Wildcard mooted for second 23Red Mustang

A seventh Ford Mustang could be on the Supercars grid during 2019, with 23Red Racing owner Phil Munday eyeing wildcard appearances for his spare car.

Munday confirmed on Friday that his Will Davison-driven entry will be run by Tickford Racing next season, after a single year as a standalone outfit.

23Red's current chassis – updated from Falcon FG X to Mustang specification – will be prepared out of Tickford’s Campbellfield workshop alongside the team's own three entries.

Munday will lease out the race preparation area of his 23Red shop in Kilsyth, having elected against continuing in the GT3 Cup Challenge, or expanding into Dunlop Super2.

Instead, his existing spare FG X will also be converted into a Mustang and sit in the composites building at Kilsyth in a race-ready state.

“I am building a second Mustang, converting my other car, so if the right opportunity arises, it’s definitely a possibility,” Munday told Supercars.com of fielding a wildcard.

“In my (back) workshop at Kilsyth, where all the composites are, I’m building a mock garage where that Mustang will sit.

“It’ll be a full-on race garage with all the stuff we’ve got that we won’t need, because we’ll be using all the Tickford stuff.

“The car will sit in there for when we do our corporate days with sponsors, because it’s got a bar in there too, so it’ll be a nice set-up.

“It’ll sit in there and if the opportunity arises we’ll run a wildcard with it.”

Both of 23Red's Falcons will be converted to Mustangs

Munday said there are no firm plans around the mooted wildcard, with drivers or events to contest to be determined.

It would not run in Milwaukee colours; the tool company’s three-year deal with Munday focused on the Davison-driven entry only.

Although Will’s brother Alex has been named as a possibility ahead of an expected PIRTEK Enduro Cup return, Munday said he’d like to give a young driver a chance.

“A young guy would be good, someone out of Super2 who shows a bit of potential,” he said.

“But we’ll just play it by ear and see what happens, there’s no definite plans.”

Will Davison finished 15th in the 2018 standings with 23Red, recording eight top 10 finishes, including a best of seventh on three occasions.

Davison’s car will be one of six Mustangs running full-time next season, with Tickford to field three of its own entries and DJR Team Penske two.