Next week at Daytona International Speedway, a new era of Mustang Racing will begin when the new, highly anticipated Mustang NASCAR Nationwide car makes its debut on the high banks of the legendary Florida track.

Photos: Ford Motor Company

Since its public unveiling last October in Concord, N.C., there has been great anticipation from Mustang clubs and enthusiasts about the new car and its four-race schedule for this year and full Nationwide rollout in 2011.

Pat Dimarco, Ford Racing Nascar program manager explains the somewhat unconventional choice of the Mustang for this duty. “NASCAR came to us and wanted to differentiate the Nationwide Series from the Cup Series. Initially, we did look at the Fusion to keep the branding the same across both series, but when they really wanted to differentiate it, the natural choice was Mustang from a company standpoint. Plain and simple, the Mustang’s heritage is racing. It just made a good fit to differentiate the Nationwide Series from the Cup Series.”

When asked how good a representation the new car will be of the current Mustang, he explained, “I think it’s a better replication than where the Fusion is in Cup currently. My wife is on the Mustang team at Ford and she likes it, and the Mustang Brand Team likes it. I’m sure there will be people out there who will not like it, but I think it is definitely different and it brings the Mustang brand into NASCAR.”

The Nationwide race at Daytona International Speedway will take place on Friday, July 2. The 100-lap, 250-mile race starts at 8:00 pm EST.