Auto enthusiast with a need for speed used to have an LS car. She won’t be making that mistake again thanks to the Mustang GT.
No Woodward Dream Cruise would be complete without hundreds of Ford Mustang owners showing up to make the legendary drive. This year’s event didn’t disappoint and drew plenty of Mustang faithful, including JoAnna Iacobelli, the owner of a special 2018 Mustang GT.
The Ford Performance YouTube team took a few minutes out of their time at the cruise to interview Iacobelli about her car. To her, it’s more than just a vehicle. It’s a connection to her family and its history. “I actually grew up around them [Mustangs]. So my mom and dad met in their Mustangs and opened a performance shop so I don’t know anything else.”
Iacobelli’s S550 is also a return to her personal automotive roots. “I bought my first one [Mustang] when I was 20 … went to an LS car … and it sounds cheesy, but I just didn’t love it the way that I loved my first Mustang and had to get back into one when this came out.”
If you look under the hood of Iacobelli’s Stang, you’ll notice the engine is far from stock. With plenty of elbow grease and sweat equity and some help from her husband, she made her car into a rolling testament to her wrenching skills. Iacobelli said, “I actually put the blower on myself … and did the fuel system.”
That blower’s not just there for show. It’s for go – in the most literal sense of the word. Iacobelli is a drag racer with nine years of experience. She always wanted to have a nine-second car and that’s exactly what she transformed her Stang GT into. “About two weeks ago, I ran a 9.38 in the car at 150.”
The Woodward Dream Cruise has been a sort of gearhead Mecca for 25 years and only seems to get better as time goes on. Given the incredible rate at which Iacobelli is progressing, we have no doubt her car will continue to do the same.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
