[Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the December 2020 issue of Grassroots Motorsports. More recently, Brian Faessler won first place in the 2022 Ultimate Track Car Challenge with this Mustang.]
In a world where the fastest track cars feature tube chassis, bespoke carbon tubs or low-slung prototype bodies, Brian Faessler’s Mustang began life as just another unit off the Ford assembly line–an unassuming V6-powered model built in 2014 and purchased on a dealership lot. It still sports a steel unibody that’s downright primitive compared to the competition.
Luckily for Brian, the family business just happens to be Paul’s Automotive Engineering, and it builds Mustangs to win. The shop has no fewer than a dozen NASA championship trophies on the shelf back home for dominant performances.
In fact, longtime readers might recognize Brian’s dad, Paul Faessler, as the man behind the turbocharged 1965 Mustang featured in the August 2009 issue of GRM. Paul drove that car to his first American Iron Extreme title at the 2008 NASA Championships, back when Brian wasn’t yet 18. “I always like to joke that I was racing since I was in the womb,” Brian says, “my eight-months-pregnant mom going around the oval at Charlotte.”
Brian grew up around the family shop, helping work on cars and learning everything from speaker installation to rear suspension setup. He helped his dad as crew chief from 2004 on, then scored his racing license at 17. “I have local friends that helped coach me, Danny Popp and Tommy Byrne through Mid-Ohio Sports Car School,” Brian explains. “Danny helped me learn to push the boundaries of physics at the track.”
Photography Credit: Scott R. Lear
The preparation paid off, and Brian found himself at the sharp end of the field when he started racing a 2010 Mustang in NASA’s American Iron series. “The results came pretty quickly,” he adds. “I got my first regional championship…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Grassroots Motorsports Online Articles…