Limited-Edition Print of 500 (13x19)
Signed and numbered by the Artist.
In my opinion, Bill Lawton never got the recognition he deserved for what he did to help create the Funny car class! I named this piece the "First Stang!," because it was the first Mustang (at least in my research) to win a racing event, and for certain it was the first Mustang to win a National Championship Drag Race.
Bill won the NHRA and AHRA Winternationals in 1965 as well as the inaugural "Super Stock Magazine" race. This A/FX Mustang was created for the Ford Factory, by Holman and Moody (of NASCAR fame). It featured a 3% wheelbase alteration, and new shock towers in the front, allowed for the new Ford 427 SOHC engine (built for racing only at the time) to be installed. The car ran 10.50s at over 130 mph. The Ford factory would not allow their New A/FX Mustangs to race the Chrysler A/FXers, as they felt the Mopar cars had an unfair advantage do to their radically altered wheelbases.
By 1966, Ford had stepped up, and built a number of stretched Mustangs to compete with the Chryslers, as the Funny Car wars had begun. In 1965 however, Bill's Candy Chocolate "Zimmy III" Mustang this was the car to beat. In this painting, we see Bill launching the car hard enough to break the left torsion bar (which explains why the left front wheel is still touching the ground) at the NHRA division 1 Championships at "US 30 Drag-O-Way" in York Pennsylvania.
I love the scene of Drag racing through the farmlands, and again it reinforces my belief that the cars always seem emulate the times, and their environment, as we see the earth tones of the car, actually does reflect it's surroundings..
As it said on the back of Bill's Stang,,, "Suivez Moi ! (Follow Me,) and the rest of Drag Racing certainly did!
