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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 26, 2009) – Horsepower Ranch will debut its new No. 61 Ford Mustang GT during the Grand-Am Fan Appreciation Weekend, the second round of the 11-race KONI Sports Car Challenge season.
Horsepower Ranch launched its program at the end of 2008 with team owner Mike Canney, brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb and Jack Roush Jr. Canney and Matt Plumb, who along with Hugh drove to victory in last season’s Grand Sport (GS) finale at Virginia International Raceway, are driving fulltime together this season in the No. 60 Sunset Hills Vineyard Ford Mustang GT, while Hugh and Roush are running the No. 61.
The new No. 61, sponsored by ROUSH/Valvoline, is an FR500C, and came straight from a warehouse in Michigan. Roush said this specific car was manufactured about two years ago. It also marks the first time a car owned by ROUSH will be piloted by co-driver Jack Roush Jr. in KONI Challenge competition, according to ROUSH Performance Communications and Motorsports Manager John Clark.
“It’s a brand new car,” Roush said. “We bought it new from Ford in December, which made it impossible to run at Daytona (in the Fresh From Florida 200). Right now, it’s in our shop in Mooresville, N.C. Up to this point, I’ve been only running in other people’s cars, so I am very excited about running in our own car. The last time I drove a car that was in the family was when I was drag racing in 2006.
“The crew has been working very hard to get the car ready, and putting a lot of emphasis on detail to get the car to be the way it’s supposed to be,” Roush concluded.
Print-at-home tickets for the Grand-Am Fan Appreciation Weekend are currently available for free by visiting www.grand-am.com/konitickets. Without the free vouchers, fans can purchase tickets at the track for $10 each. The KONI Street Tuner (ST) race will take place Saturday, March 14, while the GS race is scheduled for Sunday, March 15.
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