Mustang is already the most successful single nameplate brand in professional racing history, but it hasn't competed in NASCAR until now.
Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports, made the announcement today that Mustang will debut as part of NASCAR's "new car" limited rollout in the 2010 Nationwide Series. Ford Racing has gone through the official NASCAR submission and approval process for the new car, and, once templates are finalized, production of Mustang parts will start so teams can build the first cars for testing later this fall.
It appears the Nationwide Series version of the Car of Tomorrow will not make its debut until next July at Daytona. NASCAR had hoped to roll out the new car for the series next February, however after meeting Tuesday with Nationwide Series owners at NASCAR's Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina, team owner Rusty Wallace said it was a timing issue.
The former Sprint Cup Series champion said, "Most of the teams were concerned about how soon the car would come out and how much would it cost. As the meeting went on it became apparent it won't come out in Daytona (February) as thought...it's just too soon."
Wallace felt the majority of the owners thought the car should roll out next July at Daytona and probably no road courses will be involved in 2010. The delay is all about money. "The economy is really killing us right now," said Wallace.
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