Following a promising first day at Moody Gardens, the week closed out with a bang and then a storm to wash away piles of rubber, memories of an incredible time in Galveston, Texas for the 2026 Mustang Week Texas, presented by LMR. The folks at Monster Energy also pitched in to make sure the week ended on a high note, responsible for the incredible burnout pad – dubbed the Monster Energy Zone – where not only the burnout competitions took place, but drifting, awards, special announcements and presentations, and the Monster freestyle motocross team exhibitions. While Saturday did hold the Pro Burnout competition, there was plenty of action outside the Monster Energy Zone because it was Car Show day! Mustangs had their day in the sun, to be looked at carefully and ranked based on overall appearance for their year or submodel.
Car Show Highlights
My favorite part about walking the Car Show is not only seeing the cars, but hearing the stories behind them anytime the owner is around. It’s not every day you see a 1966 Mustang fastback, but John Vercellinno knew when he saw this one, he had to have it. The former pilot spent his free time on various layovers looking at cars until he found the right one, and after rebuilding the engine, he’s been driving it ever since. Todd Treadway’s 1968 Shelby GT500 has a much different acquisition story, having inherited it from his uncle, whom he acted as caretaker. The paint is not original; his uncle painted it brown and made him swear that he’d never paint it and restore it to Sunlit Gold. It’s a true survivor car, though, with bumps and bruises to show for it. Speaking of colors, Barry Ray’s Ford Performance Blue with Bright White stripes over-the-top – only 212 cars were produced with that combo – was a standout in the show as well, and the matte Paint Protective Film certainly helped.
If you are into more wild and custom Mustangs, there was no shortage of those as well. Detrick and Becky Thomas put together an impressive 2015 Mustang build, that is definitely one of one. A mix of Anderson Composites and TruFiber carbon exterior parts complete the panda look with the factory white paint. Work CR2P two-piece, 20-inch wheels and an Airlift system give the aired-out stance, but its signature sound is complements of a Paxton supercharger kit with BBK headers and a Gibson exhaust. Not one thing on this S550 has been left untouched. Dakota Simon’s 2024 Performance Pack GT also caught my attention but for its subtlety. The rear wheels look stock, but with beadlocks and drag radials. Upon closer inspection, the turbo kit was home-built but done beautifully with titanium charge pipes. It doesn’t hurt that it makes 1,045 horsepower at the wheels. Troy Kelly’s ‘68 “GT350 Tribute” uses a reproduction body for something truly unique – a built Voodoo engine with a ProCharger D-1X, Tremec 6-speed, Independent Front Suspension and 4-link rear. Troy built and painted the car himself.
Vendor Highlights
Mustang Week Texas is a great place to get reacquainted with brands you haven’t seen for sometime, and new ones you might not have heard of. A few examples that come to mind are American Racing, who has a lot of fresh new wheel designs including beadlocks for street cars and some late model Mustang specific wheels that fit the lines of S550s beautifully and even give a nod to some special OEM wheels without being a carbon copy. If you’ve been reading Ford Muscle, then you know it’s easier than ever to do a Godzilla swap for some raw, naturally aspirated, big-cube horsepower. Late Model Engines came to the show with a number of solutions for dropping your salvaged powerplant into your chassis, such as a billet intake for four-barrel throttle body or carb, valvespring packages, valve covers, and oil pan.
I didn’t know driveline upgrades could be such eye candy, but that’s exactly what I found. The folks at Circle D brought some 8HP products for those of you salivating over the idea of doing an 8-speed swap like we are. TruFiber was doing a healthy raffle, and Richmond showed off its differential kits – clutch-type, helical gear and lockers. My personal favorite was Synergy Race Development hand brake parts including billet hand brakes and brakes for the second set of rear calipers. They even had billet knuckles for Cobra IRS, whether you are doing a swap on your Fox or just want to replace your cracked stockers. They turn into drop spindles by simply rotating one piece 180-degrees to correct geometry on lower cars, and they are stronger than the factory cast pieces (which are now extremely expensive by the way).
Smoke Show
With pros like Mick Brasher in the “ULEGAL” ‘73 Corolla, Mick Hinchy in the 2014 Holdon Commodore, and Seth Cavanaugh in “Frosty” (a ‘69 International Metro Mite ice cream truck) on Team World, the Ford team had their work cut out for them at the Smoke Show, presented by Summit Racing. Shannon Serig in “Crowd Control” (NASCAR Mustang), Kyle Hoge in “Lo-Blo” (1930 Model A Coupe), and Zach Pennock in the ‘58 F100 were some of the headliners on Team Ford. A few standouts from the Street Burnout competition such as Jeremy Jarrett were invited to the Pro Burnout competition and a shot at the $15,000 purse.
During testing, the bladder ruptured in Serig’s NASCAR fuel tank, taking him out of the competition. And in an unusual occurrence, Brasher struggled almost right out of the gate in the competition and had to bow out early. The short wheelbase Corolla is known for spinning on its axis very quickly, making it a crowd favorite. In the end, Australian Jacko “Lux” Harrison took Third in the Tacoma, relative-newcomer and Texan Collin Thomas in the ‘40 Chevy rat rod took Second, and Pennock (also from Texas) took the championship and a giant check.
That’s a Wrap
To end the show, the Mustang Week team pulled out all the stops… The Monster FMX team organized a, well, monster way to celebrate the end of the show, but literally jumping over Ben Hobson and Vaughn Gitten Jr as they drifted through the Monster Energy Zone. Fireworks, tire smoke, music, and everything displayed on a giant video board…and free Monster energy drinks. Cobra Sam, Adam Dorey, and even a T-shirt cannon were used to stoke the flames of the excited crowd. What a way to go!
Saturday Winners List
Dyno Competition, presented by Tuner School
Naturally Aspirated:
3rd Place – Destiny Sanchez (433hp)
2nd Place – Marlon Rangel (452hp)
1st Place – Octavio Reyes (573hp)
Power Adder:
3rd Place – ChristopherJensen (913hp)
2nd Place – Jonathan Newman (993hp)
1st Place – Matthew Hauffer (1,085hp)
Pro Burnout Competition, presented by Summit Racing
3rd Place – Jacko “Lux” Harrison
2nd Place – Collin Thomas
1st Place – Zach Pennock
You might also like
Stiffening A Fox Mustang’s Structure With Team Z Subframe Connectors
Foxbody Junkie replaced his rusted chassis bracing with new Team Z hardware. These subframe connectors provided a massive structural upgrade.
