DONE INWith - Maier Racing Enterprises

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Known as the “heavy metal” class, Solo’s C Prepared
(CP) is all about big cars with big fender fl ares,
covering even bigger tires. These machines have big
engines, with big horsepower that produce a big,
unmistakable noise. A fan favorite at most Solo events, CP
showcases American V8 muscle cars on steroids that power
slide across the tarmac, destroying any cone in their path.
These are GM, Ford and Chrysler muscle cars designed to
go fast in a straight line, but CP competitors are hell bent
on making those big cars corner fast, too. And that’s where
the ingenuity, engineering and, oftentimes, entertaining
aspects of CP come together.
Of all the CP cars in the country, one stands out as a clear
icon: Frank Stagnaro’s 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350.
Stagnaro’s Mustang represents everything that is righteous
about CP. It has a lot of horsepower, enormous tires and,
most importantly, it can shred through a Solo course with
unbelievable grip. Stagnaro’s car is the result of one man’s
lifetime of hard work and dedication to
the development of one of the most
successful Solo machines in the history
of the SCCA. The car has an
astonishing 11 National
Championships to its credit, and has
attended the Tire Rack Solo National
Championships every single year since
1979. However, the road to success was
not an easy one; it was fi lled with
curves and many pesky orange cones.
In 1965, Stagnaro stepped into a
Ford dealership and found himself face
to face with a white and blue Shelby
GT 350. Like most of us who stumble
upon our dream car at the car lot, at
that particular moment he wasn’t in a
position to buy the expensive Mustang.
However, the Mustang was the Eleanor
to his Memphis Raines (or Maindrian
Pace, depending on which version of
Gone in 60 Seconds you prefer), and
four years later Stagnaro picked up a
1965 Ford Mustang. No, it wasn’t the
Shelby he once dreamed of, but
Stagnaro fi gured he could modify the
car to clone a Shelby, and probably
make it even more formidable than
even ole Shelby himself could.
Stagnaro immediately began
running autocrosses with the car in
1969, and the Mustang has raced every
single season since. He kept the car
street legal for a number of years,
making small modifi cations one at a
time. Eventually he stripped out the
interior and graduated it to CP trim.
Maier Racing, who had experience
competing with Mustangs in SCCA’s
Trans-Am Series, helped Stagnaro with
DONE
11 Solo Championships,
Frank Stagnaro’s C Prepared
60 SECONDS
car is one fast Mustang.
INWith
Eleanor, eat your heart out.
the fi berglass fender fl ares and metal
fabrication. In 1979, Stagnaro made his
rookie trip to the Solo National
Championships held that year at the
Dallas Airport. Back then, the guy to
beat in CP was Gene Hanchett, who
drove a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z28,
and had six National Championship
crowns. Stagnaro and Hanchette
played battle of the bruisers, putting
on quite a show for the crowds as they
slid through the Solo courses.
In 1982, Stagnaro fi nally bested
Hanchett on raw time, but
unfortunately hit a cone on his last
run giving Hanchett his seventh
national title by a margin of 0.018
seconds. Stagnaro began to pick up
a string of second place Nationals
fi nishes in CP (12 to date). It was
looking as if Stagnaro may always be
the bridesmaid in CP.
Regardless of his second place luck,
he never gave up and didn’t quit
trying to make his Mustang better.
In the early 1990s, Stagnaro made the
biggest and most effective change to
his pony, a coilover suspension system.
“The newer Mustangs were coming
out and they had a lot of things going
for them,” said Stagnaro. “I knew
I had to step up my game or get left
behind.” In 1992, Yokohama
sponsored Stagnaro’s Mustang, and
once again, he headed to the Solo
Nationals. Ten years after he coned
away a championship to a Camaro,
his perseverance paid off, and
Stagnaro claimed his fi rst National
Championship with the Mustang.
It was an enormous accomplishment
that took 23 years to achieve.
Stagnaro grabbed another National
Championship the following year in
1993, then put up another two years
in a row as the class champion in
1997 and 1998.
“When I started in Solo in the early
1970s, that is what you did – you had a
car and slowly you made modifi cations
to keep the car competitive. I like that
aspect of the class,” said Stagnaro.
“You always have to work on a car to
improve it. And you don’t have to have
a ton of money to run in CP. Some
guys will spend $50,000 a year buying
a new car for Solo. Prepared allows an
old car to remain competitive with
little cost in modifi cation year to year,
compared to buying an entire new car
each year to compete in some of the
Stock classes.”
One of the things Stagnaro has
done over the years to remain
competitive is weight distribution.
The Mustang sits with only 51-percent
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of its weight on the front axle. This is
an impressive feat for a muscle car,
and it was done without moving the
engine rearward, something that is
not allowed in CP. Fiberglass and
carbon fi ber panels, along with a
Lexan windshield, helped get the car
to its minimum weight for CP, 2,750lbs.
To get the power to the ground,
Stagnaro now uses Goodyear tires, on
16-inch diameter,12-inch wide wheels.
This combination does add 50lbs to
the car’s minimum weight, but it
appears to be worth it.
Horsepower is one of the key
ingredients to Stagnaro’s Mustang.
“The engine is one place where
I spent a little bit of money,” said
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Stagnaro. “But that investment
has paid off well. I have the same
engine in the car I had 10 years
ago and it’s still running strong.”
Ten years on a motor may not
sound like a long time for your street
car, but on a race motor, maxed out for
power, pushing the limits every other
weekend, this is astonishing. Stagnaro
says the motor, a 310 Windsor with a
roller cam and a dry sump, is rated at
“500 ponies” at the crank.
Stagnaro’s Mustang uses an
ex-NASCAR Jerico four-speed
transmission. “Once NASCAR is done
with a tranny they rebuild them and
sell them at a pretty reasonable price,”
said Stagnaro.
Once the power leaves the
transmission it goes into a Speedway
full fl oater Ford nine-inch rear end.
The Mustang is tamed through the
corners with a set of Penske shocks
valved by Guy Ankeny. The front
suspension geometry was hand built
and designed by Stagnaro. During the
car’s life, it has had up to three
different front ends within three years,
as Stagrano continually strives for
better performance.
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Often, CP cars have a reputation for
being a little rough around the edges.
Owners may put their concentration
and efforts on important things (in
the eyes of a CP competitor), like
more power or larger tires – like
many racecars, few CP cars are ever
done. Sometimes, however, they
don’t take the time to do things like
paint the fender fl ares to match the
rest of the car or clean up some
rough looking welds. Stagnaro’s
car is set apart from the norm, as
his car looks as good as it runs.
Stagnaro has not only built one of
the most iconic Solo cars in the SCCA,
he is also very involved in other
aspects of Solo, having designed
numerous Solo National Tour courses
on the West Coast, and a course at the
2000 Solo National Championships.
“I try to design a course that fl ows,”
said Stagnaro. “I want courses that
have continuity and fl ow to them. I
don’t like tight courses that make you
stop.” Spoken like a true CP driver.
The tight knit group of CP
competitors share more than a love
of American muscle – they also have
traditions. Usually at the National

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32 august www.scca.com
Championships, CP is the last run
group, after the runs are complete,
the class does a parade lap around the
course showing off their muscle and
prowess. In years past, instead of a
parade lap of cars, CP had an old
school bus that shuttled all of the
competitors around the course.
“That was a good party,” said
Stagnaro. Parties are a big part of the
CP camaraderie.
Stagnaro’s Mustang is the reigning
CP championship car, with co-driver
Mike Maier taking the honors in
2008-’09. Regardless of the car’s
recent success, Stagnaro tore the front
suspension of the car apart again.
“There is always room for
improvement,” Stagnaro said.
CP CHAMPION MIKE MAIER
THE STAGNARO MUSTANG, driven by Frank Stagnaro’s co
driver Mike Maier, won the 2008-’09 C Prepared National
Championship. Unbeknownst to Stagnaro, Mike had been
sitting in the driver’s seat of the Mustang before he was even
old enough to drive.
“When Frank’s car was at my dad’s shop, I would sneak
into it and pretend I was driving it,” said Mike. “I probably put
about 20 miles a night on that car.”
Mike’s father, Bill, was involved in Trans-Am racing from
1969 through 1990 and started Maier Racing in Hayward, Calif.
During the early 1970s, Stagnaro bought a lot of parts for his
ongoing Mustang project from Maier Racing, and eventually
Bill decided to sponsor the car.
Eventually, Mike got his driver’s license and, when he
graduated from high school, Stagnaro gave him a very special
gift: An invitation to drive his CP Mustang at the Solo National
Championships. Mike fearlessly powered the big Mustang
around the course and found himself in third place after the fi rst
day. For his efforts, Mike won Rookie of the Year Award in 1997.
Both Stagnaro and Maier will be
back at the Solo Nationals this year
to see if the car can win three in a
row (about the only thing the car
hasn’t done yet). But in the
meantime, back in California,
Stagnaro’s grandson is old enough to
drive now and he has been seen
behind the wheel of the horsepower
machine at some regional events.
That makes him the third generation
Stagnaro to run the car.
The Stagnaro Mustang has been
running CP for 40 years now, and
with a young Stagnaro just getting
started, it looks like the rest of CP
may be running against this
formidable Mustang for many years
to come.
After getting the chance to drive the
Mustang, Mike caught the autocross bug,
so he began building his own C Prepared
car. He started with a yellow 1979 Ford
Mustang. Mike built a very fast car, but it
had its share of gremlins.
“I learned to put down a fast lap early
because chances were the car would
break before the third lap,” said Mike.
Frank pulled him aside and gave him this
bit of advice, “The year you win Nationals
is the year you roll the car off the trailer
and don’t wrench on it.” Mike listened to
that advice, and in 2004 the yellow
Mustang’s gremlins were silenced, Mike
won his fi rst CP National Championship.
After his success in Solo, Mike
competed in USAC midgets for a while
with K&N Air Filters backing his efforts.
From his experience in circle track racing,
he started to have a better understanding
for suspension setup. Mike began to talk
with Stagnaro about making some
adjustments to Frank’s Mustang, and the
two decided to run the car together again.
“I will always be a student of Frank,” said
Mike. “But now we have more of a
partnership.” That partnership has proven
to be formidable.
Mike’s wife, Brianne, also drove
Stagnaro’s car and picked up a CPL
National Championship in 2009. Brianne
is also no stranger to being around Solo
competition – her father, Ken Mitchell, is a
past ESP National Champ. Keeping with
the racing family tradition, Mike and
Brianne already have their son competing
in quarter midgets.
SPECIFICATIONS
1965 FORD MUSTANG
ENGINE: 310 Windsor, roller cam, dry sump
CYLINDER HEADS: Brodix aluminum heads
INTAKE: Edelbrock Victor Jr.
CARBURETOR: 750 cfm Holley
TRANSMISSION: Jerico 4-speed
CLUTCH: Ram, multi-disc
DIFFERENTIAL: Speedway full fl oating
Ford 9-inch
SUSPENSION: Coil-over
(front hand built by Frank Stagnaro)
SHOCKS: Penske (valved by Guy Ankeny)
WHEEL SIZE: 16x12-inch
TIRES: Goodyear slicks, 25x13-inch front,
27x14-inch rear
BODY: Fiberglass nose, hood, trunk and fender
fl ares (by Bill Maier)
INTERIOR: Removed with full roll cage installed
WINDOWS: Lexan windshield and rear window
WEIGHT: 2,750 pounds
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION: 51% front, 49% rear