Tube-frame Beetle with turbo Miata Power wins $2000 Challenge

By Colin Wood
Mar 31, 2025 | $2000 Challenge

Photography by Colin Wood

How fast can you go for less than $2000? That's the whole idea behind our annual Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge presented by Tire Rack and powered by AutoBidMaster.

Whether teams built a car for less than $2000, entered their over-budget build, or both: They all battled against each other across autocross, drag racing and concours sessions at Gainesville Raceway to see if money really equals speed.

So, who had the fastest low-buck machine? That honor goes to Derek Penner and his tube-frame, Mazda Miata wearing a Volkswagen Beetle hat.

In second place was Material Girls Racing and their Ford Ranger-bodied Ford Taurus, followed by Identity Crisis and their Triumph Spitfire/Pontiac Solstice mashup.

For their efforts, each team won a big trophy and a gift card from Tire Rack: $1000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place.

The full field of $2000 Challenge winners are as follows:

Overall:

1st Overall - Biggest trophy and a $1000 Tire Rack gift card: Derek Penner, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
2nd Overall - Bigger trophy and a $500 Tire Rack gift card: Material Girls Racing, 1985 Ford Ranger
3rd Overall - Big trophy and $250 Tire Rack gift card: Identity Crisis, 2006 Pontiac Solstice
GTN$ Winner - Trophy and a $250 Grassroots Motorsports Store gift card: Night Owl Racing, 1989 Ford Festiva
GTW$ Winner - Trophy and a $250 Grassroots Motorsports Store gift card: Material Girls Racing, 1985 Ford Ranger
GTU$ Winner - Trophy and a $250 Grassroots Motorsports Store gift card: Derek Penner, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle

Autocross:

GTN

1st Place - $500 Tire Rack gift card: HomePro Racing, 2013 Mazda MX-5
2nd Place – Trophy: Short Road Racing, 2020 Mazda Miata
3rd Place – Trophy: Ethan Swindel's Sugar Daddy, 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

GTN$

1st Place - $500 Tire Rack gift card: Rob Rabenstein, 2004 Mazda RX-8
2nd Place – Trophy: Night Owl Racing, 1989 Ford Festiva
3rd Place – Trophy: More Tools Than Sense Racing, 1991 Mazda Mionnette

GTW

1st Place - $500 Tire Rack gift card: Miata Is Always The Answer - Racing team, 2008 Mazda Miata
2nd Place – Trophy: Kip Mitchell, 2023 Subaru BRZ
3rd Place – Trophy: Blueline Motorsports, 2001 Porsche Boxster S

GTW$

1st Place - $500 Tire Rack gift card: Tucker Ryals, BMW 535i
2nd Place – Trophy: Material Girls Racing, 1985 Ford Ranger
3rd Place – Trophy: Identity Crisis, 2006 Nissan Altima

GTU

1st Place - $500 Tire Rack gift card: Nick Dunlap, 1999 Mazda Miata
2nd Place – Trophy: Eight Two Racing, 1995 Acura Integra
3rd Place – Trophy: Tint World Ocala, 2022 Chevrolet C8 Corvette

GTU$

1st Place - $500 Tire Rack gift card: Derek Penner, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
2nd Place – Trophy: Identity Crisis, 2006 Pontiac Solstice
3rd Place – Trophy: Wreck Racing, 1987 Chrysler Conquest TSI

Drag Racing:

GTN

1st Place - Trophy plus a Hat and Shirt from A&A Manufacturing: FiDK, 2014 Ford Fiesta ST

GTW

1st Place - Trophy plus a Hat and Shirt from A&A Manufacturing: Holy Cats Garage, 1985 Buick Regal

GTU

1st Place - Trophy plus a Hat and Shirt from A&A Manufacturing: Wingin It Garage, 2021 Ford Mustang GT500

GTN$

1st Place - Trophy and a Tab Kit from A&A Manufacturing: The Blockbusters, 1985 Mercury Cougar
2nd Place – Trophy: Night Owl Racing, 1989 Ford Festiva
3rd Place – Trophy: Travis Turner, 1995 Toyota Camry

GTW$

1st Place – Trophy and a Dzus Tab Kit from A&A Manufacturing: Material Girls Racing, 1985 Ford Ranger
2nd Place – Trophy: Tucker Ryals, BMW 535i
3rd Place – Trophy: Man Bun Racing, Chrysler Crossfire

GTU$

1st Place - Trophy and a Aluminum Body Washer Kit from A&A Manufacturing: Trigonia Racing, 2001 Ford Mustang
2nd Place – Trophy: Knights Automotive, 1994 Ford Ranger
3rd Place – Trophy: Identity Crisis, 2006 Pontiac Solstice

Drag Racing Special Awards:

The quickest car competing in an over-budget class – trophy: Wingin It Garage, 2021 Ford Mustang GT500
The quickest car competing in a budget-limited class – QuickJack from BendPak: Trigonia Racing, 2001 Ford Mustang

Concours:

GTN$

1st Place - Trophy and a CRC SmartWasher BenchtopPRO Kit from CRC Industries: Night Owl Racing, 1989 Ford Festiva
2nd Place - Trophy and a $100 Gas Card from CRC Industries: More Tools Than Sense Racing, 1991 Mazda Mionnette
3rd Place - Trophy and a case of assorted products from CRC Industries: Barely Functional Racing, 1964 Volvo P1800

GTW$

1st Place - Trophy and a CRC SmartWasher BenchtopPRO Kit from CRC Industries: Material Girls Racing, 1985 Ford Ranger
2nd Place - Trophy and a $100 Gas Card from CRC Industries: Identity Crisis, 2006 Nissan Altima
3rd Place - Trophy and a case of assorted products from CRC Industries: TIE | Tucker Ryals, BMW 535i/Evan Fountain, 2010 Ford Crown Victoria

GTU$

1st Place - Trophy and a CRC SmartWasher BenchtopPRO Kit from CRC Industries: Wreck Racing, 1987 Chrysler Conquest TSI
2nd Place - Trophy and a $100 Gas Card from CRC Industries: Derek Penner, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
3rd Place - Trophy and a case of assorted products from CRC Industries: Identity Crisis, 2006 Pontiac Solstice

Special Awards:

Challenger’s Choice - Trophy and a $500 Tire Rack gift card: Derek Penner, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
Fastest Dynamic Time - Trophy and a Tier 1 Membership from AutoBidMaster: Derek Penner, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle
Highest Scoring $1000 Budget Car - Trophy and $250 Grassroots Motorsports Store Gift Card: Barely Functional Racing, 1964 Volvo P1800
Editor’s Choice - Trophy and a $250 Grassroots Motorsports Store gift card: More Tools Than Sense Racing, 1991 Mazda Mionnette
Highest Finishing School Team (non-FSAE) – CRC product pack: Material Girls Racing, 1985 Ford Ranger
Highest Finishing FSAE – CRC Product Pack: Embry Riddle ERAU Motorsports, 2025 FSAE ER-09

 Look for full coverage of the $2000 Challenge in an upcoming issue of Grassroots Motorsports. Visit 2000challenge.com for future updates.

The Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge is Presented by Tire Rack and Powered by AutoBidMaster, in Association with HPX Show, CRC Industries, A&A Manufacturing and BendPak.

Join Free Join our community to easily find more $2000 Challenge news.

Comments

Patrick GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/30/25 4:59 p.m.

Target acquired

gumby GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
3/30/25 7:15 p.m.

Patrick said:
Target acquired

Tube chassis hat-cars to the front!

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/30/25 7:39 p.m.

gumby said:
Patrick said:
Target acquired

Tube chassis hat-cars to the front!

The trend is obvious

Crackers (Forum Supporter) SuperDork
3/31/25 12:13 a.m.

Looking at the results I don't know what any of it means. I have no clue what significance the class acronyms have.

Mr_Asa MegaDork
3/31/25 6:06 a.m.

In reply to Crackers (Forum Supporter) :

Ignore GT, they all have it

N - narrow tires, 0-225 width, I believe.

W - Wide tires, 235-275ish (I always forget where U ends)

U - Unlimited, 285 and up (if I remember the limits for W correctly)

$ - within the monetary limits set by the $2000 Challenge rules, typically just called "under budget"

maschinenbau GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
3/31/25 7:28 a.m.

Is there a full results sheet?

DeadSkunk (Warren) MegaDork
3/31/25 7:32 a.m.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

I think "W" is any tire over 225 and still a 200TW. The "U" tire class is any tire, regardless of width, that is less than 200TW.

Jerry PowerDork
3/31/25 8:23 a.m.

I did not realize how tiny it was until this photo.

Mr_Asa MegaDork
3/31/25 9:04 a.m.

In reply to Jerry :

1700-1750lbs, I think? Whole bunch of nothin and steel tubing.

Colin Wood Associate Editor
3/31/25 9:25 a.m.

maschinenbau said:
Is there a full results sheet?

Yes, you can view the results here.

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