Wow ! Looks like the new Mustang is off to a great start. And to think Ford is going to sell versions of these race cars to the public.

It is a long read so below is the link to the article and I posted the key points below.










http://www.grandamerican.com/News/Article.asp?ID=3626


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 4, 2005) -- In the 2005 Grand-Am Cup Series season-opening Grand-Am Cup 200, co-drivers Ian James and Tom Nastasi drove the No. 5 Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang GT to victory at Daytona International Speedway. It was the debut race for the 2005 Ford Mustang GT, and was the first Grand-Am Cup Series overall victory for a Mustang of any generation.

"It's outstanding to come out to Daytona and win," said James. "Like Tom briefly mentioned, we only got the car a few days ago. These guys at Multimatic got it together. I think everyone can see how level a playing field Grand-Am Cup is. This just shows you how even the cars are. It's great to win."

Nastasi and James led a 1-2 sweep for the new Mustang, as David Empringham and Scott Maxwell came home second in the No. 55 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang in an eventful race. On the second lap, Empringham rocketed past Justin Marks in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 and into the lead in the chicane at the end of the Daytona Superstretch.

The Grand-Am Cup 200 will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on Saturday, March 5 at 11:00 a.m. on SPEED Channel. Next up is a stand-alone GS event, which will also be the series' first-ever visit to Latin America, as the GS cars head to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.