Tricks of The Ford Racing Trade
At the track at California Speedway, Ford Racing rolled out a bright yellow GT500 with a couple of tweaks. After buckling myself in, I asked the Ford representative riding shotgun what was done to the car.
"Why don't you drive it and tell me," came the challenge. Would I even notice a difference?
Just driving down pit road, I could hear the F1s kicking up stones into the wheelwells. "Different tire compound," I noted. Just punching the throttle entering the track I blurted out that it definitely felt a lot stronger.
"Yeah, there's a little different tune in it," was the answer from the passenger seat.
Going around the infield road course, I noticed this GT500 was a lot more neutral than the "stock" models I'd been driving all morning. The ride height looked the same. My guess was sway bars.
"Nope," I was told. "Just different valving on the shocks and struts."
Are these tricks something we'll see in the Ford Racing catalog soon? Could well be. They work and are obviously something enthusiasts will be interested in.--J.C.