June 28, 2017

Street Machines, 20 Years of Pro Street to Pro Touring Part 2

Editor’s Note

In celebration of the Goodguys PPG Nationals 20th anniversary, we are counting down the last twenty recipients of the Goodguys Street Machine of the Year award to show you the cars, but also to chronicle the evolution of modern day Street Machines. Perhaps no other breed of high-performance car has undergone such radical changes. What we used to do with these cars was all about noise, burnouts, straight line acceleration and posing.

As you will see through this 10-part series, the Street Machine game changed dramatically beginning in 2000. The name of the game today is a hybrid sports car/muscle car, bred to run hard and fast be it around sharp corners or cracking 170mph on road course straightaways.

These supercars have never been more popular and have spawned an entire cottage industry of performance parts, suspension components, wheels, and tires. Not only do they look incredibly good, they sometimes outrun their looks. You couldn’t always say that!

Come along for the next 10 weeks as we show you the best Street Machines in the world.

1999 Street Machine of the Year
Dennis Marchand
1956 Chevy

Sacramento area Fleet vehicle salesman Dennis Marchand was a master at turning out 90s Pro Street Muscle of exceptional quality on nights and weekends. His client list included racer Scott Pruett among others. In 1999, he rolled into Pleasanton with this righteous red ’56 Chevy. You could hear it blocks from the entry gates thanks to a thumping, supercharged big block Chevy dressed in chrome. The car personified the Pro Street concept. While it was an absolute beast, it was not over-the-top. It was clean, had perfect gaps, sat right and was Marchand’s best effort to date. The Pro Street essentials included the full tube frame, a racy aluminum interior, and a ‘glass nose and bumpers. He ran the car at Sacramento Raceway with returns in the 8.90/155mph range. Sinister! Humbled, Marchand remarked “I would never have thought to win this award. I would have been more than happy just being in the Top 5,” he said. The car is unique in that it was the last of the Street Machines for the Year winner selected out west.

2000 Street Machine of the Year
Kyle and Stacy Tucker
1969 Camaro

Kyle and Stacy Tucker’s “Twister” ’69 Camaro is a significant vehicle in the Street Machines history. It was the first non Pro-Street-style car to ever win Goodguys Street Machine of the Year. It signaled a changing of the guard from big tire behemoths to Pro-Touring style screamers. GM Engineers, the Tucker’s took an opposite tack with the build utilizing their engineering prowess (both worked as engineers at GM at the time) as well as friend Mark Stielow’s approach. Their aim was improved drivability, handling and to coax more oomph and performance from a small block Chevy without the aid of boosted combustion. The 406c.i. Chevy mill put down 500 WHP. Connected to a six-speed trans, it was lightning in a bottle. No show queen, Twister was driven 2,000 miles on Power Tour just weeks after final assembly. From Twister’s success, Kyle and Stacy opened their new performance venture; Detroit Speed and Engineering. We all know how that turned out!