Mike Murillo's 'LaFawnduh' Returns After Marathon Rebuild

Many-time world champion racer Mike Murillo and his “LaFawnduh” Ford Mustang made their long-awaited return to the track on Thursday after a devastating crash at the Border Wars No Prep Shootout at Edinburg Dragway in Texas back in December left the fan favorite machine a pile of mangled steel and fiberglass.

The Murillo Motorsports crew, pulling another late night in the lead-up to American Outlaws Live to prep LaFawnduh for her triumphant return.

Murillo was making a pre-race shakedown lap at Edinburg when his twin turbocharged, SCT Performance-sponsored machine shot across the race track and rolled over the guardrail, coming to rest right side up. What ensued was more than five months of nearly around the clock work on the part of countless volunteers and manufacturers to get LaFawnduh back into fighting shape.

After making a determination that the car could indeed be repaired, DMC Racing in Massachusetts was tabbed to rebuild the chassis, utilizing a donor Fox body Mustang body that Murillo was able to source from an individual in Tennessee. At various points, Murillo and his team virtually lived in the seat of his Ford pickup, making two 36-hour (one-way) treks to the DMC shop, with several detours to various parts of the country along the way, including one all the way to Bradenton, Florida with the car in tow.

Once back in Texas, his never-say-die Murillo Motorsports crew worked day and night, often still at it when the sun came back up, to complete all of the wiring, plumbing, and reinstalling the running gear in time for the American Outlaws Live event this weekend in Ennis, Texas.

LaFawnduh was wrapped in a new all-black SCT scheme and the newly fabricated Kooks exhaust setup installed less than a week ago, and the 540 cubic inch powerplant was finally fired for the first time — with plenty of anxiety on the part of Murillo — on Tuesday night.

Murillo and company tested on Thursday evening at the Texas Motorplex and will be a part of the 32-car Big Tire Outlaw field on Saturday, vying for a $75,000 payday. Keep an eye out here for additional content on the rebuild and video of the maiden voyage this weekend in Ennis.