CONCORD, NC – We know -- when the leaves start to fall and the calendar gets into late October, most people are in full Halloween mode. But for more than a decade now, many Ford fans turn their attention to Concord, North Carolina, where the annual Foxtoberfest mega-event takes over the area with (as the name implies) hundreds of Fox-Body era Mustangs. With Fox Body Mustangs and Fords now capturing the hottest interest in the Mustang collector car hobby, it’s no wonder that Foxtoberfest has grown into the largest gathering of its kind, with more than 700 Fox Body Fords on display at the spectacular Charlotte Motor Speedway.

This year’s five-day event started off with a Tuesday trip out to the Michael Waltrip Taphouse for a Meet & Greet, followed by a trio of Wednesday events that included a Holman & Moody Open House in Charlotte, a Fox Body Cruise to Morrow Mountain departing from the Mustang Owner’s Museum in Concord, and then a stop at “The Basement” Retro Arcade in Downtown Concord. Wednesday offered an Out To Pasture Pony Parts Open House and another (with a cookout) at Prestige Motorsports, both in nearby Salisbury, NC, before heading back to Concord for a “Bash at the Brewery” at the Cabarrus Brewing Company that featured “Underglow Row,” Engine Bay & Interior Awards and even some special Foxtoberfest beer. Friday’s “Foxes at Full Throttle” was an all-day, 10 a.m.-to-midnight event at Mooresville Dragway, with drag racing, a car show and a swap meet capped off by “Cobra Sam’s Burnout Competition.” The event’s grand finale was, of course, Saturday’s massive Foxtoberfest Car Show out in front of the CMS.

After the Ford Special Vehicle Registry had attended in previous years, we felt it was time for our Ford Performance Transit van to make the trip down to the speedway and set up our popular Club Connect Meet & Greet display tent for a day of giveaways and talking Mustangs with the hundreds of attendees and spectators who came out on a warm, sunny day to check out the Foxes. To make our initial Foxtoberfest visit extra special, we brought cases of our exclusive “Mustang 60 Years” commemorative mini-posters (as well as Ford Performance wristbands and sticker sets) to give away to each and every showgoer who stopped by our tent. We handed out a record 600 posters by 2 p.m., and then shifted into our first “Mustang Owner’s Podcast On The Road” recording session with video for our inaugural Podcast launch on the YouTube platform. (You can check out either Mustang Owner’s Podcast version on Spotify or YouTube to hear or see the stories we uncovered. With so much show coverage focused solely on the cars, we’re proud to bring you the people side of the hobby with real-world owner insight and interviews because – as we say on each podcast -- “Everyone has a Mustang Story.”

The SVO Feature Cars were a hit as well as the Dyno Challenge but the big news here was that the event was shooting for 100 Fox Saleens at the show. With Steve Saleen in attendance, Foxtoberfest 24 didn’t quite get 100 Saleens to show up but it did top 70 to set the record for the most Saleen Fox Body Mustangs at a single event! Congrats to Foxtoberfest organizer Jenn Higley of Foxy Events for setting that record and for adding yet another great show to her list of successes. We know this is one show that you’ll want to catch next year!
We asked our Mustang Owner’s Podcast producer, Gerard Ferraioli, to roam the show field with his camera to capture some of the action at Foxtoberfest 24, and he offered us his gallery below to share with you. If you’d like get some Fox Body people stories as well, check out our Foxtoberfest 24 podcast episodes online. You’ll see why the Fox crowd is one worth watching!

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS COURTESY GERARD FERRAIOLI / RGA MEDIA SERVICES