{"id":106583,"date":"2003-08-01T15:00:01","date_gmt":"2003-08-01T22:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=106583"},"modified":"2024-02-20T02:54:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T02:54:39","slug":"boss-302","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/boss-302\/","title":{"rendered":"Boss 302"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At the end of the \u201960s, Am\u00aderican manufacturers placed a lot of emphasis on the \u201cPony Car\u201d market. As a result, everyone wanted to win the Trans-Am championship. By 1969, all the major American manufacturers had thrown their weight into the Trans-Am \u2013 Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, American Motors, and Chrysler with the Plymouth Cuda and the Dodge Challenger. As a result, there was a lot of emphasis \u2013 and a lot of pressure \u2013 put on the Trans-Am teams to perform. It was a very intense competition the whole year, in fact, both in \u201969 and \u201970. It made for some great racing, and at that time, I think it was the best road racing in the country.<\/p>\n

In 1969, when Ford got very serious about winning the Trans-Am, they put Parnelli and I in a pair of Bud Moore-prepared Boss 302 Mustangs, but they also had the Shelby team which consisted of Peter Revson, and most of the time, Horst Kwech. So, Ford basically had four very competitive cars. We were basically faster with the Bud Moore cars than the Shelby cars and should have won the championship, but we had some difficulty with tires that year. Our Firestone tires were quick, but they had a hard time surviving a full race distance. Both Parnelli and I had a lot of tire troubles throughout that year. It got a little better towards the end, but the horse had already been stolen at that point, so it was too late. However, in 1970, we brought back a more refined car and a much better tire and were able to win the championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n