11-21-06: Jack Roush is on a roll. The ROUSHCharger equipped Stage 3 Mustangs launched last year to a welcoming audience of over 220 buyers. About the same time Jack got back to his roots by re-entering the world of drag racing. His son Jack Roush Jr, his daughter Susan Roush-McClenaghan and her husband joined him to campaign a new test car that was based on the Stage 3 Roush Mustang.
A weekly sight at Milan Dragway southwest of Detroit, Michigan they tested the car for over a year to research and develop a new line of Roush parts specifically targeted to the grad racer. The Competion Line of parts are now coming on line, but Jack wanted to do something more. At the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada Jack proudly unveiled what will be the first factory built drag-race ready Mustang in over 26 years.
The Roush "Drag Pack" Mustang is akin to the purpose built 1969-70 Super Cobra Jet Mustangs that tore up drag strips back in the last days of the first muscle car era. Jack's new car will be a complete ready-to-race drag car you can buy at a dealership and drive straight to the track.
The 2007 Drag Pack Mustang starts out similar to a Stage 3 Roush Mustang, but the similarities stop there. Some of the parts that are unique to the Drag Pack Mustang include an upgraded flywheel and clutch, a one-piece drive-shaft with safety loop, a polished 4:10 ring and pinion gear set, upgraded posi-traction differential, bracing on the rear axle housing, new lower control arm brackets with two attachment positions, and high-strength axle shafts with extended wheel studs.
"When we returned to having a drag racing program last season I challenged the team at Roush Performance to build a car that can be driven to the track, have the tires changed to slicks, and perform on the drag strip," said Jack Roush. "This Drag Pack Mustang is the culmination of those efforts." Roush has a fondness for drag racing that goes back to when he began his motor-sports career in the late '60s with the "Fastbacks," a group of Ford engineers that pooled their money to go drag racing. He personally oversaw the development of the Roush Drag Pack Mustang.
The suspension components are replaced with highly adjustable and include tubular steel upper and lower control arms with rod ends, tubular steel panhard rod and relocation bracket, rear stabilizer bar relocation kit, and single adjustable front struts and double adjustable rear shocks. The battery is relocated to the trunk for better weight distribution and the inclusion of an external on/off switch, a tachometer with shift light mounted to the dash, smaller ROUSHcharger pulley and engine calibration with a maximum of 7000 RPM. The car will ship with both street tires and a set of Mickey Thompson rear drag racing tires.
Jack says that the car is built right up to the "edge" of street legal in its base form but can be optioned out as a full race spec car as well. The options start with lightening up the car with carbon fiber hood and fenders. A line lock system and four-point bolt-in safety cage, SFI-approved bell housing, upgraded transmission shift fork pads, and straight pipe exhaust system are on the list as well - necessities for serious racers.
For some additional power, an open system chiller box which provides maximum intercooler performance. A short throw shifter is available with reverse and fifth-gear lockout. The 430 horsepower car has achieved several runs in the 11.9-second and 113 mph range.
If you want one, you had better act fast. Only 50 copies of the Roush Drag Pack Mustang are being built and will be exclusively offered through Brandon Ford in Tampa, Fla. The car will be available starting in January. Pricing is expected to be around $60,000 for the base car and upwards of $100,000 for a fully optioned track-only car.
What if you like road racing? Well don't despair. Jack has something coming for you too. Stay tuned!
More information can be found at www.roushperf.com or by calling 800-59-ROUSH.
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