It was a dark and stormy night-really. The weather on Friday, July 28, at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois, was dreadful. To make it worse, it was the eve of the biggest and baddest drag race and car show of the '06 season-the Motive Gear NMRA/NMCA Superbowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing. Tornado warnings and a torrential downpour sent everyone on the manufacturer's midway running for cover. Fortunately, Saturday morning was bright and beautiful.
When the worlds of Mustang racers and magnificent Mustang show cars collide with other great cars of the National Muscle Car Association, you have a recipe for outstanding wheels-up drag racing and one wickedly cool show.
A major part of the NMRA series is the Laurel Mountain Mustang All-Ford Auto Show. The Route 66 show was the fifth in the NMRA series this season, and as always, the judges did a fine job of identifying the winners of best paint, engine, interior, and other categories.
By the time you read this, the '06 season will be in the history books, but rest assured that Mustang Monthly and our sister publication, Mustang & Fords, will be on the hunt for the finest Mustangs and Fords during the '07 NMRA season.
You don't see many small-block...
You don't see many small-block '70 Mach 1s these days. Rich Dust's super-clean Mach is powered by a 351 Windsor four-barrel engine. It also has the original Sport wheel covers.
Rod Trembczynski's '67 Shelby...
Rod Trembczynski's '67 Shelby GT350 was a Joliet crowd pleaser. An early production car, number 36, it has...
...the rare side-marker lights...
...the rare side-marker lights behind the upper rear quarter-scoops, which, as Rod points out, are "not J.C. Whitney!"
Greg and Derek Reible show...
Greg and Derek Reible show their Roush convertible in the Modern Mustang class.
One of the Laurel Mountain...
One of the Laurel Mountain All-Ford Auto Show classes is designed to showcase cars built by young owners. Adam Swiech built this Fox-body, making good use of Saleen body components.
Dan Nicholson went for the...
Dan Nicholson went for the restomod look on his '69 Mustang convertible. It's powered by a 351 Windsor with Canfield aluminum heads.
Editor's Choice
Some say life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take; it's measured by the moments that take your breath away. If that's true, then we owe a big thanks to Les Baer and his magnificent '69 Boss 429 for providing one of those moments. The car featured here is breathtaking in every sense of the word.
Les told us this is one of two Boss 429s in his stable, along with a Hemi Mopar or two. With that kind if collection, it's good to be him!
KK1325 is an early S-code car, completely numbers-matching. This Boss sports all the ultra-rare Boss 429 parts. It's hard to believe that a car with only 2,400 miles needed a complete restoration, but according to Les, this Boss has low mileage because it spent all of its life on the dragstrip.
Les is quick to point out that the only part of the car that hasn't been restored is the trunk, which still has the original mat, inflatable spare tire, jack, and Candyapple Red trunk paint.
The quality of Mustangs on the Laurel Mountain Mustang All-Ford Auto Show rated among the finest we've seen this year, but this '69 Boss 429 was class of the field, earning the Mustang Monthly Editor's Choice award.