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Dearborn, Mich. — Okay, if you had to guess, how fast would you say an E-85 powered Ford Mustang FR500C could go on a closed race track?
Not in theory, but actually go?
Or, to be a little more accurate, actually went?
One hundred and fifty miles an hour? Two hundred? More?
Yesterday, one went better than 174 miles an hour in a closed-track test at Talladega Superspeedway.
Now, that’s significant for a bunch of reasons, but the racers out there know that Bill Elliott once ran 212.089 miles an hour in a Ford Thunderbird during qualifyin’ at Talladega—in 1987 (when the track was known as Alabama Superspeedway)!
And, on Wednesday, it was Bill Elliott who drove that Hajek Motorsports-prepared E-85 powered Ford Mustang FR500C to 174.206 mph. That was a USAC-certified record for an E85-powered car, but due to a cut tire during a test session—and an unfortunate meeting with the wall—that was far short of the intended 212 the team was shooting for.
The day before the event, even Elliott didn’t know how fast it would go. “Hard to tell,” was all he said when asked.
Still, the Sparskter would’ve chosen Elliott, too, for that run. After all, he is one of the very few drivers ever to drive that fast. You know, he’s been there. Literally. Better’n 212 miles an hour at Talladega. He set the pace.
Certainly, a lot has changed in the last 22 years, life is lived at a faster pace—shoot, even the Sparkster’s hair is leavin’ at a faster pace—but one thing remains unchanged: Bill Elliott. He’s still racin’ and diggin’ for all he can.
And, Brent Hajek, who owns the car, knows a little somethin’ about goin’ fast, too. Last August, he took the same E-85 powered Ford Mustang FR500C to the Bonneville Salt Flats, where it reached 252 miles an hour. Unfortunately, a mechanical failure prevented the team from makin’ a validation run, but still, 252 is 252, whether it’s on the Salt Flats or a bowlin’ alley.
This one, at Talladega, is official, for an E85-powered car. But the team will make repairs and come again to go after that magical 212 mark.
IT’S AN ALL-STAR EVENT; VOTE FOR BILL
One thing is for certain: After this weekend, three Ford racers will remain in the top 12 in the standings.
Yep, it’s the All-Star Weekend again. That means a field of drivers lookin’ to do one thing: finish in front of absolutely everybody else.
Ol’ Steady Matty Kenseth, who opened the points-payin’ portion of this year’s schedule with back-to-back victories, won what was then known as the Nextel All-Star Challenge five years ago, in 2004, on the heels of his championship season.
Bill Elliott won what was then known as The Winston in 1986, on the heels of his 11-victory season in ’85. Now, in years past, that would’ve been good enough for Awesome Bill to automatically be invited to this year’s All-Star extravaganza, but some of the rules surroundin’ this race were changed, and now Elliott will have to race his way into the main event by finishin’ first or second in the Sprint Showdown.
Or, he can be voted in.
To vote in the most popular driver in history, all fans have to do is go to online and vote for Bill. Headin’ into this week, Bill Elliott was in the top 10 of all vote-getters.
So, should Awesome Bill get voted in or race his way in, he’ll join Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Bobby Labonte as Ford racers in the field.
And then the next weekend, it’s back to runnin’ for a championship, with the 600, also in Charlotte. Kenseth won that race, too, back in 2000. In fact, it was the Steady One’s first-ever series victory.
And, headin’ into that race, The Biff, Kenseth and Edwards will be holdin’ down the ninth, 10th and 12th spots in the standings, which is certainly not what anybody would’ve expected 11 races into the season, especially after Kenseth opened with those two wins.
Still there’s plenty of time before the Chase—15 races, to be exact—and much can still happen. Kenseth, for one, should regain his February form, and you know that The Biff and Edwards, too, will be back up front and runnin’ like they usually do. And, the Sparkster is confident that David Ragan will soon be racin’ like it was 2008—or, at least, a Saturday at Talladega.
It certainly looked last weekend like Darlington could be where the Ford racers got back to victory lane. Three of the six fastest cars durin’ the first practice carried the Blue Oval.
Darlington, renowned as one of—if not the—toughest tracks on the NASCAR circuit, would not seem to be the most logical track for anybody to break out of a slump.
It certainly is not the bunt of NASCAR.
But, none other than Carl Edwards was quick to disagree with that assessment when he told reporters that, for that reason, Darlington is the place to bust a slump—someplace where the driver can make a difference.
And, last Friday, that meant at least Ford Racing drivers.
Includin’, yep, Carl Edwards.
And, of course, Greg Biffle was second-fastest on the time sheet. If ever a modern driver and old-school race track were a perfect match, it would have to be The Biff and Darlington. Goin’ into last weekend’s Southern 500, Biffle had twice won at Darlington and very well could’ve had a third. But, a mechanical issue sidetracked him last year.
As it turned out, Biffle was the best-finishin’ Ford racer, endin’ up eighth, two spots ahead of Kenseth.
SUMMER MUST BE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
Summer must be gettin’ closer because the Sparkster keeps seein’ more and more classic Fords out on the road. In just the last two days, the Spark has seen two ’67 or ’68 Cougars—or maybe one was a ’67 and one was a ’68, or one was a ’68 and the other was a ’67; the Spark still can’t tell the difference at a quick glance. But, at any rate, both were in very good shape, which is sayin’ somethin’ for a couple of cars with a combined age of over 80 years.
And the Sparkster easily remembers when those Cougars were brand-new.
Sparky:
Please give Bill Elliott the first FR9 race engine for competition use. The Wood Brothers are the longest-standing Ford team in NASCAR and Elliott would be perfect as they are not making a run for the points championship. After Elliott actually puts the engine to race use, You could then give Me one to put in My ’86 Mustang GT and I could show Viper, ZR1 and new Camaro owners what a real car is! Thanks!
Ponylegend
Let’s see, Ponylegend, that ’86 Mustang GT would’ve been about a year old when Elliott went over 212 at Talladega the first time. And, what is it about Mustangs and goin’ fast this week? It’s hard to imagine what that ’86 of yours could do with the new FR9 engine. It’ll be easier to imagine what Elliott and the Wood Brothers would do: Just fine, thank you. Although it hasn’t been decided, it is possible that the Woods and Elliott may be the first to use the engine. As Bill would say, “Hard to tell.”
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