THE LINE

June 30, 2010

(Ford)
After 46 years in production the Ford Mustang will make its formal debut in NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway. Five Mustangs will run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series "Subway Jalapeno 250" this coming Friday night (July 2). There will also be two Dodge Challengers in the race but Chevrolet will not be there with the Camaro because GM doesn't think that the re-skinned front clip treatment on NASCAR's "CoT" goes far enough in terms of making the racer look like an actual Camaro. (We happen to agree, by the way - Ed.) To help celebrate Mustang's NASCAR debut, Jamie Allison - director, Ford North America Motorsports - announced today (June 28) that any Ford driver who wins Friday night’s Nationwide Series event at Daytona will receive their very own 2011 5.0-liter Mustang GT production vehicle. A 2011 Mustang GT will also be serving as the pace car for Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race and Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.  The 2011 Mustang paced the season-opening Daytona 500. "This week is all about celebrating Mustang in NASCAR,” said Allison.  “Fans will get to see the 2011 Mustang GT 5.0-liter pacing both races, and they’ll also see the start of a new era in Mustang Racing on the track. Nothing would make me happier than to present one of our drivers the keys to their own 5.0 Mustang GT in Victory Lane on Friday night.”

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our readers are up in arms over the above item from Ford because it's inaccurate in terms of when a Mustang first ran in NASCAR. Check out a couple of the letters in our Reader Mail. - PMD

(Audi AG)
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is set for July 2 -4. 150,000 visitors are expected to make their way to the Earl of March’s Goodwood estate in the south of England to savor a brace of spectacular machines from the history of motor racing. Nick Mason (above) - the legendary Pink Floyd drummer and long-time vintage racing competitor and enthusiast - will be driving a Auto Union (speaking of spectacular) again. It’s the fourth time that Mason will climb into one of the legendary Silver Arrows and thunder up the hill in Goodwood. This time he is driving a 1939 Auto Union Type D with twin superchargers, a car that Audi Tradition had rebuilt a few years ago. As Mason said recently: “It’s a great feeling to drive at Goodwood every year, but all the more so in an Auto Union racing car.”

 U of M. The University of Michigan Solar Car Team has won the American Solar Challenge for a third consecutive North American title, finishing more than two hours ahead of its nearest competitor. The week-long, biennial 1,100-mile competition for solar-powered vehicles started in Broken Arrow, Okla., on June 20 and ended in Naperville, Ill., on Saturday, June 26. The U of M car was the first of 13 to cross the finish line at around 2 p.m. Eastern time, for a final time of 28 hours, 14 minutes and 44 seconds. It was the sixth North American title for U of M, which won the inaugural event in 1990 with its first car, the Sunrunner. Solar Car is one of the largest student organizations on campus with over 100 members, including students from the College of Engineering; College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Ross School of Business; School of Art & Design; and School of Education. Kudos go out to the major sponsors involved this year including Michigan Engineering, Ford, General Motors, Delta and AT&T.

(Al Merion/SCCA)
Justin Piscitell, of Weston, Conn. (above), earned his first career SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup win at the Mazda Motorsports Festival presented by VISITFLORIDA.com last Saturday. The 21-year-old Piscitell (No. 89 Team MER/DAMG Worldwide Mazda MX-5) finished 3.175 seconds ahead of Michael Cooper (No. 84 AMG Racing/Bromante Landscaping & Design MX-5), of Syossett, N.Y., in the 27-lap, 58.59-mile race, averaging 75.860 mph. Lyonel Kent (No. 13 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions Mazda MX-5), of Knoxville, Tenn., completed the podium. On Sunday, the second race of the weekend marked the first standing start in Series history and this time Michael Cooper (below) came out on top, completing the 28-lap, 60.76-mile race in 45:29.105, averaging 80.149 mph. It was the first professional win of any kind for the 20-year-old racer, whose only prior experience was eight races in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge for MX-5 Cup cars. Brad Rampelberg, of San Jose, Calif., finished second in the No. 4 AMG Racing/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes MX-5 and pole-sitter Nick Evans (No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco MX-5), of Powell, Ohio, finished third. In finishing fourth in race 2, Piscitell still retains the season championship lead by just two points over Cooper. The racing was outstanding all weekend at this event - which was broadcast live on HDNet - and we hope they go to a standing start for all future races. Next up for the series is Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill., for the Harrah’s Autobahn Grand Prix presented by Mazda on July 30 - August 1.

(Al Merion/SCCA)

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out this excellent video on Jim Clark's famous Indy-winning Lotus Type 38-Ford here. Cool stuff. - PMD

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