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There are a lot of perks when it comes to being a race car driver, though the life certainly isn’t an easy one. You’ve got to be at the top of your game, constantly practicing while keeping with you the knowledge that even the slightest misstep could cost your team hundreds of thousands of dollars in broken race car and repair bills. So practice is an absolute must…and if you’re going to be racing full throttle, then you might as well practice at full throttle too.
The ROUSH Performance blog has just announced that driver Jack Roush Jr. has enlisted the aid of a new practice car…a 2012 ROUSH RS3 Mustang, of course. But it isn’t just for practice…ROUSH intends to collect data from the car, in order to aid development of future Mustang platforms.
The standard ROUSH RS3, which our editor Mark got to review, comes with a 540 horsepower ROUSHcharged 5.0 liter V8, a heavily upgraded suspension, and a serious case of bad attitude. It’s a great street car, but it is really at home on the track…and Jack Roush Jr. has made a few substantial modifications to help him practice.
For one, an Eaton TruTrac differential, which will help the RS3 on the road courses. Since drag racing is an important part of racing, Jr.’s RS3 will also wear drag slicks at the track from Mickey Thompson. Perhaps most important is the data acquisition equipment though, which will collect information on the why and how of the RS3’s performance. This will allow ROUSH’s engineers to make improvements on the next generation of RS3 street and race cars. Practice makes perfect…and with a car like the RS3 to practice on, who wouldn’t want to get in a few extra practice laps?
