Racer Stephen Cox shows how you can improve your 1979-1993 Mustang’s ride, handling and performance with this FOX-BODY MUSTANG ‘CHASSIS’ UPGRADE.
Fox body Mustangs (1979-93) have torque boxes for a reason. Ford's sloppy Fox platform literally twists under acceleration and with every turn the driver makes. This “chassis flex” (technically the Fox Mustang is a unit body platform but you get the idea) robs the classic Fox Mustang of cornering power and good handling characteristics.
For...
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Stephen Cox
PART V: REBUILDING MY TOTALLY-NOT-COLLECTIBLE MUSTANG!
Stephen Cox wraps up his mini-series and blogs about the performance improvements after the installation of a new Windsor racing engine and transmission.
The ‘80 Mustang is arguably the least desirable of any Ford pony car ever built and is certainly not worth the money and effort for a restoration. But the car has tremendous sentimental value for my family and me. I bought the car in early 1982 as the second owner. My wife and I dated in this car and I've since put over 240,000 miles on the o...
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GREAT DRIVES: ONE NIGHT AT TEXAS WORLD SPEEDWAY!
Most of racing's great stories (and some of its great drivers) are not on radio or TV. You gotta go see it for yourself, blogs Stephen Cox.
Al Unser, Sr. used a hotel lobby display car to win at Indianapolis in 1987. Juan Fangio at 46 years old broke and re-broke the Nurburgring lap record three times during his miracle Formula One victory in 1957. Every motorsport enthusiast can recite a list of the great driving performances in auto racing history. But many of the sport's truly amazing drives...
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SHORT TRACK RACING: HOMAGE TO A FORGOTTEN SERIES!
Hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years since the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) ran exciting, wheel to wheel stock car races on short tracks around Indiana. This series was distinct from and should not be confused with today's southeastern CARS series that descended from the old Hooters ProCup series, blogs Stephen Cox.
The original CARS series was Indiana-based, founded by former ARCA driver Morris Coffman. The concept was built around a spec stock car chassis powered by 305 cubic i...
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OPEN ROADS, PART 1: COLORADO TO CALIFORNIA ON US ROUTE 50!
The Loneliest Road isn't quite as lonely as it once was, but it should still be on the bucket list of every automobile enthusiast, blogs racer, TV personality, Stephen Cox.
I drove more than 1,200 miles this summer on America's “Loneliest Road,” US Route 50 West, as part of https://www.rallynorthamerica.com/ The event itself was remarkable, featuring incredible scenery, a family-like atmosphere with friendly people and a week of immersion in the automotive lifestyle. The rally started in Puebl...
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INDY: USAC MIDGET RACING AT THE BRICKYARD?
Stephen Cox blogs about a new event designed to draw short-track fans back to the mecca of motorsports.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced a new event that will be held in the first week of September and hopefully pump up sagging attendance at the Brickyard 400 stock car race. A quarter-mile dirt track will be constructed inside Turn 3 for a USAC midget race,
Speedway president J. Douglas Boles told the Indianapolis Star, “The short track community in a lot of ways is the heart an...
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INDYCAR: WHAT’S MISSING AT ST. PETE?
Stephen Cox examines the decline in overall entries at Indycar events over the years and looks at what, if anything could or should be done about it.
Qualifying for an Indycar race is no longer considered an accomplishment of any value in the auto-racing world. Of course, qualifying well is still valued. But qualifying itself is not, because every team that shows up automatically makes the race!
This is one of the unspoken differences between Indycar racing today and Indycar racing of the...
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GRID GIRLS: AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?
Stephen Cox blogs about auto racing's long-standing tradition of grid girls being the next casualty in the war for political correctness.
It was early 2015 when the World Endurance Championships (WEC) got rid of them, and Formula 1 may be next. Director Ross Brawn of Liberty Media, the new controlling group of Formula 1, recently said that the tradition of grid girls is being reconsidered. For the uninitiated, “grid girls” are the pretty women who stand beside the racecars prior to many events ...
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ELECTRIC GT CHAMPIONSHIP: PLUG-IN & PLAY!
Stephen Cox blogs about the new EGT Championship Series and its ‘Day Of Light’ on November 18th.
As racers and motorsports enthusiasts, most of us like to keep our ears to the ground about what's happening in our sport. Who could have predicted the explosion of $500 “crapcan” endurance racing, the declining attendance in NASCAR or the amazing rise of Formula E? What's next in our sport?
I must admit that the success of Formula E took me by surprise, especially considering the controversy sur...
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EMPTY STANDS: IS AUTO RACING DOOMED?
Stephen Cox blogs about the good old days and bringing fans back to tracks.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2014
The past few years have brought every gimmick imaginable to auto racing. NASCAR holds races that three people can win. The ever-changing playoff system (a gimmick in itself) functions like an automotive version of musical chairs!
Indycar's gimmicks are even worse. They tried mandating overpriced “body kits” to make their field of 33 identical Dallara chassis look like some...
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