Daytona 500: Richard Petty to drive pace car

SEVEN-TIME DAYTONA 500 WINNER RICHARD PETTY TO LEAD FIELD IN 2011 MUSTANG GT 5.0-LITER V-8 PACE CAR

-- Seven-time Daytona 500 winner Richard Petty is scheduled to lead the 43-car field to the green flag on Sunday as pace car driver for "The Great American Race."

-- This will be Petty's first season back with Ford Racing since he won nine races as a driver in the 1969.

-- Petty will be driving the new 2011 Mustang GT with an all-new 5.0-liter V-8 engine capable of producing 412 horsepower, while delivering a class-leading 25 mpg on the highway.

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 12, 2010 -- Richard Petty will find himself in a very familiar place on Sunday afternoon, leading the field in the Daytona 500.

Petty, who holds the NASCAR record with seven Daytona 500 victories, has accepted the role as "Pace Car Driver" for the 52nd running of "The Great American Race," and will pace all 43 cars to the green flag behind the wheel of a special edition 2011 Mustang GT, powered by Ford's all-new 5.0-liter V-8 engine.

"There's nothing like the Daytona 500. It's one of the biggest races in the world and to be a part of it in this way is the next-best thing to actually being able to race," said Petty. "Who knows, maybe I'll just stay out there for a few laps and see what those guys have got because I'll definitely be in a hot-rod driving the new 5.0-liter Mustang GT."

Petty is back as a member of the Ford Racing family after Richard Petty Motorsports merged with Yates Racing during the recently concluded off-season. "The King" previously drove for the blue oval in 1969 and won nine races that season in a Ford Torino.

Ironically, the last and only other time Ford served as pace car for the Daytona 500 was one year later when a Ford Torino GT convertible started the 1970 event.

In addition to the special paint, this year's Mustang pace car features a Brembo brake package, Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace and mufflers, unique 19-inch painted wheels, and summer-only tires.

The actual car that Petty will drive recently was sold for $300,000 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., with all proceeds above the MSRP being donated to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"We're so thrilled to have Richard Petty returning to Ford," said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsports. "We wanted to do something that would make him feel like an integral part of our program right away, and having him behind the wheel of a 2011 Mustang GT to start the Daytona 500 is a perfect way to renew this relationship."

About the 2011 Mustang GT

The new Mustang GT continues Ford's powertrain offensive with an all-new 5.0-liter V-8, which uses advanced technology to deliver 412 horsepower and projected unsurpassed highway mileage of 25 mpg.

The 2011, Mustang GT adds specially tuned Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), 11.5-inch front and 11.8-inch rear vented disc brakes, and an enhanced suspension featuring an improved rear lower control arm and stiffened rear stabilizer bushings.

For enthusiasts, a Brembo brake package, with larger rotors and calipers from the Ford Shelby GT500® Mustang, unique 19-inch wheels and summer performance tires, is offered; new fender badges herald return of the 5.0-liter engine.

-source: ford racing