Bob Daniels hits the Nevada highways with the help of BMR Suspension

Bob Daniels is your typical Mustang guy. He bought a Pony and quickly turned to the vast performance aftermarket to make it better. But what he does with his Mustang is far from typical! Bob, like many Mustang enthusiasts, enjoys pushing his Roush to the limit, but his need for adrenalin isn’t satisfied on the drag strip or through the twisties on a dedicated race track. No, Bob prefers the open road!

If you have never heard of the Silver State Classic, go to Google right now…

Back? Great! That’s right, it’s a 90-mile open road race across public roads in Nevada. This super-challenging contest of speed is certainly unconventional, but extremely interesting and exhilarating nonetheless. Although not a wheel-to-wheel race, or in most cases an all-out search for the fastest speed, most participants are looking to hit an average “magic number” speed. Confused? It’s simple. If you are in the 125 mph class, your goal is to average as close to 125 mph over the 90-mile course as possible. The closest to the number without going over wins.

Enter Bob Daniels. Bob is the owner of this 2011 Roush Sport edition, which he uses for this unique form of automotive competition. There are many upgrades to the car, including a slew of suspension components from BMR Suspension. The suspension upgrades include a front 35mm sway bar, rear 22mm sway bar with mounting bushing and billet end links, boxed nonadjustable lower control arms with polyurethane bushings, lower control arm relocation brackets, adjustable Panhard rod, and front and rear driveshaft safety loops. The BMR Suspension components give Bob the ability to handle the unpredictable road surfaces as he transverses the 90-mile course. Hillbank Motor Corp also supplied Bob with custom front seats, carbon fiber front splitter, side rockers, side rocker lips, and top and side striping.

In his first attempt at the Silver State Classic, Bob (and all other first timers) are required to run in the Touring class. Speed brackets in this class are 95, 100 105, 110 with an upper limit speed of 124 mph. Bob ran in the 110 class, finishing with an average speed of 109.8317. Bob now has the opportunity to move up in class.

This September, Bob is planning on returning to Nevada to take on the stretch of open road in the Grand Touring class, looking to average 125 mph.

“I had really underestimated how much of a difference there would be between track and open road racing,” Bob explains. “In open road racing, the driver’s responsibility is to keep the car between the white lines and to do exactly what your navigator tells you to do. The navigator informs you of upcoming corners, where the apex point is and in which direction you will be turning. They are also calling out marker times and letting you know whether to speed up, or slow, and by how much. You also have to do the math to calculate how much time you may need to ‘bank’ to allow for slower speeds in the more difficult portions of the race in order to still hit your target speed and time. The time of concentration on the road is much longer and so is the danger of becoming ‘speed drunk.’ After running a distance of 10–14 miles at speed over 120 mph it is very easy to lose track of just how fast you are going—another duty of the navigator! I now realize why all the first time runners are required to start in the Touring class.

“This type of racing that requires teamwork, and experience for both members of the team is absolutely necessary. Just driving fast is not the point— driving precisely at the same time is the point. This has been the most exciting time in the car that I have had to date. Not sure I will ever head back to the track now that this bug has bitten me. The faster one is able to go amps up the necessity for timely and precise teamwork and the more functions become separated, therefore, more practice for the team is needed.”