It’s not often a man’s first love stands the test of time, but upon taking delivery in 1964 of the first Mustang ever sold in Savannah, GA, Jerry Bridgforth began a long affair with Ford’s pony car that shows no signs of waning.

“I graduated high school that year and my mom and dad ordered one before they even came out,” he says. "Naturally, I had to modify it and in 1965 they had a Mustang race in Savannah and had 27 cars there and I won that race. That was the start of my drag racing career.”

Now 58, Bridgforth is fresh off making his career-first 200-mph pass during an NHRA licensing run in his “new” 1966 Mustang G.T. 350H Pro Mod. After making several eighth-mile attempts, he covered the quarter mile at South Georgia Motorsports Park in 6.668 seconds at 200.86 mph. “I didn't even know it until I looked at the computer, and it could’ve been even faster because I let off at about a thousand feet.”

Despite being new to the track, Bridgforth’s one-of-a-kind ride has a lengthy history that includes several U.S. states, a couple of world champions, and a few of the best-known personalities in Pro Mod and Pro Stock racing.

Originally created up in Hawk Point, MO, by noted chassis builder Tim McAmis as a Pro Mod blower car for Harry Raynor in 1997, Bridgforth says he saw the slick ‘66 make its debut at Bradenton, FL. “Harry told me to sit in it and I fell in love with it right then.” The striking black ‘Stang saw only three outings, though, before insurance issues prompted Raynor to park it and give up Pro Mod racing.

A couple of years later, IHRA Pro Stock star Robert Patrick found out about the car and purchased it from Raynor to run in a new class to be called Outlaw Pro Stock. Patrick immediately sent it to Jerry Bickel in Moscow Mills, MO, where it spent several months being re-engineered to accept a naturally aspirated powerplant. The Outlaw Pro Stock series never caught on, however, and again the Mustang was put out to pasture until Patrick traded it in 2003 to former IHRA Pro Stock champion (1996, 2000) Jon Yoak.