Race Car Of The Day: April 24, 2012

Today's car of the day is Racing Champions' 1995 Ford-Cosworth Indy Car (Scott Pruett).

Scott Donald Pruett (born March 24, 1960 in Roseville, California) is an American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am. He and his wife Judy have three children, and are children's book authors.

Pruett started racing go karts at the age of eight, and went on to win ten professional karting championships. In the 1980s, he established himself as a top American sports car racer, eventually winning two IMSA GTO Championships and three Trans-Am Series Championships.

In the 1990s, Pruett was a regular in the CART series. From 1988 to 1999, he made 145 starts with two wins, five poles and fifteen podiums (top three finishes). In a pre-season testing in 1990, Pruett was involved in a serious crash at West Palm Beach, Florida, where he seriously injured both his legs. Pruett spent the 1990 season recovering & on certain occasions calling ESPN Indycar telecasts as color commentator with Paul Page doing the play by play.

In 1994 he joined the reformed Pat Patrick team in CART series testing Firestone tires. Later that same year he won the Trans-Am Series Championship. In 1995 he drove full time for Patrick racing using Firestone tires in Firestone's return to the CART series & finally won his first race in a thrilling last lap duel with Al Unser Jr. at the Michigan 500. In 1997 he won his final CART series race at Surfers Paradise Australia (Nikon Indy 300).

Following his Champ Car career, Pruett raced the 2000 season in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series with PPI Motorsports, although with little success, achieving just 1 top-10 and finishing 37th in the points standings. He then moved back to sports car racing and won his third Trans-Am Series Championship in 2003. Since 2004, he has raced in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Pruett is still a regular starter at NASCAR road course races and he is often referred to as a Road Course Ringer. Pruett has won nine American sports car championships, three in Grand-Am (2004, 2008, 2010), to go along with previous championships in IMSA GTO (1986, 1988), Trans-Am Series (1987, 1994, 2003) and IMSA GT Endurance (1986).

Pruett also worked for several years as a commentator for Champ Car races on Speed Channel.

He is rumored as a candidate to replace Brian Barnhart as INDYCAR Chief Steward.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Scott Pruett

Yes, an Indy Car.  I don't have a lot of these in my collection but two joined my collection at the CARnival this year (including this one).

Pruett won the opening round of the 1991 IROC series season at Daytona. In 1994, Pruett joined Patrick Racing as a test driver for Firestone tires. The same year, he also won the IMSA 24 Hours at Daytona, and also won a second Trans-Am Series championship.

For the next 4 years, Pruett continued driving Indy Cars for Patrick Racing and usually made the top ten in the series championship. In 1995 he won his first CART race at the Michigan 500. His best CART career championship finish was in 1998 finishing sixth in points with three podium finishes and one pole position.
In 1999, Pruett changed to Arciero-Wells and participated in the Toyota engine program development. He also earned Toyota's first pole on an oval (California Speedway) and earned Toyota's best qualifying effort on a road course at the current time (third at the Australian Grand Prix).

Car Of The Day: March 7, 2012

Today's car of the day is Johnny Lightning's 1979 Ford Mustang Indy 500 pcae car.

The third-generation Mustang was produced by Ford Motor Company from 1979 to 1993. Built on Ford’s ubiquitous Fox platform, it evolved through a number of sub-models, trim levels, and drivetrain combinations during its production life. It underwent a multi-faceted update for 1987, and for a time seemed destined for replacement with a rebadged import before company executives were swayed by consumer opinions. Enthusiasts group the generation into two segments: the 1979-1986 cars, with their quad headlight arrangement, and the 1987-1993 cars, with their "no-grille" front fascia styling. Production ended with the introduction of the SN95 fourth-generation Mustang for the 1994 model year.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Ford Mustang

Not one of Johnny Lightning's better efforts.  When it was new, the 1979 Mustang was covered by almost every single diecast manufacturer in 1/64.  Majorette, Tomica, and Siku were the only major exceptions (Majorette made up for it by doing the '86 SVO & the '90 convertible).  The Johnny Lightning example here dates to 1996 and as hard as this is to believe, it's also the most recent casting of the 1979-1982 Mustang.  Think about how many 1/64 Mustangs have come out from Hot Wheels alone in the last five years.  The Foxbody has gotten some love from GreenLight and Hot Wheels both, but both were of the facelifted '87-'93 models.  The problem with this one is that at the time Playing Mantis was still trying to be Topper.  Which means they were distorting their cars in the way Topper did back in the late '60s and early '70s, but the effect just didn't look the same and was quickly dropped.

For 1979, the all new Mustang was based on the larger Fox platform, initially developed for the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr twins that debuted in 1978. The interior was completely restyled and could now more comfortably seat four, even with the smaller back seat. The new Mustang also had more trunk space and a bigger engine bay for better serviceability. Body styles included a coupe (notchback) and hatchback (fastback). The only trim level available over the base model was Ghia. There was also a Cobra option available (17,579 produced in 1979) that completed the lineup through 1981. Engine choices included the 88 hp (66 kW) 2.3 L Pinto I4, 109 hp (81 kW) 2.8 L Cologne V6 (made by Ford of Europe), and the 140 hp (104 kW) 302 cu in (4.9 L) Windsor V8. All were carried over from the Mustang II line. Supplies of the 2.8 L proved inadequate leading to it being replaced in late 1979 with Ford's 85 hp (63 kW) 3.3 L straight six. A new 132 hp (98 kW) 2.3 L turbo four-cylinder, debuted, which offered similar horsepower to the V8. Ford had high hopes this engine would usher in a new era in performance. The 2.3 and 2.3 Turbo and V8 models could also be optioned with the newly developed TRX handling suspension, which utilized Michelin 390 mm tires and specific metric wheels. The Mustang was again chosen as pace car for duties in the Indianapolis 500. Ford commemorated the honor with an "Indy 500" pace car edition. About 11,000 copies were produced in two-tone pewter and black with orange graphics. Available were the 2.3 L Turbo with mandatory four-speed manual transmission or the 302 cu in (4.95 L) V8 with either the manual or three-speed automatic transmission. The three actual Pace Cars were fitted with a T-roof by Cars & Concepts of Brighton, MI. The T-roof option would not become an available option until the 1981 model year. A T-top roof was optional.

Following the second oil crisis in 1979, the 302 cu in (4.9 L) was dropped in favor of a new 255 cu in (4.2 L) V8 due to its better fuel economy. It was the only V8 offered in 1980 and 1981. Basically a de-bored 302, the 4.2 L V8 had restrictive heads and managed to produce 120 hp (89 kW), the lowest power ever for a Mustang V8. Compounding the lack of power, the 4.2 L was mated only with the three-speed automatic transmission. This meant the 2.3 L Turbo 4 was the sole "performance" engine. However, the Turbo 4 was plagued with reliability issues from its release. Inadequate lubrication led to premature turbo failure and even some engines catching fire. It was listed as an option through 1981, but quietly dropped for 1982, although it was still available in Canada. This engine would return in the new-for-1983 Turbo GT. The "Traction-Lok" limited slip differential was available for the first time in 1981, with all engine combinations.
The beginning of a performance revival began in 1982 with the return of the 302 cu in (4.9 L) (called "High Output", or H.O., for the first time), last seen in 1979, and the GT trim level. Now producing 157 hp (117 kW), the re-engineered 302 consisted of new valves, a more aggressive cam (from a 1973 351W Torino application), a larger 2-barrel carburetor, as well as a better breathing intake and exhaust system. The 4.2 L, now in its final year and available only with an automatic, could be substituted in the place of the 302 resulting in a US$57 credit to the buyer. Trim levels were also revised to now included L (base), GL, GLX, and GT. The Cobra option was no longer available. The 3.8 L Essex V6 replaced the 3.3 L I6, as the 3.3 L engine had little demand and was dropped after 1982.