2025 Racing Byrds AutoXtreme event #1 ‘A New Beginning’

It’s been a little over 2 years since the Auto Club Speedway (ACS) shut down all events at their facility. Lot 6 was our go to parking lot for NMCA Autocross racing with the Racing Byrds for many years. Some of the most competitive Muscle Cars/Trucks and drivers on the West Coast would come battle it out for daily, weekend and even year end awards. The closure left us all wanting something, anything remotely similar to what had been created. The family atmosphere, the competitive nature, and of course the good times behind the wheel was unmatched.

Fast forward to 2025. The Racing Byrds secured Las Vegas Motor Speedway for 4 events. Event #1, February 1st & 2nd was our first dive back into what we used to have at ACS. TeamTCI was able to assemble some usual suspects of vehicles and racers to come represent. Thru a ton of planning we managed to get 6 Classic Muscle Cars and 2 Trucks to Vegas for the debut event. There was some scrambling trying to finish some off season upgrades on a few of the vehicles. While some others were 100% ready for battle with no changes.

Classic Muscle Class

Our Founder & President Ed Moss’s ’67 Mustang was brought out for Chad Ryker to drive. Chad has been extremely successful in this car over the years and he would not disappoint at this event. The car had new Yokohama A052’s and the weather was looking to be on the chilly side which the Yokes really excel at. Chad was off to a slow start on both Saturday & Sunday where he found himself a little behind the curve. Well, at least behind Wally Logan’s gorgeous Orange C10 which admittedly by Chad, “Not where I want to be”. In typical Chad fashion he persevered & ended up taking the Classic Muscle win both days. A couple DNF’s would hurt him for the weekend overall averages and year end championship points.

Tom ‘Mr. CAM Man’ Kamman brought out his Reiss Racing built ’76 Trans-Am. Tom is one of the most calculated drivers we’ve ever seen. He is just so smooth behind the wheel and crazy consistent. So much so, he ended up 1st in Classic Muscle & 5th Overall in averages for the weekend. Every lap counts and Tom was on point all weekend. He managed to stay clean and fast thru 24 laps. The fact that the only cars ahead of him in the standings were late model Corvettes is a testament to this accomplishment. Add to that said Corvettes were driven by some well known and accomplished drivers (Eric Sheely, Frankie Trutanic, Danny Popp, & Clayton Yates) Tom & Chad have had more than a few close battles over the years and this weekend would be no different. They traded the lead both days many times but Tom would finish a close 2nd both days. It was an incredible battle to watch. These two drivers are very composed behind the wheel so when you see some tail wagging aggression you know that they were giving it their all.

Here is a recap video of the Tom vs. Chad battle courtesy of AutoXandTrack

Chris Stoner surprised us all at an event last year where he was given the keys to an unfamiliar vehicle (Reiss Racing built #BlueThunder) & finished 4th place in a tight battle in Classic Muscle. He left such an impression on George Reiss that he decided to put Chris in the car for the whole 2025 season. Chris was off to a rough start Saturday morning but by the 3rd session he was figuring the car out. It was a crazy tight battle in the final session of the day. Chris managed to clinch the final podium spot after battling with 4 other drivers trying to do the same. Chris would repeat this performance on Sunday taking home twin 3rd place trophies (That he designed and made BTW).

In another plot twist our buddy Doug Bailey decided to let the talented Steve Livingston drive his beautiful ’69 Mustang. We’ve watched Steve wheel his Fox Body at events over the years so we knew we were in for a treat. Steve did not disappoint. He also had a little growing pains early on Saturday as he got acclimated to the older Mustang. By the 4th session he was figuring things out. Steve & Chris were in the same run group. They were swapping positions with each lap. Steve laid down a 3rd place lap only to watch Chris come around him by just .05. It was another great battle in Classic Muscle. We’re hoping that Steve gets even more seat time in the car moving forward because clearly it’s going to be a great combination.

Another Reiss Racing built vehicle, Taz’s Orange 1970 Camaro (aka #FlaminHotCheeto) was in attendance being piloted by Rich Alianelli. Rich came into the event on a warm weather tire (Nankang CR-S) so he struggled to get heat in the tires in early sessions where track temps were hovering around 60 degrees. 3rd session was the only time where track temps got up to 90 degrees which is where Rich laid down his best times. There were tight battles both days for 3rd thru 8th positions where every tenth mattered. Rich landed in 7th place both days.

Our buddy Andy ‘The Nova Guy’ Mule brought out his ’66 Nova to play. Andy is coming off a very strong performance at the Indio leg of the Hot Rod Power Tour where he had Top Time of Day. Ever since adding some ballast to the right rear to help balance the car and also get some forward bite out of corners his confidence has grown exponentially. This was a fast & fun course and Andy had a big smile on his face every lap. He’s just there to have a good time and if need be lend a helping hand. You will not find another driver so happy to just be doing what he loves than Andy. He finished 9th on Saturday and 10th on Sunday but he did leave early, missing his final session.

Truck Class

Barry’s Speed Shop made some off season changes to Wally Logan’s #TheGripProject C10. Most notably was taking a couple hundred pounds off the truck by switching from the LT5 engine over to a Naturally Aspirated 427″ LS. The more usable torque curve of the N/A engine made all the difference in the world with driver confidence. With the LT5 engine it was tough to modulate the throttle and much to easy to spin the tires. Wally & Jason Wilcox co-drove the truck for the weekend and both would revere over the new engines ability to get out of a corner. In most cases the throttle could just be matted while the truck predictably rushed forward. The difference in driver confidence was immediately noticeable. Jason & Wally both came out swinging with the new found agility. Early on both days Wally found himself in 2nd place, forcing the other drivers to chase him. Which, unfortunately they did. Wally would finish just off the podium in 4th place both days. A charging/voltage issue kept both Wally & Jason from running their final session on Sunday. A moment in time when the vast majority of drivers picked up chunks of time. Unfortunately, the mechanical DNF’s hurt both of their chances at getting some valuable championship points. Jason was put into an early run group which meant he had to set the bar. Which is exactly what he did. He took the early lead and held onto it winning the Truck Class both days. On Sunday, Jason and the truck would finish 10th overall. Not a bad place to be considering there was mostly Corvettes ahead of him.

Reiss Racing brought the one and only #SabotageC10. George & Jose co-drove it both days. Jose struggled a little bit both days. He kicked a bunch of cones and spun the truck multiple times. George would spend a bunch of laps in the passenger seat giving instruction. This is only Jose’s 2nd season but he still managed a 6th place on Saturday and 5th on Sunday. George got off to slow start on Saturday as they figured out the suspension settings. Sitting in 3rd place for most of the day. Every time George would pick up chunks of time, Hondo in the Blazer would do the same and keep George at bay. In the final session on Saturday George dropped the gauntlet and jumped ahead of Hondo by a solid 4 tenths. On Sunday they would swap roles. George came out early and held the 2 spot most of the day. The final session had an epic battle between George and Hondo. These two guys were leapfrogging each other by hundredths of a second with George landing just .009 behind Hondo in the end. However, George managed to only hit 2 cones all weekend and was consistently fast earning him the Top spot in Truck Averages. Which means George leads in Championship points after the 1st event. Hondo is only 1 point behind him so with only 3 events remaining this may come down to the final event/day/session.

We’re looking forward to event #2 on March 1st & 2nd. https://racingbyrds.com/