Description

Since first becoming a mass-market success in mid-1964, the Ford Mustang has made millions of passes down sanctioned dragstrips. With styling flared toward youth, aftermarket parts manufacturers saw an enormous opportunity to produce go-fast components to aid in propelling Ford’s pony car down the quarter mile. The success of these cars was immediate.

In the hands of successful and seasoned pros, such as Gas Ronda, Bill Lawton, and Dick Brannan, Ford unleashed the devastatingly potent 1965 A/FX Mustang fastback. Built by Blue Oval stalwarts Holman & Moody, the 427 SOHC engine unleashed havoc on Mopar.

From those very first factory drag cars through the fabled 1968-1/2 Cobra Jet, drag racing historian Doug Boyce highlights the many successes of pioneers, such as “Dyno” Don Nicholson, Les Ritchey, Phil Bonner, Hubert Platt, and Al Joniec. However, it’s not just all doorslammers. As A/FX transitioned into Funny Car, a whole new chapter in Mustang drag racing was written. Mickey Thompson took the reins and drove Mustangs to success throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

As ever-changing rules hampered Ford’s new pony car, the Mustang II joined the muscle-car-era Mustangs and soldiered on the best they could. Drivers Bob Glidden and Don Nicholson worked to squeeze every bit of performance out of the Mustang II.

Quarter-Mile Mustangs: The History of Ford’s Pony Car at the Drag Strip 1964-1/2-1978 brings forth the most in-depth coverage of these cars at the drag strip.