Since news of the Ford Mustang participating in NASCAR hit the scene fans of the iconic pony car have been waiting in anticipation for any news of the upcoming car and newly formed Ford Mustang team. Just recently four Roush Fenway Ford Mustangs were taken out for a two day NASCAR nationwide series test session at the Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the new car debut on July 2, 2010. Ford Racing caught up with drivers Paul Menard and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for reaction to day one.
PAUL MENARD - NO. 98 MENARDS FORD MUSTANG
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HOW TODAY WENT?
"This is my first time ever being in this car and only the second time for my guys, so we've come a long ways. I think we've got pretty good speed. We've just got to get it to drive a little bit better, but we've got a whole day tomorrow as well."
HOW DO YOU LIKE DRIVING A MUSTANG?
"Like I said, we have really good speed and we definitely have the coolest-looking cars here. The Mustang decal package and the way the body is shaped makes it the coolest-looking car here. I'm happy to be driving it."
ANY SIMILARITIES IN THE DRAFT HERE BETWEEN THE CUP CAR AND NATIONWIDE CAR?
"No, they're totally different. The suspension and the way we set the cars up are totally different, so there's not a whole lot of translation. The aero package with the Mustang has a bigger spoiler, so the cars actually suck up quicker. You get bigger runs versus the Fusion Cup car, so it's a work in progress. They may change the spoiler on us. We don't know yet, but we'll see."
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. - NO. 6 CITIFINANCIAL FORD MUSTANG
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE DAY?
"It was interesting. Our Mustang was pretty loose, but I don't feel like it's just the Mustang. I feel like everybody in the garage feels like they're pretty loose. We're just trying to get some rear grip in it. It's got a lot of front grip, which is not a bad thing, but we're trying to find a way to add rear grip. We worked on some stuff and I'm not sure we got it figured out exactly right, but we've got a game plan going into tomorrow and we'll see if it works."
WERE YOU LOOSE IN THE DRAFT OR SINGLE-CAR RUNS OR BOTH?
"Both. There at the beginning doing single-car runs we were a little bit free, maybe not real free, but once we got in the draft we were really loose."
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FUSION NATIONWIDE CAR AND A MUSTANG NATIONWIDE CAR IN THE DRAFT?
"They're totally different. The Nationwide car with the Fusion is at one end of the spectrum and the Mustang is at the other. The Nationwide car, you can run around here wide-open and be comfortable in it. Right now, the Mustang is loose, but, then again, I look at it as maybe a good thing. You've really got to drive it. It's not just hold it on the mat and see who is gonna be there to cross the finish line at the end. I think it's gonna be interesting and I think it's gonna be more of a handling race track than we've seen in the Nationwide cars in years past."
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