Steeda Shines at The 40th Anniversary!

April 14, 2004 8:13 pm

Hats off to the Ford Motor Company! At the 40th Anniversary of the Mustang in Music City, USA they pulled out all the stops. The 100,000 Mustang faithful who came were not disappointed!Thousands of Mustang owners rode their ponies to the event, including a cross-country caravan of hundreds of Mustangs, piloted by owners from five different countries as well as the good old USA. Despite the mob scene, the Steeda Autosports presence was easy to detect. Even with 3,000 cars in the show, Mustangs featuring Steeda Styling mods stood out. And it was even easier to spot the Steeda ‘Stangs out on the track – you simply had to follow the car out front most of the time. The Steeda #20 car was the fastest production-built Mustang in attendance, as demonstrated in the Celebrity Race.

Throughout the weekend event, both Steeda Mustangs, the new Q400R and the historic ’95, #20, ran at or near the front of the field, as did Robin Burnett with his Steeda assisted American Iron / American Sedan class racer. Burnett had a strong second place finish, after leading every lap of the American Iron Group B feature. Robin runs a 347 stroker that is mostly stock with a mild set of heads, and he used all of it to get ahead in the turns with his Steeda 5-Link equipped Mustang. A valiant effort by the driver, hot on the heels of his March AI win, and a great demonstration of the superior Steeda suspension.

The capper came during Saturday’s Celebrity Race, featuring drivers like Larry Parker, President of RPP, in the car previously piloted by the Trans-Am series’ only four-time Driver’s Champion, Tommy Kendall. In a mixed field of tube-chassis race cars and production-based rides, it was Steeda Driving Instructor Charles Espenlaub who sprinted out to lead by half a lap when the green flag dropped. The crowd responded with a roar as the Steeda enhanced Mustang flew into the first turn, flames shooting from the side exhaust. A true David meets Goliath story – the $30,000.00, modified street car out-gunning the purpose built machines with price tags close to ten times that amount!

The Steeda Display was busy as fans came by to congratulate Team Steeda on their performance, and many were impressed to learn that the #20 car had a simple yet stout 2V mod motor providing the power, so again the majority of the credit for the car’s performance goes to the well-tuned Steeda set-up. They got excited as they realized that this is a set-up an enthusiast on a budget can duplicate as his driving desires and budget permit – real race car parts, with a real world price tag. It’s the winning combination that the Steeda reputation has been built upon.

Upon their return to the Steeda Campus, the Team Steeda members took a well deserved Victory Lap around the parking lot before getting back to the job at hand – having all the right parts on the shelf so that this fall, when your 2005 Mustang hits the street or track, the winning combination of Speed and Style will available with a click or call to Steeda Autosports.

The Ford Mustang has embodied the American automotive dream for 8 million drivers and counting. Steeda Autosports is proud to have been there, as 40 years of achievement were celebrated in grand style. Only one pressing question remains. What do you think they’ll do when the Mustang hits the big Five-0?