Several of us just got the opportunity to take a few vacation days and head to Tulsa, Ok, for the 2010 Mid America Ford Nationals sponsored by Team Shelby. The action-packed 5-day event features a drag race, cruise, car show, and multiple opportunities to have fun with fellow Ford lovers.
The highlight of the meet, though, is the open track event at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in nearby Jennings, Ok. Hallett is a challenging 1.8-mile course with 80 feet of elevation change. The track offers beautiful scenery, safe, grassy, run-offs, and plenty of shade to beat the summer heat.
Six of us took vehicles consisting of
Lee's 89 Mustang 5.0 Coupe,
Scotty's 93 5.0 Notch,
Justin's 2010 Mustang GT,
Jonathan's 1995 Mustang GTS coupe,
Karson's 99 Ford Lightning,
My 2011 Mustang GT 5.0L
All of us had tons of fun.
I can report that the 2011 5.0 is a very capable on-track package. The car turns-in well, brakes well, and is very predictable. Since the S197's introduction in 2005, I've been impressed with the car's ability to turn corners. With an additional 100 horsepower, and Brembo brakes, the 2011 is just that much better. The only mishap during the event was having to refer to the car's owner manual to figure out how to turn the advancetrac off. I ran one session with it on, and I literally left my foot to the floor as the car attempted to apply brake and take away power to keep me out of the weeds. I came back to the paddock after that with one smoking set of brakes. Don't do that.
Armed with nothing more than a set of Hoosier R6 tires and Ford Racing M-5300-P springs, the car held its own with track-prepped rides that don't offer amenities such as air conditioning and a warranty. Final transponder-produced times for the event were several 1:32's, 1:31's and a couple of 1:30's. Final quickest time for the event for the new 5.0 GT was 1:30.374. This is a very respectful time for a virtually stock car, but, surely, this could be improved upon with more seat time and, possibly a tighter nut behind the wheel.
For the occasional open-track outing, the new 5.0 is hard to beat.
Here are some videos for your viewing pleasure. There's even a special treat in here, as Vaughn Gittin Jr. was on hand to show off in his 2011 Mustang GT drift car, and we've got footage of Friday's vintage and late-model exhibition races where 50resto's own Scott Hubbard placed 3rd in his ex-Bondurant Cobra.
Me in the 2011
Scotty in his 93 Coupe
Vintage race, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Late Model Exhibition
and my 2011 Mustang GT.