The NMRA‘s True Street class is a real test of man and machine. It takes a certain level of commitment to attempt to build a car that can not only achieve a low elapsed time over a three-run back-to-back-to-back average, but also complete a grueling 30-mile tour prior to hitting the dragstrip. Georgia’s Mitch Goare is taking the challenge, with a build in process at Sheppard Race Cars in Georgia.
The ’91 LX will be ready to go for the 2014 NMRA season. A Dart-block Ford engine topped with Airflow Research cylinder heads and displacing XXX inches built by legendary racer Brad Brand of Atlanta Chassis Dyno is on tap, fed by a custom turbo kit featuring a pair of Turbonetics 76mm turbochargers and running through plumbing designed and installed by Sheppard Race Cars in Georgia.
Sheppard also updated the rollcage in the car to 25.5 specs, and the suspension has been completely updated to handle the rigors of the tour along with the brutal launches on the strip. There’s a Neal Powerglide installed, and Goare tells us that paint, plumbing, and wiring is left to complete the car.
The True Street class offers a small payout to the winner, but the real reason to run in the class is the huge six-foot-tall trophy and bragging rights you get for being the baddest car on the property. Goare tells us that the car will be ready to go for the Bradenton NMRA season opener, and he plans to have the car deep into the seven-second range to take home the ultimate prize.
Goare has a history in the True Street class and is an accomplished racer who’s been out of the game for a while. “I won a True Street event in 1997 in Atlanta when it was Fun Ford and ran Street Outlaw and Limited Street for a few years after that with good success. I sold my car in 2000, and have taken a break for a while with family and growing our business,” he says.
He’s back, and from the looks of these photos it’s with a vengeance. He’ll have some stiff competition, however, as class stalwart Chris Escobar recently broke into the 7-second range with his twin-turbo Coyote SVO machine, and there are a number of other players in the field who are also looking for that elusive seven-second average. Whoever comes out on top next year, it’s sure to be one heck of a battle in True Street.
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