Mid-Ohio round three preview

Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Ready for Mid-Ohio Debut

Mansfield, OH (18 June 2008) -- Fresh off a very successful event last weekend at Mosport International Raceway, the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup travels to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Series this weekend as part of the Grand-Am EMCO Gears Classic. Twenty-four racers are entered for this weekend's third round of the eight-round inaugural championship, all of whom will be looking to get the most out of their Ford Mustang FR500S machines in Saturday's race, scheduled to start at 12:30 pm.

The Mosport event saw round one winner Andrew Caddell of Graham, Washington, increase his championship points lead with a second consecutive victory, holding off a hard-charging Pratt Cole following a late-race restart to take the win. Despite his early-season points lead, Caddell knows that he has a hungry field of racers chasing him who are anxious to break his race-winning streak. This will be Caddell's first visit to the historic Ohio facility, so he will have to learn the 2.2-mile track quickly to keep everyone in the rear-view mirror of his No. 9 TC Motorsports Ford Mustang FR500S.

"I've never been there before, so it's going to be a little interesting to see how we pick that track up," said Caddell. "I've heard different stories about it. I'm confident in myself, and I know that TC Motorsports will give me a great car the whole time. I'm confident in them to get the car working good for me to be up there and be able to lead the thing."

The Mosport event also saw Tony Buffomante make his first Mustang Challenge podium appearance, fending off Jamie Slone for third place behind Cole. Heading into round three at Mid-Ohio, Slone currently lies third in the championship standings, six points behind Cole, with Mike McGovern fourth.

The race weekend will open with a promoter test day on Thursday in advance of practice on Friday, with Saturday slated to host both qualifying and the 45-minute third round of the 2008 championship. Live timing will be available at www.MustangChallenge.com.

Mid-Ohio Mustang Challenge event schedule:

Thursday, June 19:
Mid-Ohio Promoter Test Day

Friday June 20:
7:45 am 8:10 am Practice -- Ford Mustang Challenge Series
3:35 pm 4:15 pm Practice -- Ford Mustang Challenge Series

Saturday, June 21:
8:20 am 8:45 am Qualifying -- Ford Mustang Challenge Series
12:30 pm 1:15 pm START -- Ford Mustang Challenge Series Race (45 minutes)

-credit: frmc