The fastest race car on track still fitted with functioning factory air-conditioned seats? That's the wager Ryan Harness is making with the 2020 Shelby GT350 Heritage Edition he’s entered into our Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge Presented by Grassroots Motorsports, our annual search for the fastest track machine on four wheels.
Aside from the cooled seats, the 526-horsepower Shelby has been upgraded with Motion Control Suspension coil-overs (with remote reservoirs), a Nine Lives Racing Big Wang, 19x11.5-inch Apex wheels, G-LOC R12 brake pads as well as a front splitter and X-pipe sourced from the GT350R.
“I ultimately decided that I wanted to try to get more out of this platform while trying to keep a ‘streetable’ car,” says Harness of his choice of upgrades. “The build is straightforward, and frankly fits the raw 'MURICA character of the car perfectly.”
The car also has a winning history, with 11 regional event wins plus 2 national wins in SCCA Sport 2. More recently, Harness drove the Shelby to multiple successes in Max 2: 1st place at Eagles Canyon SCCA Divisional and 2nd place at the inaugural Las Vegas SCCA National TT.
“On paper, this car should be outgunned, but it routinely punches well above its weight class,” Harness admits. “This car may not set the FTD but it MOVES and I would be willing to wager it will be the fastest UTCC competitor with factory air-conditioned seats still intact.”
As impressive as the racing history and list of upgrades are, there’s only one way to find out if Ryan Harness has built the Ultimate Track Car: By running it in the Ultimate Track Car Challenge, October 26-27, at Kentucky’s NCM Motorsport Park, which takes place alongside the Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty.
Think you have the ultimate track car? Click here to register today.
For more information about the 2024 Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge presented by Grassroots Motorsports, visit ultimatetrackcarchallenge.com.
The Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge is presented by Grassroots Motorsports and Sunoco, the official fuel of the UTCC, in association with Wilwood Engineering, CRC Industries, HMS Motorsport and XS Power, with trophies from Miller Electric, CalltoGrid and BimmerWorld.
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