Joel Grannas’ “Orange Man Bad” Supra was one of the most feared H-pattern cars in the world, but it looks like his new Fox body Mustang, “Peeled,” is a whole new animal. Grannas reset the H-pattern record with a blistering 6.490-second rip at 222 mph during testing at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
The Supra broke the six-second stick-shift barrier and was a constant threat to win any H-pattern race it entered. Nick Cole-Mann was the last person to reset the H-pattern record with a 6.495-second pass at 219.51 mph. It was clear the H-pattern class had reached a new level of competition, and Grannas had something to bring to the party.
Grannas knew the Supra was a great car, but it had its limits. If he really wanted to dominate H-pattern racing, he’d have to bring a bigger gun to the fight. After a crash at the World Cup Finals, Grannas decided it was time to get Peeled ready for action.
The Mustang is a purpose-built race car with no compromises baked into its construction. One of the biggest advantages Peeled has over the Supra is how much it weighs. The Supra tipped the scales at 2,950 pounds, while the Mustang weighs just 2,450 pounds. Any racer worth their salt knows that shaving 500 pounds off a race car is going to make a huge difference.
Peeled got the same potent 2JZ that powered the Supra, so horsepower wasn’t going to be an issue. When Grannas unleashed the Mustang’s full fury, it retook the H-pattern record with a 1.083-second 60-foot time. Peeled stopped the eighth-mile clocks at 4.248 seconds at 175 mph before clearing the quarter-mile in 6.490 seconds at 222 mph.
The record did come at a cost, as a problem at the top end caused Grannas to make contact with the Bradenton Motorsports Park wall.
“Got the record on the first outing, which is amazing, but the chutes didn’t come out. I tried to save it but spun way at the end of the shutdown trying to stay out of the strawberry field. The car is fixable, but I am just really upset I smashed up my beautiful new car,” Grannas said on social media.
There’s no doubt that Grannas will get his Mustang fixed. The bigger question is: can he lower the H-pattern record even more?
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