The Mustang market — like any market, really — is all about who’s the first to run what. Who’s the first to the 10s, the 9s, and on and on. With the introduction of the 2015 Mustang, it’s more of the same. People scrambled to run 11s naturally-aspirated, 10s with a blower, nines with twin-turbochargers, and the like. But Watson Racing appears to be the first to run in the 8s with its 2015 Mustang GT test car.

For those wondering, Watson Engineering’s 2015 GT retians its factory IRS, so running 8s with the set-up is quite the accomplishment. Here you also get a good glimpse at the car’s exhaust system.

With a Whipple 2.9L supercharger, a 10-rib accessory drive, Ford Performance cams, and American Racing Headers exhaust with Pypes electronic cut-outs, Magnaflow mufflers, and a Turbo 400 transmission, the combo was good for 928-rwhp earlier in the year. While sneaking up on the right tune during the summer months, though, elapsed times continued to fall.

During a recent test session, Chuck Watson, Sr. ran three 8-second passes, with the quickest an 8.90 at 153 mph. These are very quick times for a 2015 Mustang still wearing its factory IRS package. Watson accomplished these times at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, but not in ideal weather. It matters not, though, as Watson will go down in history of being the first IRS-equipped 2015 Mustang in the eights — and that’s all that matters.

At this weekend’s NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, we look for even quicker times out of the car.