After Ford Motor Company pulled out of the propane powered F-series conversion program, Jack Roush and Roush Industries picked-up the ball and found success in engineering, building and selling alternative fuel trucks and vans to the expanding construction and fleet markets.

When Roush’s Drag Racing team was looking to build new Mustangs and new powerplants for the 2010 NMRA and NMCA season, the team went GREEN for power, GREEN as in propane power. Having experimented with E-85, another green fuel, in Don Bowles Open Comp Mustang a few years ago, its cool to see someone pushing different fuel technologies in drag racing. For updates on the program visit www.shedevilmotorsports.com

The propane powered Mustang drag cars are an offshoot of the kits that ROUSH Performance uses to convert gasoline-powered Ford pickups and vans to run on clean-burning liquid propane. On the subject of propane, the innovative Jack Roush said, “It’s as American as NASCAR. More than 90 percent of the propane used in the United States is produced in North America, much of it from the U.S. natural gas supply. Propane has so many positive aspects and it is finally getting the recognition it deserves as an alternative fuel. Propane can help to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Propane can help to clean up our environment. And propane can help to create new ‘Green Collar Jobs’ for displaced auto workers who can return to the lines to build alternative fuel vehicles.”

One big advantage that propane has in a drag racing applications is that it has an octane rating of 106 just a few notches shy of race fuel. The first drag Mustang in the Roush stable converted to propane was the white, red and blue 2005 ROUSH Mustang driven by Donnie Bowles. The conversion started just after the last NMRA race of 2009 and the car was on display at last years SEMA show in Las Vegas. Over the three day show the car had a lot of prying eyes looking at the unique propane fuel cell and fuel system.

Photo Credit: www.shedevilmotorsports.com

Over the winter, the Livonia, Michigan based ROUSH engineering crew built a brand new 2010 ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang for Susan Roush-McClenaghan. Starting from a 2010 Mustang Body-in-White, the crew tubbed the rear section and built a tubular front suspension for stability down the 1320. Its very similar to a NHRA Super Stock construction and was sprayed and airbrushed in-house by Roush’s talented painters.

Photo Credit: www.shedevilmotorsports.com

The Roush Mustangs are powered by an all-aluminum 5.4L Ford modular engine that was originally designed for the Ford GT supercar. This engine was converted over to a naturally aspirated induction system and the compression ratio was bumped up to piston pounding 12.5:1.

Photo Credit: www.shedevilmotorsports.com

Other modifications included CNC ported Ford GT cylinder heads, high performance camshaft and valvetrain. Horsepower numbers are estimated to be at around 600+ at the flywheel.

At Bradenton, both cars ran in the NMRA Modular Muscle class and Donnie Bowles made it to the semi-finals with the new engine combination. Bowles ran in the mid-10s while Susan, who went out the first round, dipped into the nine second zone with a 9.992 @ 133.70 mph. Look for the Roush Drag Racing team to continue to whittle down the elapsed times and become more consistent for the dial-in based Modular Muscle class.