01-29-09: The Grand-Am Koni Sports Car Challenge season opener Daytona Beach, FL was a good day for the Mustang FR500C. Ford teams took three of the first five places, and had five Mustangs filling the top ten!
Taking secong place was the #61 ROUSH/Valvoline Mustang driven by Jack Roush, Jr. and Hugh Plumb. Two months ago they didn’t have a race team. Two weeks ago they were moving into a new shop. Both drivers led the race, with Roush leading the 63-car field around the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway for eight laps; Plumb led for two circuits late in the race. Unfortunately, the race ended under caution so he never got the chance to battle for the race win as the clock ticked across the three-hour mark signaling the end of competition.
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“We were inches away from the win,” Plumb said after the race. “We got bumped out of the lead on what turned out to be the very last lap of green flag racing. Jack drove the wheels off the car today, and was a huge part of our success. Roush too was pleased finishing second which equaled his career-best in KONI Sports Car Challenge competition. “I’m real happy with the second place finish. It was great to be able to have this brand new team come out of the box and be very competitive. I think that we could have won this race if the yellow flag
didn’t come out,” he said.
The #59 Mustang FR500C in which Dean Martin started with the pole finished in third place. Martin will co-drove the Mustang with Ken Wilden during the race. The #37 Mustang FR500C driven by Bret Seafuse and James Gue followed into 5th place.
If this weekend is any indication of the kind of racing we will see from Ford this year, 2009 will at least keep racing fans happy. “We have some of the most credible and highly regarded handling cars in the world on the track and the Mustang has been able to demonstrate its superiority and accomplishment taking on the best of Porsche and BMW,” said Jamie Allison, Manager Ford Performance Group.
