It wasn’t long before the Mustang’s mettle as a race car began to surface. Keep in mind that all Mustang efforts in Trans-Am (prior to 1968) were essentially privateer teams; some with great talent, hardware, and solid budgets, others with less so.

Tom Yeager and Bob Johnson proved a formidable privateer entry, by winning 1966’s 300-miler at Mid-America, backing it up with a strong win in the 400-mile T-A race at Virginia International Raceway.

There were two more Mustang wins in Trans-Am’s rookie season, that being the McComb//Brooker combo taking the flag at Green Valley Raceway in Texas, and with Jerry Titus closing out the season with a win at Riverside, with only Tullius’ Dart ruining a Mustang 1-2-3 finish at that 1966 season-ending enduro.