Muscle Cars at the Strip is the Las Vegas of Mopar Shows

Just like Las Vegas, Muscle Cars at the Strip offers something for everyone in the Mopar world.

We have attended and covered a great many Mopar shows over the years, but none offer the unique spread of attractions as Muscle Cars at the Strip. Originally called Mopars at the Strip, this event celebrated its 20^th anniversary this year and it did so in grand fashion. Although intense winds on Saturday and rain on Sunday played an annoying role, there was still loads of great drag racing and autocross action and a sprawling car show. Plus, after the event ends each day, you have the lights and attractions of Las Vegas to enjoy.

Today, we bring you a look at this unique show which is no longer Mopar-exclusive, but it is Mopar-heavy in every area. For many years, this event was called Mopars at the Strip, but in an effort to expand an already-huge event, they switched to Muscle Cars at the Strip. As a result, the drag racing and show car programs are both dominated by Mopars – predominantly modern Dodge products – but there are some Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros and various classics from both of the other Detroit automakers mixed throughout the crowd. Ford and GM also have their own awards in the car show classes.

Also, we have included the full Mopar results from the event at the bottom of the piece.

Autocross Racing and Car Show

Muscle Cars at the Strip is held at the drag strip portion of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway facility. If you have never been there, it is an absolutely massive racing complex with a NASCAR oval, the four-lane quarter mile drag strip and many road racing areas. The pit area of the drag strip is so large that at the far end, past the finish line of the drag strip, a large area is sectioned off with concrete barriers. Within those barriers is a huge autocross course, with cars rocketing through the cones in staggered patterns, so there is almost always action on the twisty track.

The autocross portion is what really makes Muscle Cars at the Strip unique, as it allows this event to cater to Mopar owners who like to race around turns or in a straight line.

As you walk back from watching autocross action, you pass through the huge car show area. While there is a distinct modern Mopar dominance to the car show crowd, there is also a nice mix of classic Dodge and Plymouth models as well.

Where some events have few modern models and larger groups of each popular classic muscle car, Muscle Cars at the Strip has more modern models and fewer representatives of each classic. That being said, accompanying the many sharp modern Challengers, Chargers, Rams and Durangos was an impressive collection of classic Challengers, Chargers, Cudas, Super Bees, trucks and more. There was event a Dodge Rampage with a Hellcat engine.

Drag Racing is the Star of the Show

Muscle Cars at the Strip is held at a drag strip, so while there is plenty more to see, it should come as no surprise that the drag racing program is the main focus.

There are many different classes for both classic and modern muscle cars, but pretty much every class is dominated by Mopars. As mentioned above, insane winds caused some headaches on Saturday and rain delayed things a bit on Sunday, but for the most part, the drag strip is always busy.

Pair after pair of muscle cars and a few muscle trucks roast the tires, pull into the beams and blast down the track against the stunning setting of the mountainous backdrop. Again, there are some Ford and Chevy models mixed into the crowd, most of the pairs during time trials were Mopar-versus-Mopar while those others were usually Mopars destroying a Ford or Chevy.

While some people might prefer a Mopar-only race field, it is fun watching monster Hemi-powered machines beating up on Mustangs and Camaros. We have included just a few examples here, but when the track wasn’t wet, Mopars at the Strip offered three-straight days of great drag racing action.

Unfortunately, the World’s Fastest Hellcat Challenger did not go off as planned. On Friday, Kevin Helmick’s Grmpycat Challenger Hellcat blew a motor while the Epling Family 007 Challenger Hellcat ran into transmission problems. The Epling crew spent Friday night fixing the transmission while Helmick’s team worked all night to switch engines in the Grmpycat car.

By noon on Saturday, both teams were ready to make a test hit with relatively light power, without any posted times on the big board. At that point, Helmick was satisfied with his car and did not want to make another test run, but the Epling team did want to make another test run. They cranked up the power just a bit and Jason Epling took a shot for a 6-second pass, but the track wouldn’t hold and it turned into a 1000-foot burnout. With the loose footing coupled with the intense winds on Saturday afternoon, the Epling team opted to not go forward with the match races out because they did not think that it would be safe.

Based on match race rules, the Epling team forfeited, leading to a win of the World’s Fastest Hellcat Challenge for Helmick and Team Grmpycat. Although they only made one single-car test hit each, it should be noted that Helmick ran a 7.314 at 181.74 while the Epling car ran a 7.34 at 195.82, so Helmick ran three thousandths quicker on his good run, but per the organizers, he won the match race due to the forfeit by the Epling team.

2022 Speedtech Autocross Winners:

Jalopy Class
1. John Huff
2. Chris Birdsong
3. Bradley Thompson
4. John /Tyler Kirkwood
5. Vince Lockyer

Modern Muscle
1. Clayton Yates
2. Chris Bar
3. Brent Cajithmal
4. Michael Arlie
5. Goose Mejia

Muscle Class
1. Jason Wilcox
2. Harrison Beach
3. George Reiss
4. James Eaton
5. Franke Trutanic

Drag Racing Class Winners:

Quick Eliminator
Winner: Neil Pressimone
Runner Up: Kenny Yoeman

Stick Class
Winner: John McLaughlin
Runner Up: Roger Boersen

Truck Class
Winner: Shane Studley
Runner Up: Chris Coates

Hellcat Class
Winner: Ron Silva
Runner Up: Shawn Tezak

Unlimited Modern Muscle
Winner: Kelley Eheler
Runner Up: Mathew Everett

Small Tire
Winner: Shannon Tayler
Runner Up: Frank Yee

Gen 3 HEMI
Winner: Johnny Anderson
Runner Up: Zac Ansell

Pony Car Wars
Winner: Don Lutz
Runner Up: Dylan Shoulders

Modern Muscle
Winner: Jeremie Ring
Runner Up: Mark Clayton
Semi Finalist: William Geller

SS/AFX
Winner: Ron Kissner
Runner Up: Joel Miner

Mopars VS The World
Winner: Lance Werth
Runner Up: Karen Mohoff

Pro Class
Winner: Trey Vetter
Runner Up: Rob Vigesaa

Street
Winner: Jon Irving
Runner Up: Rob Vigesaa

Foot Brake
Winner: Joe Kearl
Runner Up: Mark Thielen

Super Pro
Winner: Tristian Craig
Runner Up: Cody Weber

PMR Stock/Super Stock Combo
Winner: Justin Lamb
Runner Up: Evan Kowalski

Worlds Fastest Hellcat Challenge
Kevin Helmick

Best Appearing Race Car
Mr & Mrs. Lance Werth

Car Show Class Winners:

Modern Mopar:
Stock Charger
1st Torrey Olague -21 Charger
2nd Shelley Pierce – 21 Charger

Stock Challenger
1st Zelda Spindle – 21 Challenger
2nd Warren Hacker – 19 Challenger

Modded Charger
1st Terry Falkenberry – 13 Charger
2nd terrance Lynch – 20 Charger

Modded Challenger
1st Anthony Wright
2nd Mark Caster

Extreme Modded
1st Mike Passarge – 18 300
2nd Robbie Robinson – 19 Challenger

Top 10
Harrison Lane – 20 Challenger
Tim Mathena – 21 Challenger
Michelle High – 16 300
Lauren Salzillo – 20 Durango
Michael Wright – 19 Challenger
Brittany Hayes – 21 Challenger
Joseph Hayes – 21 Charger
Danny Nolan – 19 Challenger
Chaz Roberts – 19 Challenger
Nayomi Mendoza – 15 Challenger

Best Engine Bay
Ervin Hansen – 12 Charger

Best Interior
Bill Miller

Most unique
Cody England – 16 Challenger

Best in Show
Jon Ochoa – 19 Charger

Mopar:
Truck 80-older
1st Jeff Richards – 74 power wagon

Truck 81-up
1st Robert Kennedy – 05 Ram (black)
2nd Shawn Velthison – 05 Ram (orange)

Street Rod
1st Gary Enlow – 56 Dodge Suburban

C Body Stock
1st Tom Kunkle – 70 300 Hurst

A body stock
1st Mike Wilson – 69 Dart GTS

A body Modified 70-up
1st Darwin Heiser – 73 Duster
2nd David Pye – 70 Dart

A body Modified 69-older
1st Robert Steinwachs – 66 Cuda

E body Stock
1st Peter Shabat – 70 Cuda
2nd David Pye – 70 Cuda

E body Modified
1st Darren Williams – 70 Challenger
2nd Sergio Leoni – 73 Cuda

E body Restified
1st Milton Karhadian – 70 Cuda
2nd Michael Wolt – 71 Challenger

B Body stock
1st Dave Mitton – 69 Roadrunner
2nd Daavin Henricksen – 78 Magnum

B Body Restified
1st Jim Collins – 65 Belvedere
2nd Charles Marshall – 64 Savoy

B body Modified Dodge
1st Mike Wloch – 69 Super Bee
2nd Dave/Justin – 68 Charger

B body modified Plymouth
1st Jim Paunesco – 69 Roadrunner

B body Modified 66 older
1st William Whitson – 64 Sport Fury
2nd Jim Ellis – 64 Sport Fury

B body Modifed 71-up
1st Monte Nafus – 73 Roadrunner

Worlds Ultimate:
Modified Mopar
Steve Cutler – 69 Daytona

Mopar Stock
Lew Bisbing – 70 AAR Cuda

Best of Show (These were cars that merit special recognition):
Sil Brander – Hemi Rampage
Jim Collins – 65 Belvedere
Steve Cutler – 69 Daytona
Jeff Richards – 74 Power Wagon

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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