Nascar announced today that the Mustang could be seen in as many as five Nationwide races as NASCAR works on its new car rollout for the series next year with the Dodge Challenger, Toyota Camry and Chevy Impala SS which are also expected to participate. Ford Mustang will start racing in the Nationwide Series in 2010 which will be the first time Mustang has appeared in a NASCAR sanctioned series.
In light of the adverse effect on today's economy, the annual car sales in The United States are down from 16 million to less than 10 million. Remember the old saying "WIN ON SUNDAY SELL ON MONDAY"? Well it was a lot more than just a saying as the facts prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that every time a specific model won on Sunday cars sales for that makes rose abruptly on Monday.
While it appears that some auto manufactures appear to be pulling out of major racing series it's also obvious that Ford is not of that frame of mind. Last week Ford made it's presence well known at the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb with two Fiestas and recently the announcement of their new three-car Fiesta effort that Ford will run at this year’s X Games Rally.
Usually this event is dominated by Subarus and a few Evo's but if Ford can make as good a showing as they did at Pikes Peak they will begin to gain a lot of recognition from the younger generation and hopefully take back some of what has been a domination of imported automobiles.
Don't think it can be done? Don't forget back in the day when the big Ford himself told Iacoca and Shelby, "Win at all cost. Money is not an object." Could it be history is about to repeat it's self? Mustang has a rich history in motorsports since its introduction and has won in drag racing, IMSA, Trans-Am, Grand-Am Cup road racing and, even Formula D drifting but it has never competed in NASCAR.
Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North American Motorsports said, "It's the most successful nameplate in racing history, and it seems only right that it should be coming to the most popular form of racing in North America,"
With the introduction of Mustang, Impala and Charger to Nascar racing it wont be long until the biggest rivalry in the auto world will once again have fans screaming in the stands and in front of their TVs which will also fuel sales on Mondays just like it did back in the day. Furthermore, if you don't think Americans wouldn't rather see a Ford Mustang race against a Toyota Camry then think again.
I honestly believe what Ford will accomplish by doing this is they will begin to get the attention of young potential car buyers who will in the process start reconsidering buying a Ford instead of an import. If Ford's begin to make a name again in racing as history shows they have done many times before you can rest assured Ford will increase their sales on Mondays.
