1965 Ford Mustang A/FX - Les Ritchey

Les Ritchey, a legendary figure in the world of drag racing, played a pivotal role in the development of the Ford A/Factory Experimental A/FX Mustang. To capitalize on the growing popularity of drag racing, Ford authorized the production of several stock-appearing NHRA-legal Mustangs. These cars were meant to compete in the Factory Experimental (A/FX) class. The partnership between Les and Ronda peaked in 1965, the SOHC 427-cid Ford Mustang that ran mid-10s in A/FX form. However, the Mopar drivers decided to hit the match race trail for no-holds-barred racing with their altered-wheelbase Dodge and Plymouth entries that had been outlawed for A/FX competition, which was the start of the Funny Car revolution. By switching to fuel injection, nitromethane, and later superchargers, they began to run in the nine-second zone and soon dipped into the eights, which overshadowed the 10-second performances of the legal A/FX cars such as Ronda’s Mustang.

“Of all the cars I raced, the 1965 Mustang was the most fun to drive. We felt it was quite a feat to run in the 10s with a manual four-speed transmission,” said Ronda. “But we couldn’t compete with the Funny Cars for the fans’ attention.” Ronda was rewarded for fulfilling Ford’s requests when he was given a stretched wheelbase Mustang that immediately ran deep into the eight-second zone. Tragedy struck when his best friend Ritchey was killed in a racing accident early that year, and Ronda, badly shaken, reverted to a more conservative tune-up for slower nine-second times for several months.