As most of you know by now the Daytona 500 pace car will be a specially prepared 2011 Mustang GT equipped with the all-new 5.0-liter V-8 engine. Piloting the Mustang GT pace car will be none other than seven time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty who will lead the Daytona 500 field once again.

“There’s nothing like the Daytona 500,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest races in the world and to be a part of it in this way is the next-best thing to actually being able to race. Who knows, maybe I’ll just stay out there for a few laps and see what those guys have got.”

This race will mark the first time a Ford product has paced the field since the 1970 Daytona 500. It will also be the first points race for the newly combined Richard Petty and Yates Racing teams which sees Petty returing to theFord Racing family.

“We’re so thrilled to have Richard Petty returning to Ford,” said Jamie Allison, director of Ford North America Motorsports. “We wanted to do something that would make him feel like an integral part of our program right away, and having him behind the wheel of a 2011 Mustang GT to start the Daytona 500 is a perfect way to renew this relationship.”

The 2011 Mustang GT pace car was sold at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction back in January for the sum of $300,000 with the proceeds above MSRP going to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Roush Performance has always been one of the first, if not the first to bring their Mustang variants to market before all others. This time will be no different as Roush Performance has unveiled a timeline for their new 2011 Mustang lineup which includes a Stage 1, 2 & 427R models. Roush's Stage 1 and Stage 2 versions will be available sometime after Ford begins Job 1 in April. These versions will use the base2011 Mustang GT powered by the 5.0-liter engine producing 412 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque as a platform for mostly cosmetic, interior and suspension modifications.

“The 2011 ROUSH Stage 1 and Stage 2 Mustangs will represent an incredible value by blending appearance and Handling with an amazing base Ford engine package,” said Jack Roush. “I expect that the 2011 Stage 1 and Stage 2 ROUSH Mustangs could come close to matching the performance of some ROUSHcharged Mustangs we have offered in prior model years which will make them extremely exciting to drive and at a reasonable starting price point.”

The 2011 Roush 427R Mustang is currently under development with Roush engineers who are hard at work developing the 2011 model year ROUSHcharger. Roush engineers are also planning what kind of modifications can be done to the new 5.0-liter engine but don't expect the 427R model to mid-year sometime.

“We have a history of increasing the horsepower on each model year 427R® Mustang, and that should continue with the 2011 as well. However, exactly what the horsepower and torque numbers will be is too early to tell at this point as the engineering teams are still working through a myriad of details on the new five-liter engine,” explained Jack Roush.

Keep checking back as details will come out in the next few months.

The 2011 Mustang Gt & V6 order guide came out about a week ago as the order banks opened and now the 2011 Shelby GT500 order guide has surfaced along with pricing. The 2011 Shelby GT500 coupe will have an MSRP of $49,495 and the convertablewill have an MSRP of $54,495 with prices including destination & delivery. The GT500 order guide reveals what we pretty much already knew, the 5.4-liter V-8 will now have an aluminum engine block.



Other equipment changes for the GT500 include standard HID headlamps, MyKey, Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), 19-inch forged aluminum wheel for convertable integrated spotter mirror for side-view mirrors and Shaker 500 & Shaker 1000 audio system ($1,295) now come with single CD.

New options for the 2011 GT500 include the Glass Roof ($1,995) for the coupe and the addition of HD Radio for the Electronics Package ($2,340).

For those performance minded enthusiasts who want even more out of their 540 plus horsepower GT500 a special SVT Performance package is now available. The package includes 3.73 limited slip, unique 19-inch front and 20-inch rear painted forged aluminum wheels with Pirelli tires, Unique front and rear springs, rear shocks, gear shift knob, Shelby stripes, side stripes and spoiler with unique Gurney Flap. The package will set you back a cool $3,495.