by Ford The array of factory-backed experiences for owners will expand in the near future Mustang Experience center. Opening later this year next to Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ford previews it as “the destination for all things Mustang.” The museum-style Heritage Gallery takes visitors on a tour of 60 years of Mustang, the must-have retail store filled with merchandise memorabilia to bring the memories home. Ford Performance Racing School will host Mustang Unleashed day courses at the speedway complex, these courses are aimed at EcoBoost and GT Trims finally getting a module of their own after the Black Horse Track Attack. Students who want to upgrade their personal ride to suit their new skills will be able to purchase one. aftermarket parts at the Mustang Experience parts store. For those truly passionate about horses, the facility is also available to host corporate events and weddings.
A year ago, yes rumor belong to a new course at Charlotte Motor Speedway which former Formula 1 driver Alex Wurz is helping to design. Since then, there has been no official word on the addition, but Ford’s release mentioned a new 1.7-mile route opening this quarter. If so, it will give Ford Performance and other track attendees a better race day experience than The infamous Charlotte Roval similar to the Rolex 24 at Daytona, combining infield racing with traditional road racing NASCAR oval shape with edges.
On the other side of the track, Ford unveiled its initial livery for the new factory-backed Mustang GT3 IMSA racers that will compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Called Champion Spirit Livery, it honors eight competing Mustangs that were in action from 1964 to 1997. Selected honorees:
- Mustangs prepared by Alan Mann Racing took first and second place in the 1964 Tour de France, just five months after the Mustang debuted;
- The Shelby GT350 won the 1965 SCCA B-Production championship;
- The 1966 Shelby American Mustang won the inaugural SCCA Trans-Am Series season;
- The 1970 Mustang Boss 302 that Parnelli Jones and George Follmer used to win that year’s SCCA Trans-Am Series;
- The turbocharged 1981 Zakspeed Mustang represented Ford’s return sport car race;
- The 1985 Roush IMSA Mustang GTO won nine IMSA races en route to the driver and manufacturer championships;
- The 1987 Roush IMSA Mustang GTO won the 24 Hours of Daytona;
- And the 1997 Mustang Cobra Trans-Am won the season SCCA Trans-Am championship with 11 straight wins.
The Ford Multimatic Motorsports team will enter the Mustang GT3 IMSA in its first race next month, the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. Champion Spirit Livery will then fly to Detroit to compete in Detroit grand opening. The team will then switch to the standard Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen livery in June until the end of the season.
