Mustang Week has been bringing Ford enthusiasts together for over 20 years, and in 2026 it came home. Not just to Charlotte, but to our backyard. RTR Vehicles is headquartered in Concord, and having Mustang Week roll into our corner of North Carolina for the first time made this one feel different from the start. Six days. August 24-29. Full throttle Ford action from kickoff to final send off, and we were there for every moment of it.
Monday | Kick-Off Party at Mac's Speedshop
Mustang Week Charlotte opened at Mac's Speedshop, a Concord staple that felt like exactly the right place to start. Mustangs began filling the lots hours before the show officially kicked off, and by the time things were in full swing, hundreds of cars had taken over every available inch of parking. RTR showed up with the Mustang RTR Spec 3 in Soul Red, making its first ever in-person appearance alongside a Bronco RTR ROVR and a Leadfoot Gray Spec 3. The energy was relaxed, the crowd was fired up, and the week was officially underway.
Tuesday | Karting and the Ice Cream Social
Tuesday brought a car show and karting session at K1 Speed in Concord. RTR set up in the show field to spend time with the Mustang Week crowd, and after grabbing some treats from the Ice Cream Social it was time to get competitive. Ben Hobson put in his practice laps before stepping back into the kart for the Mustang Week Karting Cup. Running a position-based format against some of the fastest drivers of the week, Ben came home with P3 overall.
Wednesday | RTR Owners Cruise
Wednesday was the kind of day that reminds us exactly why we do what we do. Over 30 Mustang RTR owners showed up to join us for a cruise, and before hitting the road we staged on the skid pad at the RTR Lab for a group photo that came close to filling the lot completely.
Vaughn then opened the doors and invited everyone inside for a tour of the Lab, walking the group through the full timeline of RTR vehicles on display, from the original S197 concept Mustang RTR all the way to the brand new 870HP Mustang RTR Spec 5, plus a few things we are not quite ready to talk about yet.
From there we hit the road and headed up into the mountains, finding a lake to unwind and spend some real time with our community before wrapping up the day at lunch together.
Outside of the owner cruise, RTR also had a presence at the Mustang Week Games and All-Ford meetup, keeping our footprint across every corner of the week's schedule.
Thursday | Track Day and the First Ever RTR Vehicles Party
Charlotte Motor Speedway was Thursday's destination, and we arrived with three cars worth talking about. Vaughn Gittin Jr. brought his personal Mustang RTR Spec 5 and his Mustang GTD, while Ben Hobson took the wheel of the Ford Mustang RTR.
After clearing tech inspection, Vaughn ran double duty between the Spec 5 and the GTD, mixing in a little friendly on-track competition along the way. We will let the footage speak for itself on that one.
With all the high-horsepower vehicles hitting the track that day, the Ford Mustang RTR held it’s own demonstrating the turbocharged capabilities and showing what the straight from Flat Rock vehicle could do with Ben behind the wheel.
After the track day wrapped, the evening shifted to Cabarrus Brewing Co. for something brand new. The first ever RTR Vehicles Party of Mustang Week Charlotte was a completely free, open invitation event built around one simple idea: get the community together, throw down in our cars, and celebrate the Ford Mustang the way it deserves.
Vaughn and Ben brought out their Mustang RTR Spec 5-Ds for their first appearance of the week, joined by the Hoonifox and the Ford Mustang RTR.
After the drift demos wrapped, Vaughn and Ben pulled five attendees at random for the Nitto Tire Roll Challenge, with an extra hundred dollars on the line for anyone who could roll the tire into the slot. No winner this time, but we’ll be sure to bring the game back at future events.
Friday and Saturday | All-Ford Cruise In and Car Show at zMAX
The main event. zMAX Dragway hosted the All-Ford Cruise In and Car Show across Friday and Saturday, and RTR came prepared. Our display featured nearly a dozen vehicles spanning the full RTR lineup, from the Ford Mustang RTR to two Mustang RTR Spec 5s and a Bronco ROVR, one of the largest displays we have ever put together at a single event.
Vaughn and Ben strapped back into the Mustang RTR Spec 5-Ds and put on tandem drift exhibitions and ride-along sessions that had fans pressed against the railings for every single run.
Saturday afternoon brought back the Drift Battle, which made its debut earlier in the year at Mustang Week Texas. After a series of competitive tandem battles, judges Vaughn and Ben awarded the win to Justin Bauer following an outstanding battle with Adam Heisman, earning Justin a carbon fiber fender from Ben's 2025 Formula Drift car. Justin then stepped up for a final shootout with Ben himself, a battle Ben ultimately claimed in what was a fitting end to the night.
Saturday saved the best for last. Once the storm clouds cleared and the smoke from the burnout competition settled, Vaughn and Ben climbed back into their 1000HP Spec 5-Ds for one final send off. Mustang Week had a fireworks show ready to light up the sky behind them, and the combination of tire smoke, horsepower, and fireworks was the perfect close to six days of nonstop action.
Until Next Year
Mustang Week Charlotte is new to this location, but the soul of the event has been built over more than two decades of bringing Mustang culture together in one place, and that came through on every single day of the week. Being able to share our home with this community meant something to us, and we are already looking forward to doing it again. See you next year, Mustang Week.
