Not many high school students can say that they are drag racing champions. Michelle Bongiovanni, from Bongiovanni Racing, is a 17-year-old junior track champion. Michelle recently had this amazing opportunity to record a commercial for Ford where she tests out two different generation Ford Mustang GTs – a 2009 S197 versus a 2015 S550. Click the link for the video.

First, Michelle gets settled behind the wheel of a stock 2009 Mustang GT, a very capable car equipped with a three-valve 4.6-liter V-8. Like all generation Mustangs, these cars frequent the quarter-mile, and you can find them all over NMRA events each year.

Michelle then gets to pilot a brand new 2015 Mustang 5.0 with some handy factory upgrades that would benefit any drag racer. These upgrades come in the form of  Track Apps. With a few clicks on the steering wheel, she can control Track Apps such as Launch Control for when that tree turns green, and Line-Lock to perform a good burnout to get those tires warmed up.

It’s obvious what car wins the comparison. With more horses under the hood and technology that is race friendly, the new 2015 Ford Mustang GT takes the cake for performance. We can expect to see a few more of these S550 Mustangs sprinkled throughout the events this year.

The Mustang has come a long way over the past few years, and even the Mustang V6 base model fresh from the factory can run with an older GT with a few aftermarket upgrades. While some haven’t quite adjusted to the Mustang’s new makeover, they may want to get over it when it’s whooping some tail on the track this year.