For the third year now Ford Racing has invited select Mustang magazines to participate in its annual Ford Racing Invitational, where we get to beat on its products and come away with a better understanding of what it has in store for Mustang owners like you. From suspensions to exhaust, blowers to wheels, the lineup of Mustangs it had featured many of the top-selling products. Even a few '10 Mustangs were available, including a GT500. We scored this yellow '08 example (see below), wearing big brakes, suspension, GT Supercar wheels (fronts at all four corners), and the Ford Racing/Whipple supercharger. Defending our win from last year meant coming in hard and not giving up an inch, while also learning to drive a new car with 550 hp. Qualifying went down on Friday, where we got several runs in. My best light, a 0.094, put me right in the middle of the ladder, getting me in the lanes first thing Saturday for eliminations. Coming into the water box, I was lined up with Sam Abuelsamid from Autoblog.com, someone I put on the trailer last year on my way to the winner's circle. I guess that payback-is-a-you-know-what saying holds true, as I came out of the burnout and staged the yellow GT and promptly sputtered off the line when the tree came down. Turns out our failure to launch wasn't entirely my fault as I realized upon hitting the return road I had lost the serpentine belt (no power steering, water pump, or alternator). So I had no blower either and the engine didn't quite run how it should when I mashed the go pedal, screwing up my launch. At least the trophy did stay with the Source Interlink Media Tampa, Florida, office (Steve Baur from Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords went all the way this year) and we hope to get it back next year. Check out our website for more photos of the Invitational shenanigans.
 Getting over to the car show...  Getting over to the car show on Saturday we immediately spied Jason Crawford's Fox GT hatch. While the car is mainly stock with a few bolt-on goodies, what drew us to the car was the amazing paint. What you're looking at is the original Ford applied topcoat. You don't see too many Fox Mustangs wearing their original paint these days and especially in this good of condition. It just made me realize how badly my own Fox needs to be painted. Gee thanks Jason! |  It's hard not think that early...  It's hard not think that early Broncos are some cool rides. Now imagine their great classic looks with the power and driveability of a late-model Mustang 5.0L engine swap and you have exactly what Randy Conway built. |  The Motor City Terminators,...  The Motor City Terminators, a Mustang club catering to '03/'04 Cobra Mustangs, has been handling the NMRA car show duties for a few years now and they help make everything go smoothly day of show. |
 There's just something about...  There's just something about a black car when the paint is perfect and there's not a fingerprint on it that makes it look so mean and ready to pounce. The '69 Cougar of Bill Cortese is a perfect example of what we mean. With a super clean 351 Windsor underhood and the top down we can just imagine how much fun it is to cruise in this Cat. Bill's Cougar even took home the Best Mid Size Ford award. |  The stealth look is always...  The stealth look is always a hit with the Mustang crowd and Eric Hayes did it up just right with his '06 GT coupe. The satin black FR500 replica wheels, wrapped in Nitto shoes, the lowered stance, blacked out fog lights, and more all make for the perfect recipe. We didn't get a chance to find out what's under the hood, but by the looks of the drag radials out back Eric must be packing something that needs 'em. Eric's GT took home a Top 20 Ford award too. |  We had a little time to spend...  We had a little time to spend in the vendor area between covering the car show and racing in the Ford Racing Invitational and that's where we spotted Creative Performance Racing (www.cprracing.com; (248) 398-2397) displaying its new 4.6L Three-Valve solid billet fuel rails. These babies will hold copious amounts of your favorite fuel and will bolt right onto the factory manifold. |