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Mustang 50th Anniversary Celebration At Charlotte: Same Day Coverage

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It’s the biggest birthday party in automotive history, the Mustang 50th anniversary from Charlotte, North Carolina. StangTV has dispatched Team Mustang Girls to cover all the action and events of this once in a lifetime event. 50 years ago today, Ford unleashed the Mustang on the world, knowing it would be a hit, but with no way of knowing it would become such a dominate force in the auto industry, a figure in pop-culture, and a beloved car for generations of the blue oval faithful. Be sure to check back here each and everyday for the latest updates, photos, and info on the hottest car party on the east coast.

Thursday meant registration, opening ceremonies and of course track time!  Team Mustang Girls took to the track on the first day of the 50th Anniversary Celebration.  The girls were up early to be at the 7 am drivers meeting and found that the media pass also doubled as an ice scraper! After a few rules and some lessons about flags it was time to drive!

The day was broken into 6 20 minute sessions. The first time around was a learning lesson. The steep bank is a strange feeling the first time you hit it.  The next session Courtney asked racer Brandon Dillard to ride shotgun and give some guidance and wow did that help! Knowing the right lines plus an added boost of confidence from someone with some real skills set in motion a great day on the track!

After the track there was time to check out the rest of the show that had gathered while the girls were going in circles. And it was huge! Cars everywhere you looked and people just happy to be around them! And the girls got an up close look at the 2015 Mustang! 

Friday is when things will really get going, so be sure to keep checking back with us all weekend as Team Mustang Girls covers the Mustang 50th Anniversary celebration from Charlotte, NC. Also be sure to check out the gallery page for even more photos from each the events each day.

The Mustang Anniversary is in full motion here in Charlotte!  Check out the Vegas celebration here.  Every 10 feet you hear someone commenting on the amount of Mustangs!

Team Mustang Girls spent the day talking with car owners that caught their eyes. Here are just a few of the amazing cars on display at the Charlotte Speedway.

Meet Vietnam Veteran Russel Huggins and his 1965 Mustang equipped with a 93 roller 5.0 motor. He restored the car to the original color of Ivy Green and damn does it look good! Russel also get’s the quote for the day. When asked about the rain in the forecast and if he’d be leaving early his response was “I’m one of those guys that doesn’t leave until the movie says THE END, I will be here til Sunday!”

Next up is Johnny Dalton and his 1968 427 4-speed. His father owned the car from 1972 until he passed in 2007. Johnny runs Dalton’s Auto Restoration in Virginia but has chosen to keep the car original in memory of his father. 

Next the ladies found another female Mustang enthusiast Rita DeLorme and her 1976 Western Mustang. The car was a factory promo and and the only one that was not reworked to stock, making her car truly one of a kind!

After a short break for lunch the Mustang heaven continued as Team Mustang Girls made their way around the Charlotte Speedway trying to take it all in! 

The events brought out people of all ages including Ivan Anthony, who was smart and prepared for the track! But after all that walking around it’s easy to understand why this guy needed a nap! 

But Team Mustang Girls was still on the move and had to get to ZMax Dragway for the Cruise for Wounded Warriors in an attempt to beat the world record. Over 800 cars showed up even with the pending rain. It was an amazing ride and the girls were honored to be able to participate! 

So today it rained. And if you were in a hotel lobby or elevator you would think that it was the first time people had ever seen water fall from the sky…But Mustangs don’t melt people, so suck it up, this is the 50th Anniversary! The show still goes on!  As a South Carolina resident, Courtney had hope that the storm would pass by quicker than expected and  kept telling people it was going to be a passing shower-hasn’t anyone seen A Field of Dreams? If you believe, sometimes good things will happen. Then again, sometimes they don’t and you just get wet.

The Mustang Girl Meet Up was scheduled for 9 am rain or shine. Courtney showed up at the location at 8:30 with photographer Bill Hamilton. And then at 8:50 the first car rolled in. Woohoo! As long as she wasn’t standing there alone she was happy. But then 2 more cars rolled in, then a trailer with a beautiful classic ‘Stang inside. And then 6 more. Not only are we Mustang Girls, we are also tough girls that don’t mind getting a little wet. There’s a dirty joke in that last sentence somewhere!  At 9:15 everyone dropped the umbrellas and took off the hoodies and put a smile on their face, and made the best of the situation. Built Ford Tough. Team Mustang Girls would like to thank everyone that came out, including Hannah Miller (of Stang Girls Club) that didn’t make it in time, even though she tried.

 

After the meet up, it was off to the Speedway for the 50th Anniversary. It was awesome to see that in spite of the rain the show went on. Everyone there shared the same look of disgust for the rain, yet they still wanted to see the show. Courtney was in the media center in the afternoon when they announced over the speaker that Drift hero Vaughn Gittin  Jr. was doing a drifting demonstration outside on the track. It was awesome to see everyone run out the door to go check him out drifting his RTR Mustang. For a few moments everyone forgot about the rain and remembered what had brought them there in the first place, the love of the Mustang and the roaring sound of an engine powered by a driver having fun! 

Later in the evening was the banquet with all the Ford VIPs with John Clor as the MC. Courtney went into it thinking she was back in college and had prepared herself for a lecture. And she couldn’t have been more wrong. The guys on stage were normal people who just happened to be the most influential people in Mustang history. They joked around, poked fun at each other and made everyone laugh. The highlight of the evening was the revealing of a secret feature for the 2015 Mustang, a burnout button on the steering wheel. Because it’s not fun unless you smell rubber! 

 

The ORIGINAL 1964 .5 Mustang designer Gale Halderman signs autographs for the Mustang fans Photo By Ford Racing

 

It’s not raining! Happy Easter everyone although it feels more like Christmas. Courtney woke up at 6:30 am and ripped open the curtains to see sunshine and blue skies and then proceeded to do a happy dance! Today the plan is to pack as many Mustangs as possible into the Charlotte Motor Speedway before a drone will fly over and document all the cars that made it to the celebration.  

And another great thing happening today is Walter Barber’s birthday. Without him you wouldn’t be reading these words. He is the man that took Courtney to her first car show and started her passion for Mustangs. And now I’m dropping my writing persona to say Thank You Dad, still don’t know where all this is taking me but I am enjoying the ride and I love you for starting it all! And now it’s time for the show! 

The closing of the show was amazing. They rewarded all of the loyal Mustang fans that stayed after the downpour on Saturday.  Everyone was able to bring their car into the Speedway and around 10:30 everyone was asked to stand by their cars as a camera carrying drone flew over to take photographs. And then if you were willing to wait in line to sign a waiver you got to do a lap of the track! At first it was shocking to see how long the line was but then an hour later you got to see that person that patiently waited with a huge smile cruising the track.  It was a great end to an amazing week! 

Photos by Ford Racing

Mustang Chief engineer Dave Pericak drives the 2015 Mustang around the Charlotte Motor Speedway track Photo by Ford Racing