If you’re still waiting for spring to heat up a bit so that you can ramp-up your outdoor automotive activity – wait no more! There are some great events coming up that you may not know about but surely won’t want to miss.

First up are a couple of car corral opportunities for your club out in California. This coming Saturday, April 23, 2022, you’re invited to attend the Trans Am SpeedFest at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. There, our friends at Hagerty Insurance are hosting The Hagerty Car Show at WeatherTech Laguna Seca. It’s a show for all enthusiasts, whether your car is a classic, exotic, a one-of-a-kind or just plain awesome. You can win "Best in Class" or the Hagerty "People's Choice" trophy. Show off your car while you watch wheel-to-wheel Trans Am racing, vintage muscle cars and sports racers on one of the most legendary tracks in the world. Each $75 car show registration includes 2 weekend passes (for 2 people on Saturday and Sunday), plus VIP Parking, full access to the race car paddock and taking touring laps in your show car during the lunch hour.

If Saturday, April 30, 2022, better-fits your schedule, then come on out to The Hagerty Car Show at Sonoma Raceway. It’s open to all classic, vintage, exotic, and vintage motorcycles and collectible cars of interest. All car clubs are welcome and will receive their own corral parking. Each $75 car show registration includes: 2 weekend passes (2 people on Saturday and Sunday) to the Vintage Auto Race, plus touring on the Sonoma Raceway in your show car, as well as VIP parking and full access to the racecar paddock. For more information on either event, simply email tc@svra.com.

Is a big, all-Ford, Shelby and Mustang show more your speed? Then it’s time for you to visit the Ford Enthusiast Nationals and ShelbyFest 2022 May 5 through 7 in Jefferson City, Missouri. Formerly known as just ShelbyFest, this show has been expanded to include all Ford-powered products and has even added a track event at Ozarks International Raceway. Oh sure, there’s still the big Friday night welcome party with live music, and the massive Saturday Show & Shine in downtown Jefferson City. Expect a bigger, better show – so get all the details at https://shelbyfest.net.

All right – yes, we know that one of the hottest Ford products out there these days is the Bronco. And one of our favorite Bronco events is the annual “May It Forward” Bronco extravaganza, presented by BONES (Bronco Owners North East States). This year’s event, held May 13 and 14 in Gardner, Massachusetts, is the group’s  8^th annual gathering and keeps growing by leaps and bounds. May It Forward is now a two-day event with a Friday night scenic cruise on May 13th with the main drive event being on Saturday, May 14th. We’ve covered Randy “Tasker” Wickman’s Bronco gathering before on FordPerformance.com, and can vouch that it’s the perfect way to get started in the off-road hobby in your new (or not so new) Ford Bronco. You can expect over 65 Broncos to participate with more than 200 attendees from some 12 states. Better still, it’s an all-donation event to benefit the Travis Mills Foundation for Afghanistan veterans – all while you enjoy a day full of fun, food, Fords and friends. You can get more info on https://thebronconation.com

So-Cal’s ‘Fabulous Fords Forever’ Show Is This Weekend at Irwindale Speedway on April 24

Billed as the West Coast’s largest all-Ford event and hosted by the venerable Ford Car Club Council, the Fabulous Fords Forever Show is back again for 2022 and set to take place on Sunday, April 24^th at the Irwindale Speedway. This 36^th annual, one-day Ford-filled event runs from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and will be celebrating 119 years of Ford Motor Company, with special displays honoring 90 years of the Ford Flathead V-8 (made popular in the legendary ’32 Deuce Coupe), 60 years of the Shelby Cobra and 55 years of the Mercury Cougar.

If you are a Blue Oval fan, “Fab Fords” is one of the car shows that has to be on your bucket list. For more than three decades it had been an early-in-the-year California staple at Knott’s Berry Farm, but had lost that venue in 2019 and was moved to the parking lot of Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Attendance had sagged that year – and then was stopped altogether when the 2020 show was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. But thanks to an easing of the virus’ grip on society in 2021 and a new agreement with Irwindale Speedway, the Fabulous Fords Forever show returned for 2021 and proved that Irwindale was a great show venue. So plan to attend on Sunday, April 24 to see some 1,200 Fords of all kinds on display in 57 show classes, plus music, sponsor displays, stage interviews and celebrity appearances. See the show’s website, https://www.fabulousfordsforever.com, for full details and registration info.

Time to Register your Club or Ford Fan Facebook Group with Ford Performance Club Connect

By now you should have heard about a cool Ford Performance initiative called “Club Connect” that can help all Ford and Mustang enthusiasts get connected with both Ford Motor Company and each other. Only those clubs who register with the program are eligible for no-cost promotion and support from Ford Performance, so you owe it to members of your Mustang or Ford vehicle club or online forum to register and appear on our Ford enthusiast club map. All it takes is a visit to www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com and a single click on the “Register Your Club” link. Once you fill out the form and hit “Submit,” you’ll be notified within just a few days of your acceptance in Ford Performance Club Connect -- it’s that simple, and it’s FREE!

The primary goal of our Ford Performance Club Connect program is to get everyone to register their club – at no cost – and get themselves on our Ford enthusiast group map so that we can all connect with each other. Once there, you’ll be able to see all of the other clubs and groups who have registered in your region – not just Mustang clubs, but ALL Ford vehicle organizations. And now we’d like to invite all of you who are part of any Ford vehicle Facebook Group to register with Club Connect, too. Why? Because connecting your Facebook Group with more owners and fans makes your group more worthwhile – and registering with Club Connect will link your online group with participants who may never have known that your group exists.

The value in all of this is that whenever you plan a club or group activity, you can see what other clubs and groups are in your area that you may wish to contact and ask to join you at a show or event. It also allows Ford Performance to see all the clubs and groups in a certain area, so that when we are coming to town or planning a special Ford event in your city or state, you and your club members can be contacted to participate.

It takes only a few minutes for a club principal or board member to register your club and establish a direct link for your members to Ford Performance. And now, you can also register your group and logo with Ford Brand Licensing all in the same process. Have a product or parts question that you want answered? Wish you could get some free club event promotion in our weekly “Fast News” e-blast that goes out to some quarter-million Ford fans each Thursday? Looking for event coverage for your show in the Enthusiasts section of FordPerformance.com? Hoping you could find a cool Ford goodie-bag or door-prize item, or a banquet guest speaker? Individual requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but they can ONLY be awarded to clubs who are registered.

So go to www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com right now and click on the “Find Your Club” link to see if you are on the map. If not, then register your Ford-based club or Facebook Group today so that you can join this special program -- all backed and supported by a real enthusiasts at Ford Performance. If you have questions or want more info, you and your members can always email us at ClubHub@Ford.com, or can simply call our Ford Performance Info Center, toll-free during regular business hours, at 1-800-FORD-788 (800-367-3788).

So what are you waiting for? Get online and make sure you’re connected. Then plan to enjoy your performance Ford later this year so that you can discover the fun and all of the friendly people involved in the world of Ford Performance. We’re sure that being connected with each other and with Ford will make your ownership experience even more enjoyable!

Here's How Easy It Is to Get You and Your Car(s) Featured in Our ‘Ford Fan Spotlight’

For the past decade, one of the most popular features on FordPerformance.com and in our Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports or Ford Performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.

All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably 1 mb) of a person (full name and hometown, please) and vehicle that you think Ford Performance should feature (and why) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News and posting on FordPerformance.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com. (Your submission grants us your permission for us to use your copy and photos on our website and other Ford media outlets, edited as necessary.) We'll choose one submission to be featured online every three weeks. We hope to see YOU and your collectible Ford in our Fan Spotlight soon!

Now Read Our Enthusiasts News Each Week on Ford Performance Club Connect

One race – one win – was all it took for Henry Ford to generate enough buzz and belief in his engineering among investors to secure funding and launch the Ford Motor Company 119 years ago. At Ford Performance, we have never forgotten where it all began. So we’ve been honoring our heritage, our products and our relentless competitive spirit by shining a light on motorsports and the Ford enthusiast world each week with our Fast News e-newsletter.

From news on our hottest cars and trucks or performance parts to the latest scoop on all the must-see Ford enthusiast events and shows, our weekly Fast News email has been your ticket to stay connected to the company that put the world on wheels. But trying to keep up with emails has left some of you in the dust. So that’s why Ford Performance is now posting our weekly Enthusiast News directly on www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com -- so you can check it out the next time you’re online -- without sorting through your email inbox. So put our FordPerformanceClubConnect.com website on your Favorites list, and then hop-in, buckle-up and hang-on each and every week for our Enthusiast News, because like you and all of us in the Ford enthusiast world, we’ll be driving Ford passion!