Super 'Stang Fest 2007 - Sea Horses

Hot fun in the summer! Super 'Stang Fest attracted close to 4,500 spectators and participants throughout its nearly weeklong string of events held June 5-9, 2007, in Daytona Beach, Florida. This group of lovelies participated in the Miss Super 'Stang Fest bikini contest held at Ocean Deck right on Daytona Beach, Florida. The cars next to the girls are from Blow-By Racing (left) and Full Throttle Kustomz (right).

Horse Sense: Super 'Stang Fest's Corporate Director Jason Miles was quick to tell us that this inaugural event was never intended as a one-off flash in the pan. He and his crew are already cooking up plans for SSF '08. We'll let you know as soon as we know, but you can always check out www.superstangfest.com.

Given our Florida locale, we were intrigued when we heard about a new event called Super 'Stang Fest taking place in Daytona Beach, Florida. While its proximity to our Tampa offices makes it a natural for us to check out, what's most interesting is this event was more than just a car show. Car shows are fun in short bursts, but we enjoy something more dynamic. They're even better when combined with other activities.

A show combined with activities was just what Jason and Debbie Miles had in mind when they hatched the plan to create Super 'Stang Fest. Beginning Tuesday, June 5, with a family go-cart night, Super 'Stang Fest stretched until Saturday, June 9, with several events geared toward balancing a Mustang outing with a family vacation. On Wednesday, the crowd caravanned to Sea World, but drag night was rained out. We made it in time for the get-together at Hooters where 105 Mustangs filled the parking lot for a warm-up.

Thursday included a cruise-in to Daytona USA, but that had to be rescheduled due to the passing of NASCAR's Bill France Jr. Rescheduled for Friday morning, the Daytona USA cruise-in included a day's worth of activities, including a cruise down Daytona Beach, a post-beach car wash for the 67 participants, then closing with a bikini contest. All this lead to the big show inside Daytona International Speedway, which attracted 377 show 'Stangs and another 55 display-only cars, as well as 25 sponsor display 'Stangs. All totaled, there were more than 450 show cars to ogle and a robust manufacturers' midway to check out parts. The only challenge was surviving the oppressive Florida heat long enough to see everything.

John Temple of Temple Performance Cars showed off his latest Legend Mustang (www.legendmustangs.com) at Hooters. Packing more than 550 hp, this Series 1 Legend Mustang wears a full Legend body kit and Carroll Shelby CS69 wheels, while a Kenne Bell supercharger pumps up a 5.0 stroker underhood. With 4.10 gears and a six-speed in the tunnel, this car should be a blast, and the full Bassani Xhaust will announce your presence with authority.	We arrived in time to soak in the sights and sounds of the Hooters get-together Thursday night. The restaurant is located right across from Daytona International Speedway and played host to more than 100 Mustangs of all descriptions. Holding court in the first parking spot is a white Roush owned by SSF's main man Jason Miles.	Only the second time we've run across a Saleen-Parnelli Jones in the wild, this PJ at the Hooters GTG reminded us how good these things look in person. This car is really cool-if you've only seen the pictures, you didn't get a full appreciation. It's probably too late to grab one of these new, but you can score one of the similarly styled Heritage editions.
Mach 1s are cool, but lately we've seen a few cars that combine the best of both worlds. Brian Benefield's Mineral Gray Mach is one such retro 'Stang that now wears a Terminator nose. This styling homerun is a result of a truck ripping the stock nose off his Mach. The car looks great and sports a JLT induction system, Ford Racing Performance Parts short-tube headers, a Magnaflow after-cat, and pleny of MGW bling. Brian is the proud cofounder of Xtreme Fords of Atlanta (www.xfoa.net).	Since our in-house auteur Patrick Hill was busy washing his purple Camaro, we had to take up the task of grabbing a few shots of Hooters girls posing with Mustangs. It looks as though the lovely ladies of Hooters have posed with oneor two cars before.	At the Daytona USA cruise-in, we spotted this wild '96 Cobra featuring paint by Kingpin Customs, so it really stands out in the crowd. SN-95s don't often get the flashy paint jobs, but Greg Rape-that's really his last name-digs his snake. It currently gets a boost from a Novi 1000 supercharger, just like Edtior Turner's old '98 Cobra.