At 15, I was already buying clapped-out cars and racing them before I even had my license. A junky ’81 Volvo, a ‘83 Mustang that blew up faster than my ego, and a ’81 Dodge Daytona that felt like a proper win. I racked up speeding tickets like they were trading cards—so many, I was almost denied a license altogether.

In high school, I dragged a rusted-out ’74 VW Beetle out of a neighbor’s backyard, rebuilt the engine myself, did the bodywork in my parents’ driveway, and paid Maaco $200 for a two-tone respray. Was it perfect? Hell no. But it was mine.

From there, I bought my first new car—a 2001 Dodge Neon—and immediately tore into it: intake, header, cam gears, clutch, exhaust, wheels, lowering springs… you name it. I was a regular at Modern Performance here in Houston, long before influencers were a thing.

Later came the ridiculous:

• A front-engine, V8-swapped VW Beetle

• A carb’d 355ci El Camino with a TH350

• And now, my 525+ WHP AWD Chevy Cruze, running a full standalone ECU, AWD conversion, and enough boost to kick reality in the teeth

All that R&D led to real-world parts you’ll find in the MC2 Racing Store—proven gear for the 1.8 GM Ecotec platform and more.

📺 You can watch it all unfold on my YouTube channel, where I break down budget builds, turbo setups, tuning, and DIY fabrication. No fluff, no trust fund BS—just real garage life.