No matter your brand allegiance, it’s the rare muscle-car enthusiast who hasn’t heard the name “Tasca Ford.” The famed Rhode Island Ford dealership was founded in 1953 by the late Bob Tasca and went on to become the premier high-performance Ford store of the day. Over the years, Bob Tasca caught the ears of high-ups at Ford headquarters in Dearborn and is credited with pushing Ford’s performance agenda in general. Perhaps his biggest corporate success was in creating the ‘Tasca Street Boss’ – a street-oriented Mustang supercar from existing Ford components, which led to the creation of the production 428 Cobra Jet Mustang.
Drag racing was a constant for Tasca—beginning with a ’62 406 Galaxie, and included all the hot cars of the era—Thunderbolts, A/FX Mustangs, Cobra Jets, etc. Tasca also dabbled in early funny cars, including the famed Mustang Mystery cars wheeled by driver Bill Lawton and tuned by John Healey. Equally remarkable is that the Tasca dealership continues to thrive to this day, now relocated from East Providence to Cranston, Rhode Island. Drag racing has also continued as a mainstay, with Tasca campaigning and sponsoring the funny cars of Bob Tasca III and John Force, along with competing in the modern fleet of Mustang Cobra Jets. To the point, Carl Tasca, Bob Sr.’s son, is the current NHRA Factory Stock record holder for mph with his ’16 Cobra Jet Mustang… read more >
