Mustang (stickers) headed to NASCAR

The "sport" of stock car racing lost its luster for true car enthusiasts years ago. NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow put the final nail in the coffin of legitimacy, taking all variables out of the race except for the pit crew and driver. Fans of Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota can root on their favorite make, but in reality their just cheering for a particular set of decals.

It was with this lament in mind that many had been hoping for a rebirth in the sport, with manufacturers taking advantage of the recent resurgence of the pony car wars to bring some real competition to the track, in the form of actual Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers going head-to-head, perhaps in the minor-league Nationwide Series.

Well, based on the picture below, that might be kind of happening, but not really. Ford wants to campaign the "Mustang" in Nationwide, but of course they can't stray from the formula of standard template bodies on special tube frames, covered in stickers that minimally resemble what they hock on the showroom floor.

I found the following quote from the press release amusing: "Ford Racing has gone through the official NASCAR submission and approval process for the new car, and, once templates are finalized, production of Mustang parts will start so teams can build the first cars for testing later this fall." Testing what? Do different stickers (i.e. "parts") actually have divergent wind tunnel properties?

C'mon NASCAR, let's get back to roots and give fans something to actually cheer for.