Brad just shot me the following note from Ford:

The NASCAR Nationwide Mustang hit the track at Daytona International
Speedway this afternoon in preparation for Friday night's Subway
Jalapeno 250.

The below pictures are from FORD RACING/AUTOSTOCK....

 

Likin' it. Kinda weird the photo creases, grille, and exhaust. It'd be *awesome* if the exhaust worked right...

 

And the Mustang was no slouch during today's practice session. Three Jack Roush cars were in the top 10. Reed Sorenson led the practice session in a toyota with the fastest speed of 188.111. BrIan Ickler was second quick in a Roush Mustang at 187.903. Carl Edwards was 6th quickest.

 

I suppose the creases are just on the "paint job"?

 

Just a COT with some different stickers and a nose job. Meh.

 

not excited, and won't be until stock car racing actually begins to move back into the direction of stock car racing.

 

Here's a link to the Youtube video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uo03BiF8DY

http://www.fordracing.com/news/detail/?article=38034

 

I like it. I hope it does well.

 

what he said

 

Better than nothing. I remember in the late 60's (i'm old) race teams would buy their cars from dealerships then get them race ready (roll cages, engines, springs etc) at their race shops

 

+1. I'd like to see how a Trans Am or road racing/GT3-bodied Mustang would compare vs. this shell.

 

I'm with the stock car racing using "stock cars" guys.

Pretty Sad looking Mustang...

 

I was at the race Friday night in the fanzone.Thay do look better in person. You could never use a stock body and be safe and competive in Nascar.

 

Well, just for comparison, the Pole time for the Nationwide race was somewhere in the 2:18s. Pole time for the T/A race was a 2:05.

 

I know I'm in the minority, but I like the way the car looks..at least in comparison to the Sprint Cup cars. I'm a huge fan of NASCARs history. I don't see a way to ever go back to using showroom stock cars converted into racers. Maybe someone should start a "stock car" series that would bring back those good 'ol days, but it would be tough. The first time a driver got hurt or killed there would be lawyers lining up to sue.

 

I don't think that Nascar should go back to showroom stock cars. I do think that they should have stock-appearing sheetmetal on their tube-frames. Give them a strong visual connection to the street cars that the manufacturers are selling. And I think the manufacturers agree.

 

Does anyone remember the saying, "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday."?
Refers to the fact that stock cars used to be stock cars and a customer could personally identify with a specific manufacturers car because they WERE the car you could buy.

 

I beleive they've actually been tube-frame cars since the 60s. But, up until the early-mid 90s, they still looked a lot like the cars you could find in the showroom.