It takes something special to stand out at a race packed with hundreds of cars, any of which we’d gladly take on in a heartbeat. After days of shooting photos at the 2016 Bluegrass Nationals, it only seemed right to pick some of our favorites from the event. Speed certainly wasn’t a worry with any of these cars, but there had to be more going for it to make it to the list. Check out our selections below and see what you think!

11. Greg Hunt’s 1974 Buick Apollo, Fastest Street Car Bracket 2

 

Primer gray, with patches of rust and a little bit of barn smell, Hunt’s Apollo made the list because of it’s spectacular wheel stand on Friday. The junkyard turbo 5.3 LS-powered car was lined up and ready to go, and the track and tires hooked like none other, causing the nose of the Buick to climb like a rocket before slamming back down to earth, cracking the oil pan. Solution? Dial back the power, replace the pan with a spare, and get back to racing!

10. Scotty Guiler’s 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass, Xtreme Street

 

It looks like a restoration that someone decided to put onto the track, the engine sounds a lot deeper than a 584ci Chevy block should sound, and it went with no drama whatsoever. Guiler has this Oldsmobile dialed in well, but we were sold the second we saw the 442 tribute roll into the water box. G-body fans, start building these…

9. Jarrod Arnold’s 1979 Ford Mustang, Fastest Street Car Bracket 2

 

We’re pretty used to seeing Arnold’s gorgeous silver first-year Fox out at Beech Bend…he’s a local and the 302-powered Mustang is a basic setup that just freaking works. It’s nothing more than a restoration-clean 11-second four-eye that will clean your clock if you look at it the wrong way.

8. Jimmy Marshall’s 1986 GMC Sierra Grande

 

Square-body worshippers, here you go. It does not get any cleaner than that, does it? Marshall’s GMC had the right paint colors, the right amount of shine, the right amount of snottiness to the exhaust note…it even had custom “SS” badges in the stock Sierra logos on the fenders. This truck is so sweet it hurts. And he ran it like it was just another day.

7. Tim Miletti’s 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, Pro Mod

Miletti’s Friday test-and-tune session didn’t go so well. Off of the launch, the Camaro got loose, slid around and gently tapped the wall. What would you do if you were him? Check tires? Check suspension setups? Get pissed off and pack it in? Hell no! Miletti broke out the heavy-duty tape, patched the body back together and got back on the track!

6.  1997 GMC Sierra C-1500, Top Sportsman

 

Yes, we are missing the driver’s name, and it’s our fault, especially since we chatted with him in the staging lanes. But memorize what this 1997 GMC looks like, because this is your fair warning: meet the biggest sleeper in the show. That clean-but-stock looking Sierra packs a ProCharged 400ci small-block that is deadly quiet. This guy knows how to work a sleeper, and this Sierra shocked the hell out of us when it bolted down the track. Rumor has it some local guys got their feelings hurt after the track closed, too.

5. Donnie Edmonds’ 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396, Open Comp

Another super-clean car, Edmonds’ Chevelle looks like it could be driven around town one minute, look right at home in a car show the next, and then just when you write it off, the big burgundy beast goes and yanks it’s wheels just to prove that it’s much more than just a pretty face. This is what an a jack-of-all-trades ride should be about!

4. Jon Pickering’s 1974 Ford Mustang II, Open Comp

The Pickering racing team brought out two cars, a Maverick and this Mustang II, and we almost chose the Maverick instead, but then we caught the Mustang in this pose. I might not have been breathing when these were running in Pro Stock, but every photo I’ve ever seen of one launching has this exact same pose when the  wheels come up. Imagine how it’d look in Gapp and Roush livery…

3. Randy Dolensek’s 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler, Nitrous Pro Street

It’s so out of left field that we can’t help but love it. Big, green and guaranteed to catch eyes, Dolensek’s Cyclone Spoiler was the rolling middle finger to every Camaro and Mustang on the property. Brian adores this car and I’m in full-on lust.

2. Craig Sullivan’s 1969 Dodge Daytona, Xtreme Pro Mod

Downside: it’s not a real Wing Car. Truth: nobody cared. Upside: whoever designed the “Petty car found in the weeds” wrap for the former Chip King car needs to be given a raise and a week off for a good job. And nothing makes us happier than a great big blower sticking through the hood, screaming loud enough that everyone in the county knows what’s up.

1. Andy Warren’s 1971 Caprice, Nostalgia Muscle Car

 

Warren’s full-interior, heavy hitter Caprice exists solely to remind physics that laws are meant to be broken. Nothing that big should move like it does, yet the picture speaks for itself. Every time the big Chevy hit the line, the wheels came up and the car shot down the track in the high-9 second territory, except in the bracket classes. The last time we saw a car this large rock this hard was when Nick Scavo was terrorizing drags trips with his 1965 Impala.