The 2025 Boss Nationals are now a memory, but plenty of fun was had by all. How do I know? Because co-organizer Rick Ybarra told me, and who am I to question him? He, along with Finley Ledbetter, have carved out a nice niche event that brings out the crème de la crème of Boss Mustangs and Cougars, and more.
A group of Boss 302 Mustangs drove from Chicagoland to East Moline, Illinois in the heat without air conditioning but, let’s be honest, 3.91 gears can create plenty of ventilation when the windows are open.
If you are curious about the Boss Nationals, you can read more about it here. Rick, who’s the Boss 351 Registrar, tells me this is the rundown of what showed up at the 2025 Boss Nationals:
- 14 1969-70 Boss 429 Mustangs
- 12 1971 Boss 351 Mustangs
- 22 1970 Boss 302 Mustangs
- 2 Boss 302 1970 Cougar Eliminators
- 2 1967 Shelby GT500s
- 1 1965 Shelby Cobra
- 2 Ford GTs
- 1 1970 Cougar XR-7 convertible packing a 428 SCJ four-speed
- 1 1969 Mustang SportsRoof 428 SCJ four-speed
- 1 1972 351 HO Mustang SportsRoof
- 1 1969 Shelby GT350 (first event after restoration)
This Drag Pack Cougar convertible scored 996 points out of 1000. More for Cougar fans: Eric Peosta won the Boss Nationals Apex award for his special-order-color (Medium Lime metallic) 1970 Cougar Eliminator. In addition, both Steve Anderson’s 1969 Boss 429 and Scott Skalitzky’s 1970 Boss 429 were Super Stallion winners.
Visit www.bossnationals.com to stay abreast of 2026 Boss Nationals scheduling.
