got me interested in drifting. To be able to not only fulfill my dream, but to fulfill some Japanese dream to see a Mustang was cool. Letting some of them sit in the 2010 and having some of my drifting hero drive the car was a cultural exchange at its best. It felt really good. Everybody we came across with the Mustang had a smile."

So that car really was a slightly modded 2010 Mustang GT with Ford Racing Supercharger and Suspension?

“Yes it was a streetable car. We also added a better gripping brake pad. A normal person that pulls an E-brake wants a gradual grip where as I want it instant. It was a 2010 Mustang GT with leather interior. We put a harness bar in it with a harness for safety and a whole list of Ford Racing parts. We went out there and I am running tandem with these fully built drift cars. We ran in beautiful weather and rain, the Mustang just handled. Yeah, it is a factory car and we were running with lighter cars but it was agile. It’s a big muscle car but we were running against 240SX weighing 2500 lbs. For me to come in three deep into a corner with a 240SX in front of me and a 240SX Silvia behind me it was incredible.“

In addition to Vaughn, we had the chance to meet and see Doug Van Den Brink team drift with Vaughn during the demos on Saturday. Doug's turbocharged 2000 Mustang is tuned by SCT Tuning. Check out the video of Doug as he talks about his unique set-up.

[Andrew Casselberry]

Jack Roush Jr. competed in his first Mustang Challenge race on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park. Roush typically competes in the Grand-Am Cup Koni Challenge series driving a FR500C Mustang. Roush Jr, son of Ford Racing legend Jack Roush, finished 7th in the race and spoke to us about his run and background in racing



How was your race in the Ford Racing Media Car?

“This race was a lot of fun. The car was similar in some ways to the Koni car but it’s a bit different. The spring package is different than what we run and we cant change springs so we tune around them. The tires are also dramatically different but it was a blast and a lot of fun.”

Talk about the competition driving out here?

"There are definitely a lot of good drivers out here and it was fun racing with them. I want to thank Ford Racing for inviting me here for the race and I had a blast out there today, this is a really fun series. Capaldi Racing did a great job preparing the car for me. The spring and tire package was the biggest thing for me to adjust to, but the car kept getting better as the race went on, and I had a lot of fun today.”



You got your start racing go-karts?

"Yes. When I was six years old. I raced a Flat Rock Speedway in Michigan."

Your sister Susan drag races in the NMRA series, did you ever look at drag racing or was it strictly road racing for you?

“I actually started drag racing before she did. That was my first experience racing in a full size car. I was considering getting into something more serious and it was a toss-up. Either continue drag racing at a higher level or get into road racing which is really what I did growing up. Road racing is really what I want to do, I just think my upbringing is suited for this.”

[Andrew Casselberry]

Ford Racing Performance Parts and Gene Evans Ford teamed up to do Ford Racing part installs at the Mustang 45th Anniversary. The install area, or Mustang Garage, was front and center in the Ford Racing display and was a busy place the entire weekend. You could say Ford Racing had a captive market with so many late model Mustangs on the grounds of Barber Motorsports Park



NMRA racers Bart Tobener and Tim Matherly of MV Performance were leading the install crew. Decked out with a hydraulic drive on lift, air-tools and a host of other wrenches, the MV Performance/Gene Evans Ford group had over 60 appointments lined up on Saturday.



Installed items included rear gears, Ford Racing Suspension Packages, Ford Racing Power Packages, Hurst Shifters and other Ford Racing parts. Since the installs were done by Gene Evans Ford a limited Ford Racing warranty was offered.





The Ford Racing 45th Anniversary show install area was a great idea and added a lot to the display. The install program also gave show participants that wanted to hop up their late-model Mustang an easy way to get Ford Racing parts installed by a qualified crew of mechanics.

In addition to all the action going on at the Ford Racing display, several other Mustang aftermarket manufacturers had their new Mustang products on display at the 45th Anniversary. Baer Brakes had the latest in big brake kits for late model and pro-touring Mustangs. Check out the Baer Brake video here.

Also in the performance midway, Vortech Superchargers revealed their new VTS Twin Screw Supercharger at the Mustang event. After years of being a big player in the centrifugal superchager market its interesting to see them launch a screw style unit. For a video profile of the Vortech VTS Supercharger watch here.

Paxton Superchargers had their latest "tuner" kit for 2010 Mustang GT. The centrifugal supercharger was installed on a bright blue 2010 Mustang GT and looked like it shipped from the factory that way. To check out the video click here.

[Andrew Casselberry]

While hanging out in the Mustang Challenge pits I came across two serious open track Mustang packages offered by two of the shops that prep cars and run teams in the Mustang Challenge Series.



The first Mustang is from Kenny Brown Performance based in Indianapolis, IN. The Red S197 Mustang features all of Kenny’s new S197 suspension items; AGS GT4 lower front control arm system, GT4 AGS adjustable rear suspension (three link) and other chassis updates. Kenny has been working with Indianapolis based Prototype Development (Mark Scott) to build his parts. Kenny has changed the suspension points on the car to improve is abilities on the street and track. This car is street legal and looks impressive in the paddock as well as the streets. "Its a track car that you can drive on the street," said Kenny.

Other Kenny Brown Performance updates include:

• Kenny Brown Performance GT4 Street Cage
• FR500C Spec Brembo Four Piston Front Calipers and Two-Piece rotors
• Forgeline 18 x 10.5 Front Wheels, 18 x 11.5 Rear Wheels
• H&R Coil Over Dampers
• Pirelli P-Zero Corsa Tires 315/30/18 Rear, 295/30/18 Fronts

The car also features a slick wide-body kit that gives it that classic 70’s Boss Mustang look. The body kit includes air ducting to cool the brakes and allow for wider wheels and tires. Its good to see Kenny back at the track working on race cars and streetable open track cars.

The second open track car is built by Detroit based Rehagen Racing. Rehagen Racing campaigns Mustangs in the Grand-Am Cup and Mustang Challenge series.



The blue car features a full Grand-Am Spec cage and its set up like a FR500S Mustang Challenge Car. This car is a serious open track car and is not intended to be street legal. The interior is standard race-car spec with high support racing seat and minimal creature comforts for weight savings. Through years of success racing in the Koni Challenge series, Rehagen Racing has developed a new club racing Mustang GT. This vehicle is legal for competition within many classes of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). This car is also perfect as a “Club Racecar”. It delivers all the performance and safety of a true racecar at a very affordable price. The suspension on this vehicle has been tested and developed on the 4-post shaker rig at Multimatic Motorsports to ensure the highest level of suspension performance.

The car starts as a brand new 2009, manual transmission, 4.6L Mustang GT with the following upgrades: Full-Competition Racing Roll Cage, Competition Racing Seat, Driver Side Window Net, Fire Extinguisher, BREMBO 14” Front Brakes w/ 2-Piece Rotors, Carbon Fiber Front Brake Cooling Ducts, High Flow Cylinder Heads, High Lift Camshafts, Long Tube Headers w/ Custom Exhaust, Cold Air Intake Kit, A/C System Delete, 18” Wheels / Hoosier Racing Tires, 3.73 or 4.10 Rear Gears w/ Racing Differential, Racing Dampers w/ Remote Reservoirs, Adjustable Ride Height, Adjustable Front Stabilizer Bar



For those Mustang owners that are looking to get into some serious open track S197 Mustangs, Kenny Brown Performance and Rehagen Racing are offering two well engineered packages.

[Andrew Casselberry]

It was 45 years ago this week that marked the birth of the undisputed king of the American road: the Ford Mustang. The car was unveiled at the New York Worlds Fair on April 17, 1964 and the motoring world has never be the same.

To celebrate the event, thousands of Mustang fans from all over the world have gathered in Birmingham, Ala. to mark the occasion.

 “The Ford Mustang is one of the world’s most beloved automotive and cultural icons,” said Jim Farley, Ford Group Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Since April 17, 1964, it has been a symbol of American freedom and fun.”



This weekend Ford and the Mustang Club of America have been commemorating the birth of America’s favorite pony car at scenic Barber Motorsports Park. More than 2,500 Mustang enthusiasts and their steeds, as well as hundreds of thousands of spectators are in attendance. Included among those enthusiasts are nine of the muscle car’s most enduring fans: original owners of the 1964½ Mustang.

“People come up to the car and they don’t believe that I’m the original owner,” said Phil Florio, of Summerfield, Fla., about his Wimbledon White 1964½ Mustang Coupe. “I knew from day one that it was going to be a very special vehicle. A lot of car manufacturers have come out with their own particular type of pony car, but there’s only one ‘first.’”



A host of events have occurred over the past four days at 45th anniversary celebration. Professional road racers and Mustang racing icons Tommy Kendall and Scott Pruett have been on site to provide hot laps for lucky attendees in Mustang FR500S race cars. Ted Anthony Jr. won both races in the Mustang Challenge Series. And world champion drifter Vaughn Gittin, Jr., has given demonstrations and rides.



A Cobra R demonstration lap was held Sunday afternoon. Open track driving in streetable Mustangs has also kept the track busy.



The displays have also been busy with Ford Motor Comapny shipping several important Mustangs down for the event. The original Mustang protype that Dan Gurney drove at the 1963 Watkins Glen Grand Prix is on display as well as the first production Mustang, a 1964 1/2 White convertible. The first car is typically on display at the Henry Ford in Dearborn, MI.



Ford also shipped down historic race cars like Tommy Kendalls All Sport Trans-Am Mustang, Paul Newman's 24 Hours of Daytona class winning Mustang and other historic Mustangs with race pedigree.

“Whether you’re a casual observer interested in seeing the latest model Mustang or a true fanatic who eats, sleeps and breathes Mustang, this is where you want to be to celebrate the 45th anniversary,” said Steven McCarley, president of the Mustang Club of America.


In addition to the events in Alabama, Ford is commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Mustang by introducing “The ‘10 Unleashed” campaign, which gives enthusiasts the chance to unleash their Mustang side behind the wheel of the new 2010 Mustang – whether it be drifting in Japan like world champion Vaughn Gittin, Jr. or customizing a new Mustang using Ford Racing Performance Parts.



“During its 45 years, Mustang has touched people’s lives in so many different ways, and we’ve enjoyed hearing those stories leading up to the introduction of the new 2010 Mustang,” said Allison Revier, Ford Mustang brand manager. “Now, it’s time to look forward and create new stories to fill the next chapter in the history book of America’s favorite muscle car.”

[Andrew Casselberry]

Ted Anthony Jr. made it a near-perfect weekend as he scored his second Ford Racing Mustang Challenge race win of the weekend in round 4 of the 2009 season to draw closer to leader Andrew Caddell in the championship points standings.



Caddell came home just .671-seconds behind Anthony Jr. at the end of the 45-minute event, which was staged at Barber Motorsports Park as part of the 45th Anniversary celebrations of the Ford Mustang. Joe Lee Middlebrooks made his second Mustang Challenge podium appearance of the season with his run to third place as Mike McGovern finished fourth with Dan Aweida improving on his Saturday result to score fifth at the finish.

After the field got the call to start engines from Grand Marshal Tommy Kendall, the race got of to a hectic but clean start, as Caddell took the lead, with Tony Buffomante moving up to second as Anthony Jr. slotted into third. But the hottest racer in the series was quick to move back up to second before stalking Caddell as the two raced within tenths of each other lap after lap. But as Caddell had a small hold up from lapped traffic, Anthony Jr. pounced, taking the lead under braking in turn five. The point position wasn’t the only one in dispute, as battles raged throughout the field once again.



The green flag run was interrupted for a yellow flag to remove the No. 5 machine of Andrew Hendricks, who had an off course excursion while at the same time on a different section of the track, third-place runner Buffomante made contact with a slower lapped car, which spoiled his run to the podium as his drive-through penalty set him back in the pack late in the race. The restart set the stage for another battle up front, but Anthony Jr. held off Caddell to cap off a highly competitive race weekend.



“The TC Motorsports boys did a great job once again,” said Anthony Jr., who has now taken wins in four of the last five Mustang Challenge races. “I was just fighting to get ahead of Andrew because he’s got the championship lead, so every point counts. I had the quicker car over all. At the start, when I couldn’t get by him, I just decided to follow him at the beginning and from there I was just watching to see where I could make a move. I finally got him in the hairpin at turn five, and then made it stick. On the restart I was a little nervous because it’s always nerve racking when you have a guy like Andrew Caddell behind you, but I managed to get a good start and bring it home to the finish.”

The result was a modest disappointment for Caddell, who despite his championship lead, is firmly focused on taking the top spot every chance possible.

“We were hoping for rain in the race today,” said Caddell, who set times well clear of the field in the wet morning warm-up. “I’m getting a little bit tired of second place, but he only gained seven points over the weekend. We have the best-handling car out here, but there are some other areas we are going to need to work on if we are going to be able to beat him. Ted had a great restart so I wasn’t able to make it happen there, but it was still a great weekend for Kaufmann Racing.”

“All of our race weekends are good, but this one at Barber Motorsports Park as part of this 45th Anniversary was something very special,” said Mustang Challenge Series Director Lynda Randall. “To have guys like Scott Pruett and Tommy Kendall, Mr. Alan Mulally, and all the guys from Ford Racing all with us in our paddock this weekend was just fantastic.

Information provided by Mustang Challenge

[Andrew Casselberry]

While walking through the massive show lots at this weekends 45th Mustang Anniversary, I had the chance to see a lot of nice cars. Washed and waxed and highly detailed after hours of hard work by the owners. But when I walked to the top lot on the paddock side of the track I saw quite a frenzy around a flat black classic Shelby. Other photographers where also angling for that perfect shot. Upon closer inspection I realized this car was a “barn find” condition 1966 Shelby GT350H Hertz Mustang. I asked myself, was this a new Rat Rod trend with Mustangs? I had to get the real story from the owner.



Click here to watch the video interview on the GT350H in the Weekend Highlights.

The rare Shelby, 1 of 1,001 produced, belongs to Andy Vann from Trussville, Alabama and as with all Shelby’s the car has a story.

StangTV.com: What’s the background on the Shelby?

Andy Van: “We’ll I bought it from a dealership here in Birmingham, Jim Skinner Ford. Hertz turned this car into the dealerships on August 11 1967 because I have the original bill of sale. My wife drove it for a lot of years to work and one day she even ran it into the garbage truck. Back then a lot of people were following the car and wanting to buy it and she got a little nervous about that so she bought her a new car and we parked this thing. It sat in the garage for 28 years until last Thursday and I drug it out based on a phone call I got from Lee Clark at the Barber museum here. Lee talked me into bringing it over here but made me promise not to wash it. I did not rally understand what he was talking about then but now I understand. It took me all day last Thursday to get it started. I had to replace the gas tank, fuel pump and the carburetor and got it cranked. It drives but it has no brakes, you have to pull the emergency brake to get it to stop so we trailered it here.”





StangTV.com: What are your plans for the car?

Andy Van: “We’ll I do race car stuff. I have a shop here in Trussville where I live. Once the phone stops ringing for other projects I’ll get to working on it.

Check out the story the Birmingham News did on the car.



1966 Shelby GT350H Background: The 1966 Shelby GT350H, based on the 1966 GT350, featured a Cobra 289 High Performance V8 engine producing 306 hp and 329 lb-ft of torque. Although most of the cars did not feature power brakes, a power brake booster was added to some of the vehicles per Hertz's request. It seems many drivers found the braking to be too difficult and complained to the company. A unique feature of the Shelby GT350H is wheel-center caps featuring the Hertz Sports Car Cub logo as well as Goodyear Blue streak tires. Other special features include functional fiberglass scoops used to cool the rear brakes, a red, white, and blue cobra gas cap featuring the Shelby emblem, a tachometer mounted on the dash, and Plexiglas rear quarter windows. Of note, about 100 of the 1966 Shelby GT350Hs did not feature the fiberglass hood found on regular GT350s. They featured an all-steel hood.

In all, only 1,001 of these fastbacks were built for Hertz in 1966. The makeup consisted of 999 units of the following colors: A majority in Raven Black with Gold (Bronze Powder) side and Le Mans racing stripes, 50 Candy Apple Red with side stripes, 50 Wimbledon White with side stripes (as well as several models with both side and Le Mans stripes), 50 Sapphire Blue models with side stripes, and 50 Ivy Green with side stripes. Two of the GT350H Mustangs were prototype models. Each of the cars was built in Los Angeles at the Shelby American Los Angeles airport facility.

The first 100 GT350H models were ordered with 4-speed transmissions. According to an article about the car in Mustang Monthly magazine, a San Francisco Hertz dealer complained that drivers were burning out the clutches. Hertz and Ford rethought the program after 85 of the cars were delivered and decided to run with automatic transmissions for the remainder of the build cycle. All of the 4-speed cars sported a Raven black exterior.

If you ever get your hands on a Shelby GT350H you might want to call Heacock Classic Car Collector Insurance for coverage. Ford Heacock was at the Mustang 45th Anniversary and talked to stangtv about their insurance programs. Check out the interview with Ford Heacock here.

[Andrew Casselberry]

Jim Farley, Ford Vice President of Marketing and Mustang enthusiast, calls them the Mustang Tribe. The Mustang Tribe is made up of all owners and fans of the original “Pony Car”. The “Mustang Tribe” gathered at Barber Motorsports Park last weekend for the 45th Anniversary of the Mustang.



Below are just a few samples of the hundreds of Mustangs on the property



Front and center in the Mustang Challenge paddock was a Shelby Eleanor edition Mustang. The classic looked right at home next to the Mustang Challenge FR500S race car. The S197 Mustang had heavy styling influence from the 1967 Mustang and has been a sales success for Ford.



“Mustang Jim” is the owner of this custom 2001 Bullitt Mustang. Jim lives in Livonia, Michigan and loves to drive cross-country to any Mustang show. Jim has added 10th Anniversary SVT wheels, 2003 Cobra Front fascia, Roots Style Supercharger, and other subtle mods to the car. An old hot-rodder, Jim has also shaved the door handles and frenched in the third-brake light in the rear decklid.



This Mustang II King Cobra stood out in the crowd of late-model Mustangs. This Mustang model is sometimes forgotten but earns respect for its 302 power plant and cool styling.



This bright blue 70's era Mustang Mach 1 was hard to miss. It’s owner was taking advantage of the scenery at Barber to take some photos. The Mustang Challenge cars running in the background made this a great shot linking the present with the past.



Saleen Mustangs were out in force at the 45th Anniversary. This owner was on the grounds early Sunday morning detailing the car. Steve Saleen was on the property in the SMS display, his new business venture building cars.



Barber Motorsports Park is one of the nicest race tracks we’ve been to. Every detail has been looked at; cool welded works of art; top-notch landscaping, sight lines and fan amenities were first class. This Mustang statue made a great tie in to the real steeds in the background.



Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally and a staff member of The Henry Ford museum stand next to Mustang "No. 1," the first Mustang ever built, on display in the Barber Motorsports Park Museum. The first Mustang as well as the Dan Gurney driven Mustang design concept was on loan for the weekend as part of the Mustang's 45th Anniversary celebration at Barber in Birmingham, Ala.



Alan Mulally stands with family members who still own original 1964 1/2 Mustangs as part of the Mustang 45th Anniversary celebration at Barber Motorsports Park. Nine original owners brought and displayed their Mustangs as part of the celebration.



Alan Mulally and Ford Racing engineer Andy Slankard take a lap around Barber Motorsports Park in a 2009 Shelby GT500 convertible.

Click here to watch the full Weekend Highlights video.