Street Proven – Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine Contenders Hit the Road in Texas
When the Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year was introduced as part of the Goodguys BASF Top 12 Awards program many years ago, the goal was to make it a performance-oriented accolade. To that end, part of the process for qualifying as a regional finalist at different Goodguys events around the country is making three laps on the Goodguys CPP AutoCross Course. This year, however, Goodguys decided to step it up a notch in terms of the Muscle Machine contenders proving their performance credentials.
For the 2024 season, all regional Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year finalists were invited to the Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, for an additional day of fun, performance testing, and evaluation. This included a 90-mile Reliability Run, additional laps on the Goodguys CPP AutoCross track, plus side-by-side drag passes on the Texas Motor Speedway pit road. Oh, and on top of that, anyone who still wanted to contend for the award could join the day’s festivities and vie for the one remaining finalist spot, which was announced on Saturday.
Friday started with a morning driver’s meeting at Texas Motor Speedway, and then our group of 14 rowdy muscle machines hit the road for a jaunt around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Our first stop was at DuSold Designs in Lewisville, where we got to check out some of the bitchin’ track-ready rides being built.
From there, we headed down to the Summit Racing facility in Arlington, where participants got to check out the massive showroom, pick up any needed parts, and enjoy some time hanging out in the parking lot while having lunch.
The return to Texas Motor Speedway helped test how these machines navigate freeway traffic in a metro area.
Back at the Speedway, we paraded into the infield and let the cars cool down while we waited for our turn on the AutoCross track. This was an unfamiliar course for most participants, so the challenge was not only performing well, but also finding their way around.
The afternoon ended with each car making a drag pass down the TMS pit road. Like AutoCross, the times didn’t count, but style points did – we wanted to make sure these owners and builders weren’t afraid to beat on their cars a little and, judging by some of the tire smoke, they weren’t!
By Saturday, Jay Johnston’s ’66 Mustang built by Hot Rods by JSK had earned the final finalist spot for the Muscle Machine of the Year running. That afternoon we held a special awards ceremony to showcase all the Muscle Machine finalists and crown the ultimate winner. There was plenty of speculation as the finalists lined up and each car owner or builder was interviewed. When the Griot’s Garage team cracked open the sealed envelope, the winner was revealed as Travis Alford’s bitchin’ black ’70 Camaro built by GAP Industries!
In a way, though, every one of these Muscle Machines and their owners and builders had a winning weekend. They all thoroughly enjoyed the Friday Reliability Run and the opportunity to meet and hang out with the other contestants – you could see the camaraderie build throughout the day. Combine that with a great spectator experience at the event, and we think we have a winning process for Griot’s Garage Muscle Machine of the Year moving forward. But don’t take our word for it – check out the photos and see what you think.
