When this Daytona Sunrise Orange beauty idled into the parking lot at Player 1 Up during ’Stangs & Games at Mustang Week 2024, heads turned and followed its path. As soon as Phillp Tarlton parked his 1965 Mustang, he opened the hood and started chatting with the car’s admirers.

Phillip Tarlton’s Pro Street 1965 Mustang turned heads at Mustang Week, and stood out enough to earn a spot in the Ford Muscle Great 8 contest, which is decided by votes on the Ford Muscle Facebook page.

Having owned the car for 31 years, Tarlton drag-raced it regularly back in the ’90s. In more recent years, he turned it into a street machine powered by a 434-cubic-inch Windsor. This combo generates 844 horsepower in all-natural form, but a 400-horse progressive nitrous system is at the ready should it need more. And, it just might, as he assures us, the car will see drag strip duty again despite its pristine presentation.

Having already shot it for a feature at last year’s Mustang Week, which you can check out right here to learn more about this radical ride, we still couldn’t help including it in the Ford Muscle Great 8, a single-eliminator contest voted for on the Ford Muscle Facebook page. So watch this page for stories on the other Great 8 contests, and be sure to vote for your favorites.

Under the hood, this muscular classic sports a 434-cube Windsor, based on a Ford Performance block and heads, cranking out 844 naturally aspirated horsepower and a 400-horsepower nitrous system is on board, just in case. We recently featured this car after spotting at Mustang Week last year, so you can learn more about the car by reading that story here.

The winning car owner will score a trip to Mustang Week Texas in April 2025, including a hotel room for four days, a VIP Package including a Golden Ticket (access to every event), a $500 gas card, and $500 for food and drinks. The winner will accept a Ford Muscle Great 8 winner trophy on stage at Mustang Week Texas. The winning vehicle will also be immortalized on a Mustang Week 2025 T-shirt.