STREET/RACE Issue 1, Winter 2016 | Page 95

Photograph by Kevin Cox Kearney Raceway Park - Kearney, Nebraska CLOSE-UP WHY SO SKETCHY? Even Jered Muehlhausen, who owns the notorious 2002 Pontiac Trans Am Routinely raced on the street and track at events like Street Car Takeover, WS6 Convertible lovingly known as “Sketchy Vert,” has a hard time describ- the car has come a long way from those early days, now featuring a Thomping the thrill of putting the pedal to the floor on the 1,000-horsepower son Motorsports-built LSX 378ci engine fed by a monster 94-mm F1A ProF-Body. “The car comes by the whole ‘sketchy’ thing pretty honestly,” Charger, along with a 200-horsepower plate system from Nitrous Express, Muehlhausen says with a laugh. “I think it’s just been that I’ve done a lot all controlled by a MS3 Pro EFI system. The car also features a cryo-treated of the build backwards. I’ve always been focused on just making more and T-56 Tranzilla with a Monster Clutch Co. LT1-R twin-disc unit, QA1 doublemore power, and I never really put much thought into suspension or chassis adjustables and Wolfe Racecraft roll cage. components that might make the car work a little bit better.” Notorious for guardwall-to-centerline, 10-second passes, Muehlhausen has The pewter WS6 started off as a seemingly unattainable dream car for the plans to get things a little more under control for 2017, but not too under Lincoln, Nebraska, native. “The first time I saw the car was on a television control. “I made a pass during Street Car Takeover Phoenix at Wild Horse commercial when I was in high school, and I just knew I had to have one,” Pass Motorsports Park and it was the definition of sketchy,” he admits. “You he says. “It took me a little bit, but I finally saved up enough money after I know, wall to wall, and though I got close, I never did hit anything. After got married and found one in 2005. It was a one-owner, low-miles car and the run the track officials followed me all the way back to my trailer with I just drove it and took it to car shows with my wife and daughter for several a little red light on and politely asked me to ease up on being so ‘sketchy’ years while I saved up money.” in the car. They told me that I keep all their staff on edge and that they were worried about me, so I’m going to try and make the car work a little The project started as many do: wheels and tires. “I wanted it to lope at idle, better this winter. Mainly, I want to make the car a little safer to drive, but so I put a cam in it and drove it for a while. Once I was able to pour a little I don’t want to keep it from being ‘sketchy’.” - KEVIN COX money into the car, I bought a D1SC blower from ProCharger and that’s when it really started to get crazy.” WINTER2016 95