"Ford is thrilled with its relationship with Larry Miller and everyone at Miller Motorsports Park," said Jamie Allison, manager of the Ford Racing Performance Group. "Larry has displayed a great deal of personal support and commitment to building this world-class racing facility, and it's a terrific venue for us to showcase our full line of Ford Racing Mustangs and performance parts to race fans and enthusiasts."

The latest news form the school is the development of new racing car that offers aspiring racers an affordable, turn-key package to develop their skills based on the race-proven production Ford Mustang platform. The new "Mustang Challenge" car is a highly modified Ford Mustang GT that has been lightened by 330 pounds and fully prepared for racing. It features upgraded intake, exhaust, suspension, braking, steering, and aerodynamics (taking liberal advantage of the Ford Racing parts catalog), and includes data acquisition and safety modifications, plus comes exclusively with BFGoodrich g-Force R1 DOT race tires.

A Mustang Challenge car can be purchased outright for $55,000, leased for the race season or even rented on a per-race basis. They can also be rented for practice, advanced driver training or sponsor promotions.

Next up is word that Miller Motorsports Park has created a Mustang Challenge series as part of its Miller Park Racing Association (MPRA), which was established to build local and regional car racing in Utah. It subsidizes the cost of the racing in order to assist local car clubs and shops as they develop their own racing programs. MMP organizes and sanctions the seven-event, 14-race series, which will also appear as a support event to some of the track’s major racing events. MPRA provides trained corner marshals, timing and scoring, emergency response and fire/rescue equipment and personnel.

With the leasing and rental programs, racers can fly in from other parts of the country and strap themselves into a race-ready car – with no hassles or worries – and compete on North America’s finest road racing facility, which can be configured in four different variants ranging from 2.20 to 4.5 miles. If purchased, the Mustang Challenge car is economical to maintain and, with the Ford Racing parts, can be repaired by Ford dealerships.

"The Mustang Challenge is an innovative and affordable vehicle for racers to consider," said Wilson. "It offers a lot of performance for much less money than comparable vehicles, and is a stable and reliable platform. We have already had a lot of interest in the car, and we think it will be very popular with both veteran and less experienced racers."

For more information on the Mustang Challenge car or series, contact the Ford Racing School of High Performance Driving at (435) 277-8790, or visit the "MMP Schools" section at www.millermotorsportspark.com.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would it be like to get your hands on an actual race car, it’s time you got behind the wheel of a MMP Mustang to learn the joys of high-performance driving. If you’re not ready to sign up for the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School just yet, you might at least consider attending the big SVT and Shelby clubs’ co-National Conventions on July 6-7-8-9 at Miller. You can sign up for laps in Miller school Mustangs at both the Shelby American Automobile Club’s "SAAC 32" event on July 6 and 7, and again at the Special Vehicle Team Owners Association’s "SVTOA Experience III" on July 8 and 9. It’s a must event for the Ford performance enthusiast at the sparkling new Miller racing facility. You can visit www.SVTOA.com for complete information.

"This relationship to outfit Miller Motorsports Park’s fleet of Mustangs with high-performance parts is the culmination of all our Ford Racing Performance Packs on Mustang, from the FR1, FR2, FR3 and so on," said Allison. In fact, Allison and his Ford Racing team have used a similar performance enhancement strategy to help Shelby Automobiles turn production Mustang GTs into limited-edition Shelby GTs and give extra performance to the SVT-engineered Shelby GT500.

Sign up for a day with MMP's driving school using the modified 'Stangs, and you'll quickly feel how each Ford Racing part creates a more functional track vehicle. It starts with the Drag Pack, which uses a 90mm cold air intake, shorty headers, performance oil filter, super-short throw Hurst shifter, and an 8.8- inch ring gear and pinion set to reach 335 horsepower.

That extra power gets you to the corners faster – where the Handling Pack takes over. New dampers, lowering springs, sway bar and strut-tower brace help stiffen the suspension and drop the car by two inches. It all adds up to you going faster into and out of the turns, with more precise control every inch of the way.

 So what’s the best part about these hot school ponies? Unlike some O.E.M. high-performance components programs, Ford Racing Performance Parts has made it all available to you. Each FRPP package can be bolted onto your stock Mustang to make it go just like the ones at the High Performance Driving School. Tweak yours just a bit, follow FRPP's race-ready blueprint, or go even more radical. It’s like having all the benefits of a racing development team without the million-dollar payroll.