Stunning show machines competed for glory at World Wide Technology Raceway

Written by Steve Turner

Photography by Dr. Rudy Rouweyha and Evan J. Smith

While most NMRA and NMCA action takes place in the Eastern half of the United States, once a year both series converge at the Gateway to the West to race for the rings in the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing. The inter-series rivalries keep the action exciting on the racetrack as racers compete not only in their traditional classes but against racers from the rival series in the Testo Shootouts, which awarded Nitto Diamond Tree rings to the victors.

While the action was exciting on the track, there was serious competition on the show field, where beautiful muscle machines vied not only for brand-specific awards but for overall supremacy. This year’s UPR Products Car Show did not disappoint, as it drew a diverse crowd of Big Three rides, including some real unusual gems from the likes of AMC, Pontiac, Studebaker, and others.

In the end, dozens of winners drove home from World Wide Technology Raceway with smiles on their faces and awards in tow. Here we are hitting some highlights from the show that grows stronger each year.

It’s not a rental, but it is a Rent-A-Racer. This 1966 Shelby GT350-H earned Best Ford of Show accolades. Clyde and Catherine Dunphy have won other shows with their Mustangs and this time the rare Mustang that once served as a Hertz rental car became a show winner.

Special thanks to the Southern Illinois Mustang Association for serving as the host club for this year’s show at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Another ride you don’t see too often on the roads is the oft-maligned, but once-successful Mustang II. Of those cars, the most alluring is the 1978 Cobra II. Kim Strickell’s example is super clean and mildly updated and it earned the Director’s Choice Conservative award.

As the show wound down on Saturday and Sunday, the victors gathered to congratulate one another and show off their hard-earned hardware.