JUSTIN KEITH
What was the very first thing you did to your
car on the heels of that experience?
I bought some drag radials.
was a set of headers, then I did a cam, then I put
a set of aftermarket heads on it and the next thing
you know I had a pretty respectable car.
So, now you’re going to give me some epic tale
about going back out to Noland Road, seeking
redemption and getting it by smoking the guy
with the truck, right?
Well, actually, I basically went out and wrecked
the car almost immediately following that, totaled
it out. Insurance covered it, though, and that’s
when I went out and bought the silver 2002. At
that point I was dead set on getting more into
racing, so I found one that had an automatic.
Obviously, I was a little bit smarter with the cars
and driving the second time around.
Is this when you started to post regularly on
the infamous Kansas City Street Racing web
forum and LS1 forums?
Yeah, the forums were huge at that time and I’d
always post pictures of my builds and for whatever
reason they’d get a lot of attention. I think it was
That’ll bring a guy back down to earth pretty
quickly, eh?
The first day I owned that car I was taking stuff
off the wrecked car and putting it on the new
one. I’d bought the wrecked car back from the
insurance company. I don’t think the new car
stayed stock but for two hours or so. It was kind
of a slippery slope from there. I’d work, save up
some money and little by little build it up. First it
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STREETRACE
afternoons and help him clean his truck or his car,
and it just kind of stuck with me over the years.
I’ve always kept my stuff clean, whether it was
that Camaro, my daily driver or my Corvette. I
want them to look pristine—all the time.
At the time you were working at a big Chevy
dealership in the area, correct?
Yes, I went to work at a local dealership when I
was 19. I’d been working at a car wash and taking
I’M PREPARED TO PUSH IT TO
THE LIMIT OF WHAT I BELIEVE
STILL CONSTITUTES HAVING
A LEGITIMATE STREET CAR.
just how clean I kept my car and how I really
labored over making things look nice.
That attention to detail you inherited from your
father was shining through.
Yeah, exactly. Growing up, my dad always kept
his stuff real clean. I’d go out with him on Sunday
classes at a community college, but I knew that
wasn’t really my deal. I didn’t want to go to school.
I already knew what I wanted to do; I wanted to
work in the automotive industry and, basically,
just make money so that I could buy parts for my
car. I had a friend that worked at this dealership
and he told me I should apply for a job. So, I