Ford offers extra incentive to win Daytona 500

Ford is offering a little extra incentive to its Sprint Cup Series drivers to win the Daytona 500 on Sunday. If a Ford Fusion pulls into victory lane after Sunday's race, its pilot will win one of 50 pace car special editions of the 2011 Mustang GTs that will become available to the public later this year.

"We know how much prestige goes with winning the Daytona 500, but we wanted to do something that would be an added bonus for our drivers, and this is it," Ford Racing North America Motorsports Director Jamie Allison said.

The actual pace car that will lead the Daytona 500 starting grid to the green flag on Sunday has already been auction off to raise money for Diabetes research. It will be the first Ford to pace the Daytona 500 in 40 years.

According to a press release from Ford Racing, the limited edition pace car replicas will be Race Red glass roof coups with "an all-new 5.0-liter V-8 engine capable of producing 412 horsepower, while delivering a class-leading 25 mpg on the highway."

The pace car edition Mustang will also feature special Daytona 500 graphics; Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace, and mufflers; and aspecial interior treatment, including specially branded lit sill plates.

“I wanted to drive that Mustang home as soon as I saw it in Charlotte,” Ford driver Elliott Sadler said.  “It’s good to know now that if I win on Sunday, I’ll actually be able to do that.  Everybody knows how close I came to winning this race a year ago, so I’m even hungrier this time around.”

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