So how are you planning to celebrate National Mustang Day this year? If you are a member of a Mustang club, then it’s likely you’ll be invited to participate in some sort of cruise or driving event with your Ford pony car to help mark the anniversary date of the Mustang’s public introduction back on April 17, 1964. With that date falling on a Monday this year, most events are being conducted on the April 14-16 weekend. Ever since the Mustang turned 50, the idea of owners and fans getting out on (or the weekend nearest) April 17th to celebrate National Mustang Day has grown into a global phenomenon. National Mustang Day was originally set up to be an annual fundraiser for the Mustang Owner’s Museum via the sale of windshield stickers to participating clubs. The museum, which is located in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, set up a National Mustang Day website to facilitate the sale of the window clings and list all of the participating club activities planned for that day, as well as to register for the museum’s own event on that day.

This year, the museum is celebrating its 5th Anniversary in conjunction with its 2023 National Mustang Day events on April 14 & 15. There’ll be a new Mustang Design Exhibit reveal, cruises, a car show, guest speakers from Ford and Shelby, a barbeque, plus the annual Hall of Fame Induction and more. (Our own Austin Atwood will be there on April 15, with a presentation on the Ford Special Vehicle Registry, along with a free keepsake gift for all who attend, so don’t miss it.) Visit the Mustang Owners Museum website for full details and registration info. If you can’t make it to the Mustang Owner’s Museum that weekend, then contact your local Mustang club or group (see www.fordperformanceclubconnect.com) or simply review what some of the many Mustang fans will be doing in your area by checking the many 2023 National Mustang Day activities www.nationalmustangday.com/2023-planned-activities.html listed on the NMD website.

In addition to activities at the Mustang Owner’s Museum, Ford Performance is planning coverage from some select National Mustang Day events on April 15th, most notably a gathering of several MCA regional clubs and Facebook groups in Ohio for a road trip to the Halderman Museum outside of Dayton that weekend, as well as to tag along with the Mustang Owners Club of SouthEastern Michigan (MOCSEM) for their Detroit-area driving event.  MOCSEM plans to meet in the front lot at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, MI, at noon on Saturday, April 15, for a photo-op, then cruise to an exclusive secret destination where there’ll be food, music, fun – and a very special feature there. Get details on the club’s website. Although some Mustang clubs and groups are now calling April 17th “Global Mustang Day,” we hope you get the chance to get out and celebrate -- no matter what you call it. The only rules are to have fun, and stay safe!

Can’t Wait Until April to Get Out and Have Fun with Your Mustang? Head for Ponies In The Smokies March 21-25

Don’t want to wait until April 15th to take your Mustang out to play? Then plan a road trip from March 21 through the 25th to attend one of the hottest new shows to come on the scene in years. It’s called “Ponies In the Smokies,” and includes five days of Mustang fun -- cruising the beautiful Smoky Mountains, outdoor and indoor car shows (with 108,000 square feet of indoor show cars, vendors and special displays), plus Early Bird Cruise-In and Shine Run parties, a BFG Driving School, an Autocross, a Drifting Exhibition and Ride-Alongs, drag racing at English Mountain Dragway in nearby Newport, TN, plus a Car Corral, Swap Meet, Dyno and much more, including the huge National Parts Depot car show. Ponies in the Smokies – otherwise known as “PITS” – features driving and not just showing, with the Shine Runs intended as leisure drives plus travel both ways on the famous “Tail Of The Dragon,” which is the name for US Highway 29’s 318 curves in just 11 miles (known as America’s top motorcycle and sports car driving road). It all happens at the Sevierville, Tennessee, Convention Center and at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, TN, from Monday March 20th through Saturday, March 25. You can get info on show registration, lodging and more on the event’s website, https://poniesinthesmokies.com/.

Going to Florida by Month’s End? Check Out the Florida Ford Fest March 24-25 at Lead Foot City

If you happen to be headed to Florida neat the end of March, we’d suggest you check out the Florida Ford Fest event being held at Lead Foot City in Brooksville, FL, on March 24th and 25th. There you’ll find the “For The Love Of Shelby” event being hosted by Team Shelby as part of the Florida Ford Fest weekend. On March 24th from 6-10 p.m. there’ll be an Open Cruise-In and a Meet & Greet with celebrity guest “Bogi” from the “All-Girls Garage” TV show, and on March 25 they’ve got a big All-Ford & Shelby Judged Car & Truck Show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., along with burnouts, drifting, live music, vendors, food trucks and even VIP Experiences available, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Carroll Shelby Foundation. You can find Florida Ford Fest event and registration info on the Lead Foot City website under the Upcoming Events tab.

Here’s Why You Need to Register your Club or Facebook Group with Ford Performance Club Connect

Have you heard about a Ford Performance program 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 we want to include 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!

Want to Be Noticed on Ford Performance.com? Get You and Your Car(s) in Our ‘Ford Fan Spotlight’

For more than a decade now, 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! 

Miss ‘Fast News’ in Your Inbox? Get Weekly Enthusiast News on Ford Performance Club Connect.com

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 more than a century 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. Read it and share it with your club or group or even include it in your newsletters. 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!