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HAND: A Motor City Homecoming

Ford Performance’s Joey Hand files his latest Sportscar365 column following Detroit…

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

It was a Ford homecoming on the streets of Detroit, and you could feel the overwhelming support for our Mustang GT3 program from all around. That strong feeling of support energizes you before the race weekend even starts.

We kicked off our week early when we had the opportunity to see where Mustang is built at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant. It was incredible to see the Mustang being built and to meet some of the employees who have a hand in the production. I was amazed because it’s difficult to put the sheer number of Mustangs going down the line in a single day into perspective.

It was Mustang after Mustang, in a constant movement through the complete build process. Then, finally, driving off the line when they honk the horn and flash the lights. I was in awe.

We then visited Ford World Headquarters, which I visited in 2016 for a very special celebration. When we won Le Mans that year, they lit up the rooms to spell out “GT Wins at Le Mans” on the side of the building, which was awesome.

Each time is as special as the last and this time we got to take the Mustang GT3 inside World Headquarters. Dirk drove it through the hallways a little bit and believe it or not, actually laid down some rubber.

It was cool to see people congregating around the car and having a good, up-close look at it. A lot of people have been involved in this project but not everyone has had the chance to see it, touch it and hear it. All the peoples’ faces lit up as we met them with Mustang GT3 at the foot of the hallway. There was so much joy and pride in that moment.

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

This is what I’m all about – the family aspect. Sure, we’re the ones who drive the car. But there are so many people, long before us, that started out with this program from designing to building it on the assembly line.

The next day, Dirk and I went to the Henry Ford Museum because we he had yet to see our 2016 Le Mans winning Ford GT there.

I’ll tell you, it’s such a “goosebump” moment when you see people watching our in-car and looking at the telemetry.

They were also replaying the moment when I made a pass for the lead with three or four hours to go, and then Dirk taking the checkered flag.

I actually heard a kid shout “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” so that was pretty moving. To know that car is always going to be there as a representation of the history we had made reminds us what we’re doing with this Mustang GT3 program is the same in that we have the potential to make history.

Even the fact that we’re racing this car is historic, especially having the “Champion Spirit” livery on there the last two races, which pays tribute to the triumphs that have come before us.

An interesting fact: I was the only driver in the field that had already raced on this particular course because I had raced on it last year in a Mustang GT4.

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

This time around we were the second-fastest in our class in the first practice. I felt good in the car after putting down a solid lap. We experienced some challenges in the second practice and felt we were a bit behind heading into qualifying, but you have to expect the unexpected with street racing.

We decided to play a very aggressive strategy for the race, where we pit as soon as the driver time ran-out which was at the 10-minute mark.

So they got me out in that 11th minute and the idea behind that was if we get a yellow between then and the 28-minute mark when the window opened up to make it to the end, there was the potential that we’d be able to leap-frog the field to the front.

We took a risk there, but it didn’t go as planned. Dirk ended up taking left-rear damage from a GTP competitor warming up their tires during a pass-around, so we were forced to pit which cost us a couple of laps. We recovered a lap, and from there, it was a “get what you can get” mentality.

The team did a superb job in reacting to the situation quickly to get the car back on track. When it was all said and done, considering all the chaos, we ended up sixth – our best finish of the year.

I’ve said it before but the things we’re learning in the background as a team will pay off. We’re getting better with pit-stops and reacting urgently when we’re faced with adversity. That’s all the stuff we need to be good at when we have the potential to win a race. So overall: we had a good weekend in Ford’s backyard.

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

Joey Hand is a Ford Performance factory driver, competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3.

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