Mustang Week 2013

Categories: American Classic Cars | Hot Rods & Custom Cars | Muscle & Pony Cars

Sponsored by Ford. Photos by Keplinger Designs and Austin C.Craig.

Since 2002 Mustang Week has been the place to be in July for Mustang enthusiasts of all ages. Located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Mustang Week is perfect event to combine a summer vacation for the family at the beach plus a week of great activities with your Mustang.

Mustang Week was the idea of five friends; Mike Clay, Brad Worley, Scott Morgan, Rodney Melton and the late Bill Jones. The group used to plan their summer vacations at Myrtle Beach and enjoyed driving their Mustangs and figured other Mustang enthusiasts would enjoy doing the same. They were absolutely correct. Since 2002, Mustang Week has grown into one of the must attend events of the year. One of their secrets to success is that all the Mustang Week staff is friendly, helpful and are genuinely glad that you came to the event.  

Never resting on their laurels, the Mustang Week Team is always adding new venues and this year was no exception. On Tuesday, B.F Goodrich Performance Tires hosted the Mustang Week Autocross Driving School at the Myrtle Beach Speedway. The school was a success and preceded the autocross, held at the speedway on Wednesday. The autocross has grown considerably and this year the Mobil Mod Center was there to assist participants as well as spectators.

The Mobile Mod Center is a new concept of a one stop performance shop on wheels. At the autocross and later the car show, enthusiasts were able to have their rides customized with products from leading performance companies; MRT exhaust and styling products, Kicker Performance Audio, Ford Racing Performance Parts, Gateway Classic Mustang suspension products, ACE Clutches, Webasto sun roofs, BFG tires, along with car care products from Gumout, Slick 50 and Black Magic. Judging from all the activity at the Mobile Mod Center during the week it is easy to assume the new concept is a big success. Scott Hoag MRT CEO and a former Ford engineer and Steve McCarley, Mustang Club of America Past President and a successful IMSA and SCCA professional racer gave rides during the autocross in Steve’s 2011 MRT equipped Mustang GT and the MRT’s SEMA Show Award winning 2012 V6 Mustang TKO.

Thursday is for drag racing at Darlington Raceway. This year as a prelude to the racing, the Battle of the Beach Dyno Challenge was held that morning in the Myrtle Beach Mall parking lot. Presented by Pro Dyno, the new for 2013 event was a big hit with participants and spectators alike.

I am always amazed at the turnout at Darlington Dragway. The large field resembles an NHRA National event with Mustangs of every vintage and their drivers enjoying the sport of drag racing. The participants come from all over the country, not just the Southeast, as license tags from as far away as New Mexico, Maine, Ohio, Illinois and Texas were spotted at Darlington Dragway. The variety of Mustangs and Shelbys was also exciting to see, no matter what year is your favorite you will see it at Mustang Week.

The Friday car show was sold out as the huge parking lot at the Myrtle Beach Mall was filled to capacity. It is also interesting to see all the Mustangs that are not in the show parked everywhere!

Typical of the well organized activities is the wall all the sponsors and vendors are positioned around the car show forming a huge manufacture’s midway. Ford Motor Company supports the event with both a product and merchandise exhibits. The long line of enthusiasts to signup and get a Mustang tee-shirt was ongoing during the whole show. An added treat in the Ford display was the Holman Moody 2014 Tour de France Mustang. This car of which 500 will be built celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Holman Moody built Mustangs winning the grueling event in September of 1964. The first professional race won by a Mustang.

Just about every performance aftermarket company is also displaying their latest products and providing technical information. This year BF Goodrich brought their mobile display adding the numerous tractor trailer exhibits.

Mustang Week concluded on Saturday with a cruise-in that again fills the expansive mall parking lot. The week events are so well run, the Mustang Week staff so friendly and helpful that the event is a must attend for every Mustang enthusiast. Mark these dates, July 14-20, 2014 on your calendar.


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