Drive it Like You Stole it – The 2025 Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year Finalists Reliability Run and Races
The Goodguys Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year award has always been geared toward cars that go as well (or better) as they show. That’s why running a minimum of three AutoCross laps has been a prerequisite for being considered for a regional finalist award. In 2024, though, Goodguys decided to up the ante for evaluating contenders and determining a yearend winner by inviting all finalists to the Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals to complete a reliability run and other performance testing. The result was such a positive experience that we decided to continue the practice moving forward.
With that in mind, the 2025 Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalists were invited to Texas again last September for a day of road testing, performance evaluations, and general showing off with fellow finalists. This included a Reliability Run that traversed nearly 100 miles, time on a road course, additional laps on the Goodguys AutoCross track, plus side-by-side drag passes on the Texas Motor Speedway pit road.
The Reliability Run began Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway following a brief driver’s meeting. Our caravan of 14 lean and mean muscle machines then hit the road for a mix of highway miles and real-world street driving on the northwest outskirts of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. After a quick gas stop to regroup, the group landed at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur for a few laps around the road course before cruising over to a nearly private collection to hang out and enjoy a pizza lunch. The muscle machine group made their way back to Texas Motor Speedway in the afternoon, where each of the cars made an additional AutoCross lap before some fun side-by-side drag race runs down pit road – complete with burnouts and a little trash talking. The day was capped with all of the Muscle Machine candidates making a few laps on the TMS banked oval!
The Friday activities gave each of our contenders an opportunity to show off, have fun, and demonstrate the performance and reliability of their machines. By Saturday morning, Phil Johnson’s twin turbo ’67 Camaro had been announced as the final finalist for the Muscle Machine of the Year competition and anticipation was growing to learn who the final winner would be. A special Saturday afternoon awards ceremony provided one last chance to see all the finalists lined up as the car owners and builders were interviewed. When the Griot’s Garage team finally tore open the sealed envelope, Jeremiah Belk’s “Slick ’66” Nova built by Driven Speed Shop was announced the winner!
While Jeremiah cruised away with the trophy, everyone who brought their Muscle Machine to Texas earned some serious bragging rights and had a great time beating on and showing off these incredible cars. Not only that, but it was exciting to see the friendship and camaraderie among builders and owners throughout the weekend. Check out some of the amazing cars doing exactly what they were meant to do – drive and have a great time!
