Event: Mustang 50th Celebration, Charlotte

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Event: Mustang 50th Celebration, Charlotte

The Big Five Oh

Ford’s Mustang celebrates its milestone birthday in style at Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Steve Turner

Fifty is a significant milestone. When people approach what most perceive as mid-point in life, some want to pretend that it didn’t happen. However, most want to throw the party to end all parties. After all, if you’ve made it that far, it is definitely cause for celebration.

After the opening ceremony closed, Ford brought the 50th Anniversary edition into the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the media. The press swamped the white S550, and later as the media coverage died down, the public flooded in for a closer look.
After the opening ceremony closed, Ford brought the 50th Anniversary edition into the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the media. The press swamped the white S550, and later as the media coverage died down, the public flooded in for a closer look.

When it came time to celebrate the 50th birthday of the world’s favorite Pony car, the Mustang Club of America knew the party had to be huge. The club had hosted celebrations for other significant milestones in the past. Most recently, the club blew out the candles on the Mustang’s 45th at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. However, for the car’s big 50, the club knew it had to be even bigger; So much bigger, that just one venue wasn’t enough to contain it.

Our friends at AmericanMuscle.com brought their usual media crew to the event to film, and they conducted a brief interview with Ford CEO Mark Fields regarding the Anniversary car. The interview must have gone well, because Mark Fields surprised AM’s on-camera personality Dave Kaeck with a high-five!
Our friends at AmericanMuscle.com brought their usual media crew to the event to film, and they conducted a brief interview with Ford CEO Mark Fields regarding the Anniversary car. The interview must have gone well, because Mark Fields surprised AM’s on-camera personality Dave Kaeck with a high-five!

 

 

As such, the club planned twin celebrations to cover both sides of the country—one in Las Vegas, Nevada, for West Coast fans and one in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the East Coast. Drivers in the Great American Pony Drive started in Mustang, Oklahoma, and drove to either event, while another group of hardcore fans drove from California to Charlotte in the Mustangs Across America cruise. In fact, we heard that Charlotte was the far larger event, with about 3,800 cars registered, while Vegas still had a stout 2,000 registered cars. Of course, thousands more were on hand just to see the spectacle.

 

Fortunately they didn’t sully this cake with 50 candles. It is, however, adorned with the official show logo, so it might be a collectible. Hopefully it won’t be found in a barn one day, but we didn’t have time to stick around and have a slice, so we aren’t sure if it’s chocolate or vanilla under that icing.
Fortunately they didn’t sully this cake with 50 candles. It is, however, adorned with the official show logo, so it might be a collectible. Hopefully it won’t be found in a barn one day, but we didn’t have time to stick around and have a slice, so we aren’t sure if it’s chocolate or vanilla under that icing.

However you want to slice it, the celebrations were huge, and they were mirrored by other celebrations as far away as China and the Middle East. Let’s face, the Mustang is a popular 50-year-old. Obviously, the Mustang is our favorite 50-year-old, so we headed out to both events, and what you see here is our comprehensive coverage of the Charlotte bash. Sadly, steady rain really hurt the attendance on Saturday, which is typically the biggest day for any show. However, there were still lots of hardcore fans that braved the weather.

Without an aerial shot, it is impossible to really capture the scope of the Mustang 50th Celebration in Charlotte. However, this little sample gives you the idea that there were Mustangs for as far as the eye could see. Mustangs were driving all over the area, and they took up spots at hotels for a 25-mile radius around the track.
Without an aerial shot, it is impossible to really capture the scope of the Mustang 50th Celebration in Charlotte. However, this little sample gives you the idea that there were Mustangs for as far as the eye could see. Mustangs were driving all over the area, and they took up spots at hotels for a 25-mile radius around the track.

Whether you attended or not, there was a lot to see at Charlotte Motor Speedway, so check out our gallery to get an idea what a great party it was.

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