Blog Archives
Detroit Speed, Inc – 1970-1981 – F-Body – Subframe Connectors Install
Watch Detroit Speed Fabricator Aaron Elenbaum install Subframe Connectors on the Detroit Speed 1970 Camaro Test Car.
See Detroit Speed at the SEMA Show and Take on the Best at Optima Invitational
Mooresville, NC – With the Open House and Goodguys Charlotte in the rear view mirror the team is already in preparations for the SEMA show and the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational November 7th – 8th that will take place after SEMA at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Before all the racing action at the speedway, the team will once again be in Hot Rod alley at booth #22778. There are a bunch of exciting things going on at the SEMA Show 2015 November 3rd-6th. Our customer Moe will have two of his recently Detroit Speed built cars on display. His 1969 Charger will be at the HRIA booth (#23395) and his 1970 Chevelle will be located at SEMA Central. Another vehicle Detroit Speed will have on display is our recently completed “CDV.” The cool delivery vehicle will be located at the Mother’s booth (#62002).
With all the action going on at SEMA, the crew will also be preparing for the season ending Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. The DSE 2012 “White Monster” Camaro and DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car will be patiently waiting at Optima Alley for the day after SEMA to compete in the 2-day event consisting of the Detroit Speed sponsored “Autocross,” the speed-stop challenge, the design and engineering challenge as well as the Hot Lap Challenge.
After the close of the show, all of the DSE built cars will drive to SEMA Ignited to compete in the 2015 Battle of the Builders.” Detroit Speed came away with the win last year with Angelo Vespi’s 1969 Camaro and will look to bring the trophy back again this year.
We hope to see you out there! Go to http://www.semashow.com/ for a complete list of events.
DSE “Equipped” Camaro Wins the Street Machine Class and Kyle Tucker Keeps a Tight Grasp of the Pro Class Points Lead After a 2nd Place in Fort Worth
Class Points Lead After a 2nd Place in Fort Worth
Mooresville, NC – The Goodguys 23rd Lone Star Nationals went off without a hitch this past weekend. Three days of beautiful weather made it the perfect weekend for autocrossing, a cruise along the high banks of Texas Motor Speedway and much more.
Autocrossing started early Friday morning with some cooler temps for early fall in Texas. Kyle and the DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car came out firing and by lunchtime had the top Pro Class time with a 52.513. When not autocrossing, Kyle was keeping the BFGoodrich Rival S tires nice and warm underneath come custom tire warmers that were made specifically for the DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car. The PRO class and Street Machine classes saw fierce and close competition all weekend. Kyle lead all day on Friday until Robbie Unser put down a great lap near the end of the day and took over the lead. Saturday morning Kyle regained the lead and held on to it until mid-day on Saturday when Mike Dusold ran a lap that no one else could catch. With Kyle’s 2nd place finish he kept a hold of his overall Pro Class points lead. The Street Machine class was also highly competitive and in the end Derrick Torres was the winner with his DSE Equipped, Dusold built 1968 Camaro and punched his ticket to the Goodguys Autocross Finals in Scottsdale in November. Jakey Sampson was there on Sunday representing DSE with her 5th Gen DSE “Equipped” Camaro.
This was another great event for the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association. The Detroit Speed Team will now shift gears as Kyle prepares for the Optima “Search for the Ultimate Street Car” event in Fontana. This is the last event before the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational in Las Vegas Nov. 7th – 8th.
Goodguys Fort Worth Highlights:
- Kyle finished in 2nd place in the Pro Class and added to his overall Pro Class points lead
- Mike Dusold won the Pro Class in his 1967 Camaro
- Derrick Torres won the Street Machine Class in his DSE “Equipped” 1968 Camaro and qualified for the finals
See all the pictures here http://goo.gl/aj3W7D
Moe’s 1969 Mayhem Charger Impresses and Detroit Speed Takes Home a “Best New Product” Award at the Goodguys Columbus Nationals
Mooresville, NC – Another Goodguys Rod & Custom Association Columbus Nationals is in the books. It was a full weekend of excitement with Moe’s Detroit Speed built 1969 Charger, Mayhem, debuting along with the Sponsor Shootout and our new 3rd Gen F-Body front and rear suspension competing for best new suspension product. See all the pictures here http://goo.gl/Tvva5r
The crew was up bright and early Thursday morning for the over 400 mile trip to Columbus from Mooresville, NC. One of the best parts of the weekend is driving through the West Virginia mountains on 77 as the sun lifts itself up over the trees with the fog still sitting in the valleys. It is also a great chance to shake down the test cars before they go full force on the autocross.
This was an extra exciting year for Detroit Speed at Columbus. This was the year that Detroit Speed unveiled the 1969 Mayhem Charger built for customer Moe Alnassr. This project was unique in many ways, the first being that it was a Mopar and the 2nd in that it was equipped with a monster late model Arrington Hemi with a Whipple Super Charger rated at over 800 horsepower. As soon as the Charger was unloaded people took notice. The Charger had a nice crowd checking it out Friday.
Friday was an exciting day. Kyle Tucker ran the DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car in the Pro-Class while Stacy was muscling the DSE 1965 Mustang Test Car. Following a few hours of lots of onlookers checking out every nook and cranny of the Charger it was time to be tested on the autocross. This has been a fantastic addition to the Street Machine competition, requiring participants to take their machine around the autocross for two laps. If it is a true street machine, it should be able to handle on the street. The Charger handled fantastic for such a large car on a tight autocross. Following the autocross all the Street Machine competitors drove into the Celeste building where the list would be cut down to the Top 5 Finalists. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our year and the Charger was not chosen as a Top 5 finalist. Detroit Speed was still extremely proud to have competed and would like to congratulate all the finalists including the winner, a 1967 Corvette built by Mike Goldman Customs.
Even though the Charger was not a Top 5 finalist, we didn’t let that spoil our weekend. There was plenty to do with one of the largest crowd attendances ever. While part of the team was busy at the hauler Saturday, Kyle and Stacy were busy over at the autocross putting in as many laps as possible. Saturday also had the sponsor shootout in which the competitors run timed laps and then are seeded for an elimination bracket. Kyle ran hard and made his way to the 2nd round before being knocked out of the competition by the eventual winner, Danny Popp. Danny was on fire this weekend as he also claimed the Pro Class autocross. Congrats also to Tim Mcgilton who ran hard and made the board driving his DSE “Equipped” 1970 Camaro. Saturday evening Detroit Speed was thrilled to take home the “Best New Suspension, Tires, Wheels & Brakes” award for the new 1982-1992 F-Body suspension.
Sunday was an All American autocross. Good friend, Bryan Johnson brought in his DSE “Equipped” 2013 Camaro and cleaned house, taking home the All American Sunday autocross. Way to go Brian!
Another Goodguys Columbus Nationals in the books, it was a fantastic show. We were very proud to debut Moe’s 1969 Mayhem Charger and were very happy to take home a best new product award. We are already looking forward to next year and one of our favorite dates on our calendar, the Goodguys Columbus Nationals. Next up for the crew is the Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car Series taking place in our backyard at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Goodguys Columbus Nationals Highlights:
• Moe’s Detroit Speed built 1969 Mayhem Charger debut at the show and competed in the Street Machine of the Year
• The DSE 1982-1992 F-Body Suspension was named Best New Suspension, Tires, Wheels &
Brakes product
• Kyle and Stacy ran hard in the DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car and the 1965 Mustang Test Car on the autocross
• Many DSE Equipped rides were in attendance including Tim McGilton who made the Pro Class autocross board
• Bryan Johnson won the All American Sunday autocross driving his DSE “Equipped” 2013
Camaro
Detroit Speed, Inc. – Goodguys Columbus Autocross
Watch Kyle Tucker and his Detroit Speed 1970 Camaro Test Car take on the Pro Class autocross at the 2015 Goodguys Rod & Custom Columbus Nationals.
Angelo Vespi’s 1969 Camaro Named a Top Five Finalist for Street Machine of the Year at the Goodguys Columbus Nationals
http://goo.gl/IywoDy Every year the anticipation of the Goodguys Columbus Nationals seems to grow a little bit. This year was no different. The crew at Detroit Speed was overly excited to get to Columbus and when they did, as always, it didn’t disappoint. With the autocross sponsor shootout, Detroit Speed’s latest creation, Angelo Vespi’s 1969 Camaro unveiling, as well as a full weekend of autocross action, there was no shortage of excitement at the Columbus expo center during the long weekend.
The weekend starts a little earlier than usual for Detroit Speed. The crew jumped in the Test Cars and made the over 400 mile trip up 77 through the mountains of West Virginia on the way to Goodguys Columbus early Thursday morning. This is a great chance to shake out the Test Cars as they prepare for a full weekend of autocross action. After the crew arrived and setup was complete, Kyle Tucker met up with a man who was anticipating this day for a long time. Angelo Vespi was at the show waiting eagerly to see his Detroit Speed built 1969 Camaro. The smile on his face said it all as Kyle and Stacy Tucker dropped the trailer door to unveil the matte white, black and red beast of a Camaro. The weekend was just getting started for Angelo and the Camaro as Friday it would run the autocross in the Street Machine of the Year competition.
Friday started out with great weather as the Detroit Speed team loaded up the pit cart and made their way to the Goodguys Columbus autocross. Kyle drove the DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car while Stacy and Ryan took turns with the DSE 1966 Mustang Test Car. Stacy, and Ryan made sure to keep the passenger seat filled with customers looking to get a feel for the Detroit Speed Mustang suspension parts. Racing continued through the morning until noon when the Street Machine of the Year competitors took over for 2 hours. New for the last few years, Street Machine of the Year competitors must complete at least 2 laps around the autocross in order to be eligible for voting. To say Angelo Vespi was happy with the result would be a major understatement. With Kyle driving Angelo’s 1969 Camaro, he finished 6 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor in the Street Machine of the Year autocross. Autocross class racing fired back up in the afternoon and after the first day of racing Kyle sat in 2nd place in the Pro Class.
While not competing in the SMOTY autocross, Angelo Vespi’s Camaro was one of the major hits of the show with crowds surrounding every inch of the Camaro throughout the day as it sat in the autocross pits and then eventually being moved back to the Detroit Speed hauler for the remainder of the afternoon.
Saturday morning brought the autocross sponsor shootout. If you remember last year, it was Kyle Tucker driving the DSE 1970 Camaro Test Car to victory with a win over Rob McGregor in the finals. After a driver’s meeting, some practice laps, and qualifying, the event was ready to kick into high gear with a single elimination bracket style event. Kyle made it all the way to the semi-finals before eventually being knocked out. Danny Popp was crowned champion. After the sponsor shootout, the class racing took back over and Kyle, Ryan and Stacy all ran hard giving numerous rides. Unfortunately the team came up a little short at the autocross this weekend but many DSE “Equipped” cars were out in full force and performing well. One of those was Ray Thompson. Ray is one of Detroit Speed’s first customers ever and finished strong in 3rd place in the Street Machine Class. Another Detroit Speed customer, Billy Utley, finished 4th in the autocross. Great job guys!
Saturday wasn’t just about the autocross, it was also about finding out if Angelo Vespi’s 1969 Camaro would be selected as a finalist for the Street Machine of the Year award. To ours and Angelo’s delight, it was selected and made its way to the Celeste building for the announcement of the Street Machine of the Year and Street Rod of the Year awards. Detroit Speed was thrilled with the top 5 Street Machines as 3 of them were Detroit Speed “Equipped.” It was a very deep competition that even included a Ridler winner but at the end it was Steve Tornari and his twin-turbo 1967 Nova by Miranda Built Inc. that came home with the win. Overall we are proud of Angelo Vespi’s 1969 Camaro being a finalist and also being named a PPG dream car.
Sunday was an All-American Sunday which opens the show up to any year car that is American made or American powered. The autocross was open again Sunday morning for everyone to get a little cone carving in before the end of the show. Unfortunately some inclement weather came in the afternoon and cut things short.
This is always a fantastic show that seems to get bigger every year if that is even possible. From Angelo Vespi’s 1969 Camaro debut to all the fun of the autocross this is definitely an event that will be remember by Detroit Speed for a long time. We would like to thank Goodguys for putting on another spectacular performance and for everyone who came out to support us. We look forward to doing it all again next year.
Detroit Speed 