This year's event was held...
This year's event was held in May to avoid the weather issues we had thepast couple of years. The whole weekend had perfect weather, with mostlysunny skies, pleasant temperatures, and only close calls with a rainshower or two.
Horse Sense: If you think Year One only sells restoration parts forvintage Mustangs and other cars, you're mistaken. The company has anextensive catalog for '79 to '06 Mustangs. If you're looking to spruceup your Fox, SN-95, New Edge, or S197 Pony, visit www.yearone.com
Working on 5.0&SF and its Web site, my job is always exciting. Frombeing around the hottest Mustangs wearing the Pony badge and coveringevents to the occasional test drive of something spectacular and farbeyond my financial means, it's a job I can't complain about--except forbeing the butt of most of Editor Turner's jokes.
Sitting in my cubicle a week before I was supposed to leave for the YearOne event, I was caught off guard when 5.0&SF Publisher Bruce Jones cameto see me with Air Ride's Brett Voelkel and Peggy Vernon. They neededsomeone to drive the Air Ride Suspension '05 Mustang of ForzaMotorsports Challenge fame to the Year One show. It took about half asecond for me to volunteer for the job. Who wouldn't? A chance to drivea race car on the street and experience the ego-inflating euphoria ofpeople scrambling to get their camera phones out in parking lots orwhile on the road? It's a car guy's dream.
This was my view driving the...
This was my view driving the Air Ride Mustang from our Tampa office tothe show. Open roads ahead, rice-burning imports sucking my exhaust.
I packed my bags and headed for the North Georgia hills. Along the way,people pulled alongside the Mustang to snap a quick photo and give thethumbs up, and there were a few incidents with rice burners getting aharsh lesson in reality. It's amazing how many people think awhoopee-cushion tailpipe and a Type R decal is a performanceenhancement. The deflated looks on their faces as the Vortech-equippedMustang left them in the dust was amusing.
Being the first time I'd ever driven an air suspension-equipped vehicle,I was blown away. If it hadn't been for the controller on the dashboard,I'd never have known the Mustang didn't have a coil spring suspensionunderneath. In fact, it was even smoother than a standard suspension. Onthe stretch of I-75 from the Georgia-Florida border to Macon, I didn'teven notice the millions of tar expansion joints and their mind-numbingthump-thump-thump along the way.
The number of S197s at the...
The number of S197s at the '07 experience was bigger than ever. Here's apic of the Stainless Steel Brakes Mustang out on the Road Atlanta courseshowing why its brake products are so popular. Unfortunately, the blown4.0 V-6 in the car was running too lean, and during this run it ate apiston and turned the V-6 into a V-5, ending its track activities forthe rest of the weekend.
Once at Road Atlanta, I had to surrender the keys of the heartaccelerating, adrenaline-pumping horse so it could go on display at theAir Ride Technologies booth. After the show was over on Friday andSaturday night, I took the Mustang back to my hotel. That proved to be agood thing, since the folks at Air Ride had their gorgeous '67 RS Camaroripped off from their hotel parking lot by some scumbags. On Sundaymorning I surrendered the keys for the last time and returned to theworld of being a driving mortal. It was a hard high to come off of, butgave me new appreciation for all the times I get to drive bad carsbecause of my job.
For the third year in a row, the Year One Experience was held at RoadAtlanta and Atlanta Dragway, both racetracks located near Year One'sBraselton, Georgia, headquarters. Taking place in May, we had beautifulweather the whole weekend, countless parade laps run on the road Atlantacourse, and more than 1,600 tire-scorching and brake-melting laps on theAir Ride Technologies-sponsored autocross course. Meanwhile, StainlessSteel Brakes was sponsoring the 0-60-0 challenge for those interested inwhoa and not just go. After one day of the event, you could smell thebrake pads cooking like bacon on a griddle all across the Road Atlantagrounds.
While the prestigious Year One Cup was again taken by a car wearing abow tie, it was still a great weekend of fun for the late-model Mustangsand their owners.

The parade laps on the road...

The parade laps on the road Atlanta course are the most popular featuresof the Year One Experience. For a small fee you can take your car out onthe track at highway speeds--normal highway speeds--and test yourdriving mettle. This Fox GT was running free, though on the autocross itwould do some off-roading.

We also caught this guy putting...

We also caught this guy putting the spurs to his S197 on the track.

The autocross course is another...

The autocross course is another popular attraction at the Road Atlantapart of the event. As in the parade laps, a small fee will get you achance to see how well your car handles and how good your driving skillsare. Here, the Focus Fanatic crowd is being represented by thisfour-door SVT compact.

Drivers tend to get overzealous...

Drivers tend to get overzealous on the autocross, the end result being agood lesson in vehicle control. If you think this white SN-95 goingsideways is bad, wait for the next series of pics.

(Look at the next eight photos...

(Look at the next eight photos in sequence!) The young woman in the passenger seat of this GT got more than shebargained for, as the driver had this Fox doing a double 180 during hislap. Fortunately nothing happened beyond a few cones getting mangled andsome off-road driving.

Oh, no you didn't! Obviously...

Oh, no you didn't! Obviously this girl was too impressed with the firechicken logo draped on the hood of this Focus. Time to unpimp the auto!

Horsepower TV was on hand...

Horsepower TV was on hand filming coverage of the Year One Experience.We're not sure if this cameraman was giving the extra effort to get thelow-angle shot or auditioning for our caption contest.

Now we understand! He was...

Now we understand! He was so smitten with this blown Fox GT he had tolay down for a few minutes. It makes perfect sense now!

The number of S197s at this...

The number of S197s at this year's show was impressive. This GT wassporting an array of appearance products, including some nice Foosewheels and the Air Raid C.A.I.

What's wrong, Lassie? Is Timmy...

What's wrong, Lassie? Is Timmy in trouble? Is he installing Lambo doorson his Mustang? The Year One experience is one of the most family--andpet--friendly events you can go to if you're into cars.

With all the spectacular late-model...

With all the spectacular late-model Mustangs around, this girl wasoverwhelmed to the point of collapse. We had former 5.0&SF tech editorand current Mustang & Fords Editor Mark Houlahan wave one of his dirtysocks under her nose, which revived her quickly and scorched her nosehairs.

We caught this lineup of S197s...

We caught this lineup of S197s waiting to make parade laps on the RoadAtlanta circuit.

Back at the autocross, this...

Back at the autocross, this guy was trying to drive his Mustang like an F-150.

DynoMax was on hand with its...

DynoMax was on hand with its Power to the Wheels dyno tour. The tourgives people a chance to chassis dyno their cars against others from allacross the country for a chance to compete for a $25,000 prize. Thewinners from each event will be brought to the '07 SEMA show in LasVegas for the final showdown, where the winner will get the cash. Thisformer KOTS contestant goes for the top prize at the year oneexperience.

Taking entry forms and consoling...

Taking entry forms and consoling those who left the dyno rollers cryingwas this lovely lady.

"Subscribe to Mustang & Fords...

"Subscribe to Mustang & Fords now and get a free pizza!" During theawards ceremony on Sunday, we caught Mark Houlahan in a shamelessattempt to pimp his magazine and convince people the wave of the futurein custom Fords will be Mustang IIs, Mavericks, and late-'70s Fairmonts.

Before we left the Year One...

Before we left the Year One Experience, we made it back to the autocrossto see the Air Ride Forza Challenge Mustang peeling around the cornersand showing off what a full air suspension can do for a car's handling.Handing the keys back to Bret at the end of the weekend was painful tosay the least.

Photo courtesy of Year One/Brad...

Photo courtesy of Year One/Brad O'Cock

The sounds of this twin-turbo...

The sounds of this twin-turbo Fox spooling up could be heard through theNorth Georgia hills. We dig the flame job. It looks as though he hadsome mutant bug or a Fast and the Furious reject Honda splatter acrossthe front of the car! photo courtesy of Year One/Brad O'Cock

photo courtesy of year One/Brad...

photo courtesy of year One/Brad O'Cock