Of all the badass doorslammers from across the United States and Canada on hand at the inaugural 2013 Shakedown at the Summit last fall at the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, there was one that truly stood out from the pack.

Tucked away in the Top Sportsman class, the door car bracket category on steroids filled with a glorious variety of six and seven-second door cars, was a car that had a lot of people asking “what the heck that is?”  The car in question was Wes Goddard’s 1958 Nash Metropolitan, a car that was only a touch bigger than a golf cart, but was clicking off runs in the six-second zone.

Race gas has been running through Goddard’s veins since a young age —  his exposure to racing coming during his formative years at the London Motorsports Park with his family.  There, the seed of speed was planted and grew over the years. In the 90’s, Goddard was cutting his teeth with fast cars, crewing on a Top Alcohol Funny Car and later working with a Pro Modified team. After that experience Goddard decided it was time he got behind the wheel, and that’s when big things began to happen. Big things, with the exception of the vehicle he opted for, anyway.

The first car Goddard built was a 1974 Austin Mini. This wild car had a 377 cubic inch small block Chevy in a full round-tube chassis, and with a 74-inch wheel base, ran 9.30s at 138 MPH, all while remaining street legal. In 2002 Goddard built his first Nash that had a massive 632 cubic inch alcohol-fed engine stuffed in it that ran a best of 7.90 at 172 MPH. In 2009 FD Power teamed up with Wes to build his current twin-turbo 1958 Nash and the final product is one of the most unique race cars you’re ever going to see.

A mechanic by trade, Goddard has a great understanding of all things automotive, and interestingly, all three cars have been built at his home in an attached two car garage. The ’58 Nash was built by Goddard from the ground-up with support from friends like Fred DeJonge, Mike Collins, Rob Currie, Mike Moran, brother Frank Goddard, along with his parents Jim and Elaine.

The Nash weighs in at around 2,700 lbs., thanks in large part to the the light Cynergy Composites body. And, because no one makes dedicated Nash race car parts, much of the underlying suspension had to be custom made. The car has a Murray Anderson rear end housing and is held in place by a four-link that was designed and fabricated by Goddard. Strange Engineering struts and coilovers help to keep the Nash planted and running straight on a set of 31 x 10.5W Mickey Thompson slicks.

Making the power for the Nash is 504 cubic inch engine that’s baed around a Dart aftermarket race block. The motor is topped off with a set of CFE 385 heads and an off-the-shelf Brodix intake. A Callies crank, R&R Rods, and Diamond Pistons reside within the block forming the short block assembly. Finishing out the driveline is a Hutch Powerglide and a Coan torque converter.

The motor is fed by a pair of Precision 76mm turbos and gets its fuel from some 212 lb. Precision injectors. Tial provides the wastegate action and the BOV’s are units from ProCharger. Electronics onboard include a BigStuff 3, AMS 1000 boost controller, and a RacePack V300 data recorder.

When you put all of this together, the result is an incredibly unique car that has been running in the high six-second range at over 219 MPH with a wheel base of just 101 inches. Think about that…a door car that’s a few inches shorter than a four-seater Polaris RZR going over 200 MPH! 

Goddard is still in the process of getting the car figured out, but when it’s set on kill, he estimates it will be running in the 6.60 range on a good day.

Wes Goddard has spent many years in, around, and under some really fast race cars. With all of that experience he’s built one impressive Top Sportsman race car that’s not only unique, but has the performance to make it more than just a novelty. You can expect to see Wes and the “Hell Billy” Nash at Great Bend Motorplex, Toronto Motorsports Park, and back at the 2014 Shakedown at Norwalk. Just look for the shortest car in the crowd.