Photo Credit: 5252RPM.com

In the grudge/street racing scene it’s not uncommon for racers to give their rides outrageous names. Aliases like Black Jesus, Your Mom, Air Force Won, and Big Baller Coupe, among others, are a throwback to the days when every racer famously named their race cars. As many know, it can be hard to stand out in the racing culture, especially when you have a Mustang, so when Mo Makki, a Dearborn, Michigan native set out to name his 2010 Saleen Mustang, he landed on a name that would identify his cars’ no-holds-barred attitude. And so, he named his car after Republican Presidential candidate GOP front-runner and real-estate mogul, Donald Trump.

Mo has utilized the help of Dave Zimmerman and his company Team Z Motorsports, and Greg Powrie, to consistently outrun the competition across the Central U.S. and the East Coast, and plans to shake things up for the 2016 season. This long-time grudge racer is planning to conform to the NMRA Renegade class rules this year and compete against the best racers the series has to offer.

“The Donald” is outfitted with a 4.6L short block built by Engine Craft, topped with a set of Rich Groh Racing Engines stage five, ported 3-valve cylinder heads. Feeding this hungry beast is a one-off Team Z Motorsports turbo kit that utilizes a single custom 76 mm turbo. The fuel, ignition, and boost curve are controlled by a Holley EFI Dominator under guidance by Greg, the tuner behind Trump’s killer track record.

Mo enlists a Lang Transmission-built Powerglide and Cameron’s Torque Converter Specialists custom converter to ensure that the Saleen effectively applies its racing agenda consistently through the run.

“I walked into Dave’s shop, in Taylor, Michigan shop around three years ago, as I wanted to beef up my factory 8.8 rear end. We talked for about an hour and he convinced me to go with a custom fabricated 9-inch, and they ended up swapping everything to a Team Z rear suspension,” Mo tells us.

Outfitted with a slew of quality rear suspension goodness, this car is projected to be in the 1.12-1.14 second 60-foot range this year; the Donald Trump has previously been a best of 1.16 to 60 feet. The custom S197 Outlaw 9-inch housing is a vast improvement over the factory deigned rear axle, thanks to its adjustable control arm mounts and spherical rod end control arms. That is further beefed up with a Strange Engineering center section and axles.

“Trump was a grudge car before this year so I didn’t post many time slips. But, I’ve been a 5.15 at 145 in the 1/8-mile with only a 1.35 60-foot, and I’ve also posted a 8.21 at 137in the 1/4-mile, after letting off around 700 feet,” said Mo.

“I’ve called Dave and said, ‘Dave I need to make a change to the car.’ No questions asked, he tells me when to bring it. I drop the car off, they get it done for me right away. There’s been times I’ve switched from 1/8-mile to 1/4-mile, dropped the car off, they changed the gear and converter, and I loaded up and went out of state and raced. Team Z Motorsports isn’t just a shop, they’re family. Once Dave takes you in, you’re family to him.”

With the help from Greg and Dave, Mo is confident that he can be competitive and win against the upper ranks in NMRA Renegade. We’re looking forward to seeing what the Donald J. Trump can do in the cut-throat world of professional 1/4-mile racing, in its pursuit to “Make Racing Great Again!”