MUSTANG FR500C OUT FRONT AT GRAND AM KONI CHALLENGE

Driver Dean Martin and Mustang FR500C blister through qualifying lap.

A Mustang FR500C helped Martin take the pole and claim the top spot for the season-opening Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series at the Daytona International Speedway on Friday January 23, 2009. Martin credits the Mustang’s handing and performance in allowing him to break the one-lap, two-minute mark in qualifying with a time of 1:59.555 (107.198 mph).

Martin will co-drive the No. 59 Mustang FR500C with Ken Wilden during the race, on a track that tends to favor Ford's pony car. The Ford teams will be defending two team championships and a manufacturers’ championship earned in 2008, when the KONI series kicks off. Mustang FR500C cars make up 40 percent of the GS field

Quotes

"Getting the pole here in Daytona was our first goal, and of course winning the race tomorrow is our ultimate goal. Our lap out there today was magic. The way our Mustang handled and performed was just perfect. We've worked really hard during the off-season and we want to show everybody that we're the best. I think our team can carry today's success over into tomorrow's race."
- Dean Martin, Driver, No. 59 Mustang FR500C

"A Mustang should definitely win and be on the podium tomorrow. "I'll be honest; I was surprised that we went as fast as we did. I never expected to go that fast. We had been fighting the car all day and it wasn't so good, but I told the team not to mess with anything and to see what happens. I figured if I ran a two-minute flat lap, we'd be okay. So when I came by the timing light and it came up as a 1:59.60, I just went, 'Oh my gosh, I'm just going to come in right now.' I was so excited and just really happy for our team."
- Dean Martin, Driver, No. 59 Mustang FR500C

“We have some of the most credible and highly regarded handling cars in the world on the track and the Mustang has been able to demonstrate its superiority and accomplishment taking on the best of Porsche and BMW.”
- Jamie Allison, Manager Ford Performance Group

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