ARI Texas Int. Speedway Mustang
Mach 1
This article was published originally in a 1995
'Popular Hot Rodding Magazine'Author of the Article: David Fetherston*
Details about Daniels ARI Mustang
Some short quotes of the article*:
"Daniel Wilder's special "Official Pace Car" is one of less than 25 built for American Raceways, Inc., and was used at one of their four tracks around the country to pace their NASCAR events in the early '70s. Some were built just like Wilder's; others came with 428 Cobra Jet engines and the Drag Pack option."
"According to Mike Hale, an aficionado of these Mustangs, most of them were shipped from Ford to Car Corp. in Livonia, Michigan, where they were retrofitted with decals for each track. Convertible Pace Cars went to Ford's I.R. Building garage, which maintained Ford's racing program vehicles and trucks. Here, the convertibles were modified with Drag Pack oil coolers, new oil pumps, lowered an inch, fitted with roll bars and rolled out the door certified with "NASCAR Preparation."
"Each track had a designated Mach I color and four or five Mach I Official Pace Cars. These cars were used for parade, pace car and promotional duties. The Pace Cars at each track were all convertibles, while the remainder were all fastbacks. These fastbacks were used as backup cars for the convertible pace cars should the need arise."
"Wilder's fastback was used at the Texas International Speedway as the parade car. According to him, "At least four were given away as prizes at the end of the season at each track in Texas, Michigan, Georgia and California, and the others were eventually sold to private owners."
Wilder's Mach I is painted in Calypso Coral and loaded options like rear window slats, factory 351 Mach I graphics, Magnum 500 wheels and a Cleveland 351 4V with four-speed manual transmission. Inside accounterments include:
- air conditioning
- power windows and steering
- black trim
- rim-blow horn
- full instrumentation
- tinted glass
- and fold down rear seat
Note: The quotes are probably not correct in all facettes. A pace car would never be equipped with air conditioning and poer steering, so this car could only be a promo car or used for VIPs at the track.
* Disclaimer: If Popular Hot Rodding or the author of this article has sth. against being mentioned or quoted
here, I will immediately withdraw it.
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