Every now and then, a car and its driver have a meaningful story to tell, but when it comes to the quarter-mile Mecca located in Byron, Illinois (a.k.a. the Byron Dragway), that is actually the norm, not the exception. Case in point with this crowd-pleasing, wheelie-loving little ‘86 Fox Body Mustang and its owner returning for testing after a 15-year hiatus.
The Race Your Ride YouTube channel has got us accustomed to such interesting excerpts of life already, be it the 80-year-old racer that likes to put on a smoke show for the crowd before his tuned Dodge Challenger Hellcat smokes the competition or the sleepy ‘72 Nova hiding a 454ci (7.4-liter) big-block Chevy under the hood to surprise both the audience and rivals.
And the list could go on and on (stretched just like that 1969 Triumph TR6 with a 488ci (8.0-liter) Pontiac turbo engine from not long ago), but we’re pretty sure everyone has got the point by now. So, let’s get back to the green third-generation Mustang showcased in the latest video (embedded below).
According to the description, Mark Anderson (the owner) used to come with his father for Byron Dragway action some 15 years ago. Back then, the drag strip’s renowned Ron Leek used to have a sweet spot for the Ford Lightning performance trucks sold and modified by Mark’s dad at the Anderson Motorsport facility.
Jump forward in time to 2021, and the circle comes complete as the Fox Body Mustang comes to Byron alongside Mark to complete the development testing. That’s probably why the Ford didn’t commit to any races against other opponents and chose solo quarter-mile runs instead.
No worries, because even when going at it alone, the show was bonkers. The little green monster went for three very constant runs (with ETs of 10.08, 10.4 and 10.5 seconds), and each time it lifted the front wheels so high it almost touched the sky (figuratively speaking, of course).
We might have been astounded by the level of consistency and control, but the secret lies with the fact that we’re not dealing with an ordinary build. Instead, Mark is campaigning this cool green machine in the NMRA/NMCA factory stock class.
That’s probably why he went for the most interesting engine options of the three available—the 280ci (4.6-liter, 2-valve) naturally aspirated V8 engine with 380 hp usually found under the hood of the Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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