Track Time! Cole’s 2017 Ford Mustang “HeGonee”

When we saw Cole’s 2017 GT at an OnGrid track day, we had to pull it aside for a closer look. It was a clear, sunny day at Thunderhill Raceway; perfect conditions to set new personal bests and just generally have a good time.

Cole tells us that he didn’t plan on tracking the car, but eventually his friends persuaded him and he’s been having a blast with the thing ever since.

It was already a fun car on the road, but nothing beats a track day. We were curious about one thing though, since Cole is only 19 years old. How did a recent high school graduate end up with a brand new toy for the track? The short answer is hard work.

Cole worked two jobs while going to school so that he could afford his dream car before he graduated. Spending all of his free time as a janitor or at the restaurant he also worked at, he just kept saving while his friends were out spending. And Cole didn’t use that as an excuse to slack off in school either, finishing up on time with good grades and immediately getting into a local Fire Academy.

In between all the hard work, Cole’s been making as much time as possible for the track. He was at first a bit timid to push the healthy Coyote 5.0L V8 that comes with over 400 horsepower from the factory.

This time, however, Cole was a bit more eager to find his limits. It only took a couple sessions of driving on the edge before he finally oversteered the car through turn 11 and wasn’t able to catch it.

Luckily nothing was wrong with the car after the incident, and Cole was right back at it again. There’s no place like the track to learn your limits, and the limits of your car. Of course, half the fun is the time between the track days where you upgrade and tweak things in the garage.

While most of the drivetrain is relatively stock for now, Cole’s picked up plenty of aftermarket parts around the exterior of the car. They aren’t just show parts either, but instead functional aero that helps to produce more downforce at the track to shave off the seconds from his lap times. It’s always cool to see a late model car modified in a way where function meets form.



He’s already upgraded his suspension with BMR and Eibach parts, a mod that saves more time at the track than most power mods would. Of course, his exhaust has been upgraded as well, that’s one that’s hard to pass up when you have a V8 that can sound as good as Cole’s does now.

The aftermarket support for the S550 Mustang chassis is huge, and Cole’s already developed a handful of sponsor relationships to help him continue to take his dream car to the next level.

Track Armor is just one of these sponsors, and Cole’s been trying out their products on the front end of his car to help avoid the almost inevitable rock chips everyone’s cars like to pick up at the track.

Cole also tells us that a new carbon fiber hood is on the way from Anderson Composites, and he won’t be stopping there. We all know the feeling when you get the bug and have to keep opening up the wallet to improve our cars.

Hopefully Cole will keep on tastefully modifying the car and will continue to push it at the track.

Above all, hard work pays off, no matter how old you are!