A good way to tell if it's been run hard:
If you're talking face to face.. ask him to pop the hood.. then look all amazed, like a kid on christmas.. just stare at it and say "wow.. that's incredible.. "
The owner will begin to smirk..
At this point, say something like " So what's she run in the quarter?"
Basically, his reaction can clue you in to whether or not the car has been dogged on, run hard, raced, etc.
I just finished car shopping recently (ended up with a mark) and this was a failsafe plan that turned me away from three stock looking mustangs and a camaro...
Basically, if you're torn on whether or not something's a good deal.. double check it like this to make sure you arent missing anything important about the car's history.
And I can thank my Grandpa (An ex-used car salesman) for teaching me that one.
