Massive! Bring your sunblock...
Massive! Bring your sunblock and your emergency locator beacon for the show. If you found a Car Craft editor, you received a sticker.
Ten years ago, we thought it cool when a '70 Nova made 494 rear-wheel horsepower on the dyno and the car count at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds topped 1,200 cars. This year, the Car Craft Summer Nationals in St. Paul had 5,000 cars, 30,000 people, and the winning car on the dyno made an eyeball-flattening 1,333.45 hp!
With GM Performance Division as the presenting sponsor, the show has climbed from merely a crowd of dudes doing burnouts to a gigantic mob of street machiners eating thousands of pounds of fried cheese curds. Every year, the Car Craft Nats hosts the Miss Car Craft contest, the Dynomax Power to the Wheels dyno contest, and the mighty burnout contest. To amp up the action a little this year, we decided to add some more fun and call it the Street Machine of the Year. Formerly dubbed the Real Street Eliminator, the Street Machine of the Year contest included the QA1 autocross, the Baer Racing braking contest, and, of course, the Dynomax Power to the Wheels competition. The contest was open to any participant who could cough up the entry fee and was man enough to flog the car in front of thousands of spectators. All you had to do was outgun the competitors in one of two classes and participate in all three events. The Late-Model class was for '82-and-later cars, and the Street Machine class was for anything built before that. The winner received a Car Craft jacket, a giant billet flaming trophy for the mantel back home, and glorious magazine glory.
In addition to the Street Machine of the Year competition, we had car show awards, chicken breasts on a stick, and dudes from Cherry Bomb, Flowmaster, 104+ Octane, and Baer hanging out to answer any and all questions pertaining to noise, juice, and brakes.
 Oh, and it moves, too. That...  Oh, and it moves, too. That is a 427-inch LS1 that makes 455 hp. |  Every hour or so, GM would...  Every hour or so, GM would randomly select winners of the ride-along via text message. If you won, you got to ride around in the GM '03 Trans Am. It's as loud as it looks. No, you can't buy one, but show up next year and you might get a ride with us. |  The difference between the...  The difference between the Z06 concept pace car and a production Z06 (besides the color) is that this thing burns corn-juice E85, or 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The greenie Vette actually makes about the same power as a stock Z06, just in an eco-hugging manner. It should also taste good with butter. |
This year's event was such a success that we are going to do it all again in 2009. Keep your orbs peeled for information about the '09 Street Machine of the Year in the Straight Scoop section or continually visit familyevents.com and CarCraft.com for all the latest details and updates. Be there in 2009 with your game on.
Things You Can Eat Fried At The Nats
Chicken
Cheese
Elk burgers
Salmon
Ice cream
Doughnuts
Breasts (on a stick!)
 Sure, it's a street rod, but...  Sure, it's a street rod, but we had to show it to you. The GM Performance Division guys wedged an Ecotec engine into this '34 then added a bigger booster for 500 hp. That's from only 2.0 liters. |  Man, the beauty of E85 allowed...  Man, the beauty of E85 allowed this engine to be screwed to nearly the same power level as the Vette. The secret is the cooling effect of the ethanol and the improved octane of the fuel mix. Boost is good. |  That shift lever is attached...  That shift lever is attached to a 5L40 five-speed automatic. Bet you never heard of that one before. |