MUSTANG FR500CJ COBRA JET RETURNS TO DRAG RACING WITH A WIN AT NHRA WINTERNATIONALS

Contact:

Brent Maurer

 

 

 

 

 

 

313-203-7185

 

 

 

 

 

 

bmaurer@pcgcampbell.com  

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

MUSTANG FR500CJ COBRA JET RETURNS TO DRAG RACING WITH A WIN AT NHRA
WINTERNATIONALS


 

POMONA, Calif., February 11, 2009 - They say history often repeats
itself, and in the case of the Mustang Cobra Jet, it has.  

 

John Calvert, driving the 40th Anniversary 2008 Mustang FR500CJ Cobra
Jet duplicated the success of the original 1968 Cobra Jet when he won
the AA Stock Eliminator class at the 2009 NHRA Winternationals, which
finished up today after several rain delays.

 

In 1968, drag racing legend Al Joneic drove the Cobra Jet to victory at
Pomona in the NHRA Winternationals in the CJ's competition debut. 

 

"I couldn't be happier for Brent Hajek and John Calvert who have taken
the car that we designed, and created a championship race car in just
six weeks," said Brian Wolfe, Director of Ford North America
Motorsports.   "I am especially happy that John was able to drive the Al
Joniec tribute car that won in 1968 to a victory in 2009.  It is an
unbelievable debut for the Cobra Jet. 

"I couldn't be prouder of the team who got the car together, and a lot
of credit needs to go to the group at Ford Racing who developed the
Cobra Jet and once again developed a race car that, like the Mustang
FR500C, won in its initial outing."  

 


"I am really excited and I am really pleased at the result," said
Calvert. "The thing I am most pleased about is that Ford Racing thought
about this project and reached out to the grassroots level of racing.
This wasn't an easy race weekend; in fact I would say it was difficult.
The weather certainly created some consistency issues, especially with
an iffy track.  Still, the Cobra Jet ran very well in the elimination
rounds and we were able to bring home the trophy."


 


Driving for Oklahoma-based Brent Hajek Motorsports, Calvert piloted the
Cobra Jet through a chaotic opening weekend that stretched over six days
due to rain delays. Calvert, a former world champion (1991 Stock) and a
three-time NHRA Winternationals champion, normally runs a 1968 Cobra
Jet.  He agreed to drive the Hajek '08 entry in Stock Eliminator at the
Winternationals. 


 


"How cool is this? It was like a storybook ending that was meant to be,"
said Hajek, who entered four Cobra Jet Mustangs at Pomona. " It is our
first time entering a national event and we won!  This program was
always about paying tribute and respect to the drivers from'68 who
started the legend of the Cobra Jet. This was about upholding their
honor and everyone involved with this project deserves a great deal of
credit."

 

"The people at Ford Racing did an awesome job building these cars, and
my guys deserve credit for getting the CJ's race-ready in an
unbelievably short amount of time. And credit also goes to the drivers,
especially John Calvert, who brought this all the way home. I am so
proud of this group and I hope the legends from '68 -- Al [Joniec], Gas
[Ronda], Hubert [Platt] and Randy [Ritchey] -- are proud of us."

 

For decades, the Mustang has been the preeminent car in many forms of
motorsports, including drag racing.  Adding to the rich and successful
racing history of Ford's iconic pony car, the 2008 Cobra Jet Mustang is
a factory-built race car that is NHRA-legal and ready for the drag
strip.  It is the first purpose-built race car from Ford for drag racing
since the original Cobra Jet Mustang. 

 

The original Cobra Jet Mustang was conceived by drag racing legend Bob
Tasca, the competition-oriented Ford dealer in Rhode Island who at the
time operated one of Ford's most successful retail operations.  Tasca
looked to the Ford parts shelf when he wanted to upgrade the engines on
some of the Mustangs that he was selling, and came up with the KR-8
conversion package for his performance customers. 

 

Henry Ford II announced that Ford would put together several of the
Tasca 428-powered Mustangs for drag teams competing in the 1968
Winternationals, where two of the Mustangs made it into the finals and
Al Joniec went on to win the Super Stock championship.  After the car's
success at Winternationals, Ford announced that it would be producing
the 428ci Cobra Jet engine.

 

The 2008 Cobra Jet Mustang joins Ford Racing's stable of
championship-capable customer Mustangs:  the Mustang FR500S, the Mustang
FR500C and the Mustang FR500GT.  All are turnkey cars available via the
Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog and through Ford dealers.

 

The FR500 series of Mustangs are race-ready cars, designed by Ford
Racing engineers for performance-conscious customers, that can be rolled
right off of a truck and win in competition.  In winning its debut race
the '08 Cobra Jet, matched the accomplishment of its sister car, the
Mustang FR500C.  The FR500C was unloaded for customers at the 2005
Grand-Am Rolex Series opening race in Daytona on a Wednesday, won the
race on Friday and went on to secure a championship its first season.
The CJ has once again delivered a victory to the FR500 series of
Mustangs in its debut weekend.

 
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