[CATNAPPIN]

Pg 49. Looks like a 67 as a pace car.

 

[propayne]

Betcha that's a pic of the Sept. 1967 Riverside 250 Trans Am race. Cougars finished 1st (David Pearson) and 2nd (Ed Leslie).

In 1967 Mercury supplied Riverside Raceway with 3 Cougars to serve as pace cars. According to Raceway Magazine (Riversides in-house publication) - "Two of the cars are equipped with automatic transmissions and air conditioning. The other is equipped with a four-speed and FM radio. All the cars are similarly equipped with the 390 c.i. engine, disk brakes, handling package and various other little goodies the most noticeable of which are the red and silver paint jobs ala' Team Cougar Trans-American Sedan Race competition Cougars."

Now THOSE would be neat Cougars to find!

 

[CougarCJ]

Betcha that's a pic of the Sept. 1967 Riverside 250 Trans Am race. Cougars finished 1st (David Pearson) and 2nd (Ed Leslie).

In 1967 Mercury supplied Riverside Raceway with 3 Cougars to serve as pace cars. According to Raceway Magazine (Riversides in-house publication) - "Two of the cars are equipped with automatic transmissions and air conditioning. The other is equipped with a four-speed and FM radio. All the cars are similarly equipped with the 390 c.i. engine, disk brakes, handling package and various other little goodies the most noticeable of which are the red and silver paint jobs ala' Team Cougar Trans-American Sedan Race competition Cougars."

Now THOSE would be neat Cougars to find!

The lady that worked for my insurance agent in California told me about one of those cars. Her Father was a Mercury executive on the west coast. She mentioned that he was driving a 'Pace Car Cougar' for a short period of time. She said it was used at Riverside and thought the year was 1968.
No pictures though.

 

[catman]

The Cougar that Barry's speed shop built on his show is for sale on ebay;

<TABLE class="li nol"><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 142px" class="pic lt"></TD><TD class=details>Mercury : Cougar
1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Dan Gurney, Barry's Speed Shop
Location: Phoenix, AZ



Watch this item


</TD><TD class=year>1968

</TD><TD class=mileage>1,500

</TD><TD class=bids>0 Bids
Buy It Now

</TD><TD class=prices>$28,000.00
$35,000.00

</TD><TD class="time rt">Time left:5d 8h 37m</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Oh here's a pick of the Riverside program

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[propayne]

That is very interesting information CougarCJ. Here is a photo from the Raceway magazine. You can see that it is a standard GT with styled steel wheels. You can also tell in the photos that the car does have the Team Cougar two tone paint scheme with pin striping separating the silver lower body.

Wonder if Mercury executed the custom paint jobs in-house.

That 4 speed red and silver RIR pace car Cougar would be way up there on my "wish list".

 

[chuckG]

This will be the third or fourth time Barry's Cougar has changed hands. Not even sure if the show is on the air anymore.

 

[propayne]

I haven't seen Wrecks to Riches in awhile. The description has been the same the last few times I've seen it listed so it may be that the current owner has been unsuccessful.

It always bugged me that the Team Cougar decals were so far off from correct, but maybe that was on purpose...