In what would have to be considered the all-star game of custom car shows, Manteno's Troy Trepanier just sent some of the nation's top builders back to their drawing boards.
His NASCAR-inspired version of a 1969 Ford Torino recently won the Hot August Nights car show, held in Reno, Nev. It was sponsored by the internationally-known Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. and offered a first-place prize valued at more than $25,000.
"This is the biggest [event] in the industry. It was a heckuva honor to win it," Trepanier said. "The idea came from the car owner George Poteet, of Memphis. He's been a longtime client, and he loves NASCAR.
"He found the Ford Torino GT, and we talked about making it like a vintage racer."
But the 44-year-old Trepanier, owner of Rad Rides by Troy, hasn't built his reputation by taking on simple challenges. He and Poteet decided to turn the car into a vision of what those aerodynamic racers of the late 1960s and early 70s might look like with the influence of today's technology.
