Written By Mary Lendzion
Photography Courtesy of Dennis and Jennifer Fahey
For the past couple of years, Jennifer Fahey has been helping her husband, Dennis Fahey, campaign his super-cool, 11-second 1979 Mustang Pace Car in NMRA True Street.
Jennifer enjoys everything about the experience, and noticing that, Dennis suggested that she might also enjoy making a pass in her daily-driven Durango. She agreed, and she had barely reached the finish line at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida when she decided that she wanted to race on a regular basis.
“I never thought in a million years that racing would be something that I would want to try, but making that first pass absolutely did it for me,” said Jennifer. “It was exciting to try to cut a light and get to the end of the track as quickly as I could.”
So, the couple from Brooksville, Florida, sold the SVT Lightning they had and purchased a 2011 Mustang GT for Jennifer to start racing. It’s powered by a Coyote engine and a 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission, and the fully accessorized car has a stock converter and gearing. It rolls on Nitto drag radial tires, and its current wheels will soon be replaced with lightweight wheels coming from Belak Industries.
The engine sips E85 fuel, and per Jennifer’s request, Tony Gonyon of HP Tuners set the combination up to consistently run close to 11.70.
Jennifer has been getting seat time in her new hot rod at Bradenton Motorsports Park and Gainesville Raceway in Florida, and she took part in the 352 Shootout at Gainesville Raceway last October and the Mod Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park last November.
Now, she is focused squarely on sliding into the very popular NMRA HP Tuners Super Stang category, beginning with the first race on this year’s NMRA tour, the 28th Annual Spring Break Shootout, March 3-6 at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. After that, she intends to compete at the five remaining NMRA events this year, while Dennis plans to compete in True Street at select NMRA events.
“Super Stang sounded really appealing to me, and everyone we have talked with said it’s a great class,” said Jennifer. “I’m really looking forward to competing at the NMRA events, and even though I’m just starting out, I really want to try to go rounds and do well in the points. That would give me something to build on for race seasons to come.”
With Jennifer’s car dialed-in for the 28th Annual Spring Break Shootout, she will continue testing in the weeks to come to get even more seat time, and to practice hitting the tree.
“We have four tracks within a few hours from us, including Bradenton Motorsports Park, Gainesville Raceway, Orlando Speed World and South Georgia Motorsports Park, so we should be able to get in a lot of testing before we run Super Stang for the first time,” said Jennifer, who also likes to spend time with Dennis, and their son, Connor, and daughter, Caitlyn, at their home-away-from-home, a cottage on a lake in Georgia. “I can’t wait to race.”
Photography Courtesy of Dennis and Jennifer Fahey
For the past couple of years, Jennifer Fahey has been helping her husband, Dennis Fahey, campaign his super-cool, 11-second 1979 Mustang Pace Car in NMRA True Street.
Jennifer enjoys everything about the experience, and noticing that, Dennis suggested that she might also enjoy making a pass in her daily-driven Durango. She agreed, and she had barely reached the finish line at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida when she decided that she wanted to race on a regular basis.
“I never thought in a million years that racing would be something that I would want to try, but making that first pass absolutely did it for me,” said Jennifer. “It was exciting to try to cut a light and get to the end of the track as quickly as I could.”
So, the couple from Brooksville, Florida, sold the SVT Lightning they had and purchased a 2011 Mustang GT for Jennifer to start racing. It’s powered by a Coyote engine and a 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission, and the fully accessorized car has a stock converter and gearing. It rolls on Nitto drag radial tires, and its current wheels will soon be replaced with lightweight wheels coming from Belak Industries.
The engine sips E85 fuel, and per Jennifer’s request, Tony Gonyon of HP Tuners set the combination up to consistently run close to 11.70.
Jennifer has been getting seat time in her new hot rod at Bradenton Motorsports Park and Gainesville Raceway in Florida, and she took part in the 352 Shootout at Gainesville Raceway last October and the Mod Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park last November.
Now, she is focused squarely on sliding into the very popular NMRA HP Tuners Super Stang category, beginning with the first race on this year’s NMRA tour, the 28th Annual Spring Break Shootout, March 3-6 at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. After that, she intends to compete at the five remaining NMRA events this year, while Dennis plans to compete in True Street at select NMRA events.
“Super Stang sounded really appealing to me, and everyone we have talked with said it’s a great class,” said Jennifer. “I’m really looking forward to competing at the NMRA events, and even though I’m just starting out, I really want to try to go rounds and do well in the points. That would give me something to build on for race seasons to come.”
With Jennifer’s car dialed-in for the 28th Annual Spring Break Shootout, she will continue testing in the weeks to come to get even more seat time, and to practice hitting the tree.
“We have four tracks within a few hours from us, including Bradenton Motorsports Park, Gainesville Raceway, Orlando Speed World and South Georgia Motorsports Park, so we should be able to get in a lot of testing before we run Super Stang for the first time,” said Jennifer, who also likes to spend time with Dennis, and their son, Connor, and daughter, Caitlyn, at their home-away-from-home, a cottage on a lake in Georgia. “I can’t wait to race.”