Ford unveils Mustang for Nationwide competition in 2010
NASCAR originally intended the Nationwide Series car of tomorrow to be a “pony car,” based on the high-performance street machines of the four manufacturers.
One of the original pony cars, the Ford Mustang, will race in the series next season, as Ford unveiled the car at Roush Fenway Racing on Oct. 13. The Nationwide COT will appear in four races in 2010, all in the second half of the season: Daytona in July, and then Michigan, Richmond and Charlotte before a planned full season in 2011.
The only other pony car in the series will be Dodge’s Challenger. Chevrolet has opted not to use its Camaro brand, and Toyota doesn’t have a pony car.
Ford originally wasn’t going to use the Mustang, but race fans spoke up.
“They said they really wanted to see the Mustang in Nationwide,” said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports.
Roush Fenway co-owner Jack Roush has a long history racing Mustangs, and he said the NASCAR version came out better than even he had hoped for.
“We’re real excited to be able to carry a true muscle car to the Nationwide Series,” Roush said. “I know it will do a lot to generate even more enthusiasm in that great series than we have today. If the other manufacturers would come along and join – I guess Chevrolet isn’t, but Dodge is.”
The Mustang was introduced in 1964 but has never raced in NASCAR.
“I think it makes a great deal of sense that finally after all these years it gets to race in America’s most popular form of motor racing,” former Ford President Edsel Ford II said.
There is still work to be done on the Nationwide cars, and a one-day test is scheduled for Nov. 2 at Talladega Superspeedway after the Sprint Cup weekend.
Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash said the test is open to any team that has built a COT. NASCAR will work on the car’s engine package in hopes of using the tapered spacer instead of a restrictor plate at Talladega and Daytona.
NASCAR will also work on front and rear spring rules for the car.
