Thousands of Ford Mustangs to caravan in the Great American Pony Drive

With fifty years now under its belt, the Ford Mustang is being celebrated as America’s favorite pony car. To mark this auspicious occasion, a Great American Pony Drive is being organized to drive caravans of Mustangs from all eras across the United States.

The drive will begin in Norman, Oklahoma on April 13 to join one of two herds of Mustangs. One will head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina and the other will go to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada.

“The official Mustang 50th anniversary celebration will kick off in the middle of the country so people can enjoy these pony cars as they were intended to be used, ‘on the road,’” said Ronald D. Bramlett, executive director of the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration. “We believe this will be the largest group of Mustangs traveling together in the world.”

Mustang Timeline Hero Shot

The cruise will take four days to complete and will culminate in the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration at both locations.

“Ford Mustang owners love to share their adventures,” said Steven Ling, North America car marketing manager for Ford. “The Pony Drives will give them the opportunity to impart their personal stories and create new ones with fellow enthusiasts. While traveling across half a continent, they’ll form new, lifelong friendships and reconnect with past ones.”

MCA is coordinating both of the Pony Drives. The Las Vegas Pony Drive will stop in Amarillo, Tex.; Albuquerque; N.M.; and Flagstaff, Ariz. The Charlotte Pony Drive will be hosted in Little Rock, Ark.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Asheville, N.C. Those who cannot travel to Norman can still register for the MCA Pony Drive and join the group in one of the host cities along the way. Each participant in the drive will receive a goodie box of exclusive items only available to those who are on the Pony Drive.

Those planning to join one of the routes to Norman, can find the registration form and hotel information at ponydrive.us. For anyone joining the group in Norman, the Official MCA Pony Drive registration form is available at mustang50thbirthdaycelebration.com.

“Once we opened registration for the Pony Drive, entrants began pouring in,” said Bramlett. “We hope to have examples from each of the first 50 years of Mustang and share a moving historical display along the route.”

Aaron Turpen
An automotive enthusiast for most of his adult life, Aaron has worked in and around the industry in many ways. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP), the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA), the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA), and freelances as a writer and journalist around the Web and in print. You can find his portfolio at AaronOnAutos.com.