Tired of seeing the same ol’ Fox Mustangs day in and day out, Tim Donathen was inspired to do something a little different.

Interested in and intrigued by engines for as long as he can remember, Bill Trovato read the book “The Chevrolet Racing Engine” by Bill Jenkins when he was a teenager.

That question is like someone asking how to build a winning race car; it’s a little bit more complicated than it may first appear.

When his business took a sudden turn, Brian Lynch pivoted by restarting his path forward with Turn 2 Racing Communications and began offering “the most bang for your dollar” radio communications systems on the market. 

When Mike Farmer and his son, Sam, bought their “Bad Penny” 1980 Chevrolet Camaro, they had plans for a mild build that they could enjoy racing together.

The gear-banging competitor is hooked on hauling in G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock.

Slam Dunk—It’s game on for Tom Hammonds’ NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street Camaro 

Regina Puckett is the picture of patience and perseverance

Tommy Annunziata and Jim LaRocca are a match made in drag racing heaven. The duo’s dynamic is equal parts hard work, talent, determination, and pure comedy.

Written by Ainsley Jacobs Photography courtesy of the manufacturer Although the Mickey Thompson moniker is revered around the world for its performance rubber and incredible racing accomplishments, that name was attached a man Marion Lee Mickey Thompson himself before it came to symbolize a high-performance brand. As a young boy, Thompson's father took him along to Utah's famed Bonnevil...

Howell EFI, a leader in EFI conversion kits (GM/TPI/TBI) and wiring harnesses for direct injection swaps, now offers plug and play LT1/LT4 and EcoTec3 wiring harnesses for classic muscle cars, Corvettes and trucks, as well as multiple options to transplant power for both automatic and manual transmissions and even supercharged classics. The LT1/LT4, and EcoTec3 wiring harnesses are customized to ...

While many of us can only dream of collecting a garage full of special performance vehicles, Darroll Myers made that fantasy a reality. The proprietor of a massive NAPA store in North Dakota, which is considered the largest in North America, Myers is afforded the means to make his automotive dreams come true. And, if you purchase several high-level Fords, you might just get to make a few special ...

Written by Ainsley Jacobs Photography courtesy of Whipple Superchargers A name so synonymous with supercharging that its often used on its own to reference the type of power adder, Whipple Superchargers is one of the most popular aftermarket supercharging brands on the planet, but it got its humble start thanks to the dream and innovation of one man, Art Whipple. Art Whipple was a successful drag...

Powerful PairMichael and Jake Naumann take on NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street in a nitrous-injected Nova Written by Ainsley Jacobs Photography by Kevin DiOssi When he was a young boy, going to the track with his father instilled in Michael Naumann a passion for drag racing that's still going strong. That generational journey continues to this day, as Naumann is now passing it down to his own son ...

Ryan Maturski, the founder of RacingJunk.com, created the next big thing in online classifieds for the motorsports industryRYNO Classifieds. A programmer by trade who also happens to have a passion for motorsports, Maturski created RacingJunk.com in '98 in his living room as a way of helping a few racer friends, then sold the company in 2012. His success hinged on the fact that he understood ...

The Mickey Thompson brand is practically synonymous with drag racing, as its relentless innovation led to the development of performance tires that not only changed the motorsports world, but also helped shape it, too. The iconic Mickey Thompson logo itself can be seen at tracks all over the world, but in the United States, it can also be seen splashed across the company's multiple trailers t...

Written by Ainsley Jacobs Photography courtesy of the manufacturer Although a fairly new name in the drag racing world, TBM Brakes (formerly known as The Brake Man) earned a strong and respected reputation in a wide variety of motorsports. The company's history of expertise dates back more than 60 years, and with calipers, rotors, and more all crafted from the finest materials and 100-percent...

Having owned more than 100 cars in his lifetime, TorqStorm Superchargers/Accelerated Tooling co-owner Scott Oshinski can hardly remember all of them, but there is one that stands out and has a special place in his lifehis 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass S.

Written by Ainsley Jacobs Photography by Kevin DiOssi Certain small towns just seem to breed drag racing enthusiasts. Huntsville, Alabama, is certainly one of those towns. Growing up there, it was inevitable that Steve Cagle, now 70, would one day wind up behind the wheel with his foot to the floor. Although he wasn't around cars a whole lot early on, Cagle's older brother owned a '64...

Written by Ainsley Jacobs Photography by Kevin DiOssi As hard as it may be to believe, not everyone wants a wild, 5,000-horsepower car. Some folks want something a bit more streetable, a bit more manageable, and a bit more affordable, but they still want to go fast. Enter TorqStorm Superchargers. The company specializes in supercharger setups for the average Joe (and Joanne). Contracted to make s...

Ford Performance brought its Cobra Jet 1400 prototype to the 22nd Annual NMRA All-Ford World Finals & Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and we took a closer look. Written By Steve Turner Photography by the Race Pages Digital staff and courtesy of Ford Performance It is eerily quiet in the burnout box and suddenly the Mickey Thompson rear slic...

Following a passion almost always leads to success. When Brian Figg ditched his successful career and started anew with his Ford-focused suspension business, Stifflers, his risk was rewarded by a company embraced by the Mustang market. Growing up in Indiana, Figg always had an affinity for racing and found himself behind the wheel of go-karts and midgets. He went to college for mechanical enginee...

There's an inherent badassery that comes with stomping a clutch pedal and banging gears down the drag strip. In NMCA DART NA 10.5 presented by Diamond Pistons competition, many drivers elect to use an automatic transmission, but a select few still prefer the old school method of a stick-shift to get the job done. Prepping and driving a manual in any sort of racing category has its challenges,...

Written and Photographed by Ainsley Jacobs A gravel driveway off of a winding back road in rural Eastern Georgia leads to an unassuming 40-foot by 85-foot metal building, casually situated on the quiet property of a typical all-American home. The nondescript structure could be any hobbyist's backyard shop, as there's no sign to hint at what's going on within its walls. Inside, though,...

Written By Steve Baur Photography by Kevin DiOssi Some people are seemingly destined to remain on a certain path throughout their life, while others are sometimes forced to take a different road at some point. And then there are others who take a more proactive approach to the direction their lives take, and forge ahead oftentimes into the unknown in search of adventure, or simply a desire to fol...

Written By Steve Baur Photography by Kevin DiOssi Coyote-swapping Fox-Body Mustangs is all the rage, and at the forefront of that trend was longtime NMRA racer Michael Washington, who shelved his pushrod powerplant and dropped in a 5.0-liter Coyote engine into his Mustang to go Coyote Stock racing way back in 2013. While Washington enjoyed the sealed crate engine class, he wanted to see what ...

Written by Mary Lendzion Photos by FSC Staff Friends and fellow racers for nearly fifteen years, John Langer and Dwight Ausmus have a lot in common. Both have Pontiac cars and combinations, both have huge amounts of horsepower and both are completely competitive in NMCA FST Carburetors NA 10.5. Additionally, the highly-regarded Langer and Ausmus both work with Tony Bischoff of BES Racing E...

Written by Steve Turner Photography by Kevin DiOssi Rolling into the burnout box, ROUSH Performance Super Stang racer Miles Wagoner flicks the paddle shifter into first and smokes the tires. Mindful of his surroundings, he slithers to the starting line in his boosted S550. He clicks on the datalogger, checks his dial-in, stages and then it is boiler-up and hammer down until the bulb gl...

Written by Derek Putnam Photography by Kevin DiOssi Many of us look back fondly on high school and remember time spent with friends, hobbies and sports, as well as figuring out a career path. Some acquire a first car that makes an impact powerful enough that it stays with the owner for a lifetime. In 1997, the American sports car scene was gaining power, with the all-new LS1 engine platf...

Written by Derek Putnam Photography by Kevin DiOssi Many of us look back fondly on high school and remember time spent with friends, hobbies and sports, as well as figuring out a career path. Some acquire a first car that makes an impact powerful enough that it stays with the owner for a lifetime. In 1997, the American sports car scene was gaining power, with the all-new LS1 engine platf...

Written by Mary Lendzion Photography by Kevin DiOssi While Jason Hamstra was going rounds and recruiting rivals in his 2012 Mustang in NMCA VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod, he was ready to re-route at the end of 2016. Thats when he purchased a 1969 Camaro, which was built and driven by Alan Pittman in PDRA Pro Boost. There was nothing wrong with the Mustang, which we ended up selling ...

A Maverick buzzed the tower during the Haltech World Cup Finals back in October and Mike Bowen of Powerhouse Automotive piloted the low-flying vehicle. The NMRA Richmond Gear Factory Stock racer was entered in the ultra-competitive All Motor category with an outlaw setup that consisted of some hot fuel and several hundred pounds of weight removed. Bowen showed the front-wheel drive crowd wh...

Written by Mary Lendzion Photography by Kevin DiOssi When Mark Luton heard that street-racing was taking place near his home in California when he was a teenager, he went to watch. He was immediately interested and inspired, and in no time, he was racing his Ford Ranger rocking a 4.0L V6 with a Paxton supercharger on the street and strip. When he decided that he wanted more muscle, he climbed int...

Interview by Mary Lendzion Photography by Kevin DiOssi and the FSC Staff Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Chuck Watson Sr. was well aware of the Big Three automakers, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, and all of the hardware they had rolling off the assembly lines in the Motor City. He was intrigued, interested and inspired to join the industry in one way or another, so he went to work...

Written by Mary Lendzion Photos by Kevin DiOssi When Jeff Frees wasnt pumping gas at the service station he worked at as a teenager in the 1970s, he and his brother, Tim Frees, were climbing into the seat-less back of a cargo van to be taken to the track near their Ripon, Wisconsin, home to watch their friends race the 1965 Plymouth Satellite they shared. Instantly inspired, influence...

By Mary Lendzion Photos by Kevin DiOssi Twenty years ago, Russell Stone bought a Fox-body Mustang from Dwayne Barbaree, and a friendship was formed. They would work on the car together, and Stone would street-race it while Barbaree street-raced another Fox-body Mustang, and when they lined up alongside each other for the first time, Stone, who had never lost a street race, was outrun by B...

By Mary Lendzion Photos by Andrew Link and Fastest Street Car Staff While driving his 1990 Mustang to and from high school near his familys home in Milton, Pennsylvania, Adam Arndt would think about all of the modifications he wanted to make to it. Among them was an engine swap, so when he fried the four-banger that was in the car, he made plans to replace it with a 5.0L. Taking what ...

Interview by Mary Lendzion Photos by Steve Baur Having grown up on a farm in Illinois, Nick McGrath tinkered with tractors a time or two before turning his focus to cars. His first one was a 1984 Buick Riviera that he drove to and from high school but wasnt allowed to park in his parents garage, and his second one was a 1992 Mustang that he drove when he got out of high school and was allo...

By Derek Putnam Photos Courtesy of Randy SewardNearly completing a cross-country trip from the east coast to the west coast, our last installment ended with Randy Seward and his 8-second Mustang stopped in Phoenix, Arizona to make a repair on a transmission leak. A six-pack of tracks and nearly 4000 miles already checked off his list, Seward would continue west to California to visit three trac...

Written by Mary Lendzion Photos by Kevin DiOssi As a child walking hand in hand with her father, Stephanie Davies was curious about the make and model of most cars arriving for cruise-ins at the Whiskey Cafe near their Clifton, New Jersey, home. It didnt matter if they were Fords, Chevrolets or Dodges. But one of the cars she was most curious about was her fathers classic 1966 Fairlane R Cod...

  By Mary Lendzion Photos by Steve Baur Lance Keck has had an appreciation of cars for as long as he can remember. He would watch the Camaros, Challengers, Mustangs, and Mavericks cruising around his familys home in Central Valley, California in his youth, and after serving as a hospital corpsman with the Navy years later, he began drag racing and road racing in a 1969 Camaro, a 1955 Ch...

By Derek Putnam Photos Courtesy of Randy Seward With his trusty Mustang logged just over 1,000 miles in three days, Randy Sewards Pony Express was off to a decent start. A cross-country trip scheduled to log north of 10,000 miles, Seward plans to visit 47 drag strips in just over two months time. Race Pages Digital will be doing periodical updates on Sewards travels, as he puts his 8-sec...

By Mary Lendzion Photos by Kevin DiOssi, FSC staff and courtesy of Cathy Fackenger Among Susan Roush McClenaghans most cherished childhood memories is going to the track with her family to watch her father, Jack Roush, race. She found everything about the experiences to be especially engaging and incredibly inspiring, and she proved that when she went on to restore a 1967 Cougar, navi...

Racing organizations have been trying to define a street car using various street/race formats for nearly 30 years. For NMRA and NMCA competition, the QA1/Gear Vendors True Street class is the benchmark. Hot Rod Magazine first crowned Americas Fastest Street car in 1992 with a 15-mile cruise and the Pro Street competition has evolved into Drag Week with 1,000 miles and 5 days of drag racing. There...

By Brian Lohnes Photos by Fastest Street Car, Courtesy of the Manufacturers If you have ever wanted to stump one of your hardcore racing geek friends with a factoid, start with making them tell you the first displacement and application of the Chrysler Hemi engine. They will likely talk to you about the 331ci FirePower Hemi that debuted in 1950, and was first used in 1951 model year cars. Th...

Text and photos by Mary Lendzion While the 24th Annual Nitto NMRA Spring Break Shootout was in full-swing at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, the Motor City was playing host to hundreds of hotrods that rolled in for the 66th Annual Meguiars Detroit Autorama presented by OReillys Auto Parts, March 2-4 at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. Some of them were strictly for show while othe...

Written by Ainsley Jacobs, Photos by Ainsley Jacobs Nestled inside an unassuming looking building just a few minutes off I-75 in Ocala, Florida, is what is perhaps the worlds great collection of drag racing history and memorabilia. The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing houses a mind-boggling amount of heritage, and is an absolute must-see for any gearhead or drag racing fan. Opened in 19...

Perhaps one of the most unique cars competing in NMCA Xtreme Pro Mod is the 1970 Dodge Daytona Superbird of Craig Sullivan. He went with the barnyard find theme as a Richard Petty Superbird that was long forgotten. The latest issue of Fastest Street Car Magazine has Sullivan's story and here is a gallery of the machine he created. Photography by Kevin DiOssi

Written By Ainsley Jacobs Photography Courtesy of Trick Flow Specialties Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. In the case of Trick Flow Specialties, thats exactly how founders Rick and Mike Smith created the companybased out of their two-car garage in Orrville, Ohio. In the early 1980s, Rick Smith worked at a p...

By Ainsley Jacobs Photos by Kevin DiOssi/NMCA Combination. Its a word thats used often in drag racing to describe a particular engine/transmission setup. In the case of Tim Savell and Mike Bankston, though, the word alludes to the collaborative projects the two have shared over the years, and the combination of their skills and resources has yielded impressive results. Growing up, Savell didnt re...