Ask any proud racer for photos of their race car and they’ll eagerly pull out a smartphone and scroll through the hundreds of images stored in their gallery. Such is the pride of ownership in 21st century motorsports. Acknowledging the thousands of hours that have gone into building these cars and sourcing just the right parts, we recently asked PRI Magazine readers to send us photos of their race cars to feature in this year’s Trade Show issue. The response was overwhelming—far more submissions came in than we had room for in these pages. And it wasn’t easy narrowing down our selections, given that we only have so much space at our disposal. All that said, the 20 exceptional vehicles that follow, in our opinion, reflect some of the best our industry has to offer.

1981 Buick Regal

Kyle Roberts
Bay City, Michigan

Race Series/Class: SCCA Solo, C-Prepared car

Engine: 408-cubic-inch small block Chevrolet with a Saginaw three-speed transmission built by Kyle Roberts, custom tuned by Mad-Science Motorsports

Car: Fabrication work by Chris Vance of V-Fab in Midland, Michigan

Features: Holley Sniper EFI fuel system, Quick Performance, Wild Rides 12-point cage, five-point harness from TeamTech

Fact: Not only is the car built for summer autocross season, but Roberts also actively ice races the car in the winter months with a studded set of tires.

1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442

Phil Veldheer
Holland, Michigan

Race Series/Class: NHRA and IHRA, Top Eliminator

Engine: Hard Blok filled Oldsmobile 455 bored to 468 cubic inches, built by Dan Gorby Racing Engines

Features: Mickey Thompson tires, VP C12 race fuel and VP 10w40 full synthetic race oil, ARP fasteners, Moroso plug wires, PROFORM Parts water pump and fan, Cometic Gasket gaskets, Hedman Hedders, Optima Batteries battery, Fragola hoses and fittings

Fact: This is a genuine GM factory race car with nine original miles on the odometer. Veldheer has owned it for more than 23 years, and he’s been behind the wheel of the car for the last eight years.

2018 Ford Mustang GT

David Van Voris
Amarillo, Texas

Race Series/Class: TX2K, FL2K, Street Car Takeover, Flashlight Shootout

Engine: Built by David Van Voris at Coyote Direct

Car: Fabricated by Joe Young of Street Car Joe Fabrication

Features: RPG 5.2, sleeved, Top Fuel hoops, aluminum rods, Manley pistons, Frankenstein heads, COMP Cams camshaft

2020 Black Diamond

Mark & Jenny Watson
Loganville, Georgia

Race Series/Class: Late Model Series, 602 Thunder

Engine: GM crate small block built by Darrell Gabriel of Gabriel’s Engines

Car: Built by Ronnie Stuckey of Stuckey Enterprises

Features: Safecraft safety equipment, Fast Shafts driveshaft, K&N filters, FSR Radiators radiator, Fox Shocks, VP Lubricants, Fuel Safe, Ultra Shield, PPM Racing Products, MSD

Fact: Watson Racing started 29 years ago for Mark and Jenny’s son AJ (“Sideways”) Watson when he was five years old.

2013 Mac Sherrill Rear-Engine Dragster

Tom & Ryan Martino
Youngstown, Ohio

Race Series/Class: NHRA and PDRA, Top Dragster

Engine: Nitrous-assisted 665-cubic-inch big block Chevrolet built by PAR Racing

Engines Car: Built by Mac Sherrill Race Cars

Features: Lucas Oil Products, K&N Filters (dragster scoop, air filters, oil filters), NGK Spark Plugs, XS Power Batteries, Strange Engineering steering and rearend components, Fel-Pro gaskets, Brodix aluminum cylinder heads and blocks

Fact: Martino Motorsports is composed of a father-son tandem who have been featured on national television—from PBS to the Discovery Channel—with their race car.

2002 Undercover Dragster

Gary Don Free
Katy, Texas

Driver: Austin Free

Race Series/Class: Bracket racing

Engine: 584 big block Chevrolet built by Steve Schmidt Racing Engines

Car: Built by Undercover Motorsports

Features: Hughes Performance torque converter, Exner Racing Transmissions transmission, APD Dominator carburetor, Altronics Red-Alert O2 monitor

Fact: Gary’s 16-year-old son Austin is driving this dragster after two years of racing Juniors. He is a third-generation drag racer and has quickly adjusted to driving a 4.70 ET dragster at 145 mph.

2005 Chevy Colorado Custom Mega Truck

Lindsey & Bennie Goodin
Emmett, Michigan

Race Series/Class: Racing, freestyle, bounty hole

Engine: 383 Stroker Motor

Features: 2.5 GM axles, Profab transfer case, 20-inch Big Shocks, NGK spark plugs

Facts: Recently, Lil Red Nightmare was completely made over after being dormant for three years. What’s more, Lindsey has competed all over the country with several wins in freestyle and head-to-head competition. “Nothing beats the feeling when you go launching off a big jump and all you see is the beautiful sky,” she said.

1995 Eagle Talon

Albert Raczynski
Algonquin, Illinois

Race Series/Class: Radial vs. Modified

Engine: Mitsubishi 4G63 built by Albert Raczynski

Car: Built by Albert Raczynski

Fact: Raczynski built this entire car from the ground up. He fabricated the entire chassis, wired the entire car, built the engine, and tuned the car all by himself.

1930s TMD DieselX Special

Thomas McGriff
Indianapolis, Indiana

Race Series/Class: Vintage open wheel, oval and road course

Engine: Cummins 2.8L SOHC turbodiesel

Car: Built by Thomas McGriff

Features: Wilwood brakes, Bassett wheels, Goodrich Radial T/A tires, Hughes Performance transmission, Speedway Engineering rear axle, MPI steering wheel, Speedway Motors spindles and front hubs, Power Cool radiator, AFCO springs and shocks

Fact: This is a 1930s Euro Grand Prix concept race car.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Jordan Pennington
Mishawaka, Indiana

Race Series/Class: FAST (Factory Appearing Stock Tire) racing series

Engine: 560-cubic-inch all-aluminum big block Chevrolet built by Tony Bischoff of BES Racing Engines

Car: Built and fabricated by Jordan Pennington

Features: Chevrolet Performance, TBM Brakes brake components, Holley EFI, Jesel valvetrain, Braille Battery, Aeromotive, RaceQuip, Dynomax

Facts: In the FAST racing series, all cars have to look 100% original like the day they rolled off of the showroom floor. This car makes 903 horsepower naturally aspirated through factory exhaust manifolds, and it has been 9.50 at 143 mph in the quarter-mile on stock bias ply Firestone Wide Oval tires.

1968 Pontiac LeMans

Kevin & Mook
Ames, Iowa

Race Series/Class: Burnout exhibitions

Engine: 455 Buick built by Kevin and Mook

Car: Built and fabricated by Kevin and Mook

Features: QA1 suspension, Quick Performance rear axle, lots of rust

Fact: This car was T boned in the 1970s and parked by the river where it was flooded numerous times. It was saved by YouTubers Junkyard Digs and Junkyard Mook in 2018.

1978 Chevrolet C10

Paul Treadwell
Driftwood, Texas

Driver: Jesse Vaughn from Marion, Illinois

Race Series/Class: Optima Street Car Challenge (GTT Class), UMI King of the Mountain, C10 Nationals Autocross, LS Fest Grand Champion, Pro Touring Truck Shootout

Engine: LS engine built by Don Hardy

Car: Built by Level 7 Motorsports

Features: No Limit Engineering Pro Tech chassis, Winters Performance rearend, Forgeline wheels, Quarter Master clutch, Wilwood products, MoTeC ECU

Fact: This C10 is one of the most advanced trucks on the planet, according to Vaughn, as it’s powered by a 730-horsepower 446-cubic-inch LS engine.

2016 Belly Tank Style Lakester

Mike & Diane Brown
Morrow, Ohio

Race Series/Class: Mile land speed racing

Engine: GM Performance LSA crate engine with a few modifications

Car: Designed and built by Mike and Diane Brown

Features: Winters Performance rearend, Jerico transmission, Hoosier tires, Stroud Safety equipment, Wilwood brakes, AEM data logger, FireFox suppression system

Fact: The car’s namesake, “itisforfreedom.com,” is a school in the Dominican Republic that the Browns support.

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air

Andrew Starr
Horsham, Pennsylvania

Race Series/Class: Drag Week

Engine: Hilborn EFI 582-cid big block Chevrolet built by Starr Performance and Consulting

Car: Built and fabricated by Starr Performance and Consulting

Features: Hilborn EFI, Holley EFI, G-Force Transmissions, Moser M9, Viking Shocks, Weldon, Crower, Bullet Cams, Injector Dynamics, Mark Williams driveshaft

Facts: Designed 13:1 compression to run on pump gas on the street; 935 RWHP on race gas, dual fuel systems. Runs 9.35 at 148 mph at 3,885 lbs.

1995 BMW 325i

Carl Balzer
Toledo, Ohio

Race Series/Class: Cleetus and Cars, drift events, drag racing events

Engine: Twin-turbo 1,200-horsepower LS swap built by Accelerated Performance using Texas Speed internals

Car: Built by Andrew Starr with help from his team at Hidden Motorsports and NEXXGEN Fab

Features: Holley and Motion Raceworks parts throughout; suspension from Fortune Auto, BimmerWorld and FDF; drift components from Seems Legit Garage

Fact: This car can do it all, from drifting to drag racing to burnout contests to off-roading and is 100% street legal so it can be daily driven.

2020 Ultra 4

Chuck Crossland
Los Molinos, California

Race Series/Class: Ultra 4 4800 class, NorCal Rock Racing 4800 class, King of the Hammers Everyman Challenge

Engine: 6.2L twin-turbo LS built by Mike Nelson of Northstate Machine

Car: Chassis by Liberty Mountain Fabrication, car built by Chuck Crossland with help from Matt’s Fab Shop

Features: Precision Turbo, Brian Tooley Racing, Hughes Performance transmission, Holley EFI, Tubeworks, King Shocks, Yukon Gear and Axle, Renegade Race Fuel

Fact: This is the only air-to-water intercooled twin-turbo car in the series, making it one of the most powerful cars at 1,150-plus horsepower on a low-boost tune up.

2010 Mini Cooper

Frank Schwartz
Davisburg, Michigan

Race Series/Class: SCCA B-Spec

Engine: Stock Prince N12 1,598cc (BMW/Peugeot)

Car: Built by Frank Schwartz and Babyface Fabrication (cage)

Features: G-LOC Brakes, Hankook tires, Summit Racing Equipment, AACS, Garmin Catalyst

Facts: The livery has half a mile of hand-applied pinstriping as an homage to the Frank Stella Art Car that ran at Le Mans in 1976. It finished fourth out of 61 cars at the 2021 National Championship SCCA Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1994 Chevrolet Camaro SS

908 Motorsports Magazine

Race Series/Class: No Prep Outlaw

Engine: 572 Merlin

Car: Built by JT’s Custom Shop

Features: Aeromotive, MSD, AutoMeter, Moroso, SCAT Enterprises, JE Pistons, COMP Cams, Strange Engineering, Billet Specialties, AFCO, Kirkey

Fact: CO2 chilled air and fuel via DEI and Spectre Performance.

1955 Chevrolet 3100

Eric Broadbent
Williamsburg, Iowa

Race Series/Class: NHRA Super Street, Super Gas, Bracket Series Super Pro

Engine: Chevrolet big block Mark IV 496 cid built by Eric Broadbent

Car: Built by Tom Farnlof

Features: ATI transmission, converter and balancer; SCAT rotating assembly; Wilwood brakes; AFR heads and intake; MSD ignition; Goodyear slicks; Strange Engineering aluminum third member and axles

Facts: Broadbent has owned this vehicle since high school and has been racing it for more than 30 years. It runs 9.70s at 140 mph. It features full-scale original steel body and fiberglass front and rear fenders.

2019 Harris Auto Racing Terminator Stock Car

Andrea McCain
South Haven, Minnesota

Race Series/Class: IMCA and USRA Stock Car

Engine: Small block Chevrolet 350 built by Shaun Bruns at Bruns Racing Products

Car: Built and fabricated by Harris Auto Racing

Features: Dynamic Drivelines driveshaft, Holley carburetor, Wilwood disc brakes rotor and pedal assembly, Penske Racing Shocks, Jones Racing Products pulley system, QuickCar gauges, Bassett Racing Wheel, Speedway Motors three-piece spindles

Fact: McCain is the owner and driver of the race car, and she travels all around Minnesota and Iowa trying to run with the big boys in the class that is “Too Tough to Tame.”