Brad “B-Rad” Eglian, and his 1994 Z34 Chevrolet Lumina “LumiNasty” has been a part of the Street Outlaws universe for a long time. Unfortunately, at the 2023 No Prep Kings (NPK) final race at the Texas Motorplex, Brad and LumiNasty went for a wild ride that didn’t end well. After a lot of hard work, Brad, his family, and friends have got LumiNasty back into racing shape.

The crash in Texas took a lot out of Brad both physically and emotionally. There was no doubt he would get back to racing when he could, but due to his injuries he really couldn’t assess the damage to the car. Brad’s son Braden and some friends stepped up to get the rebuild process started on the car.

“As soon as we got home, Braden had a friend bring a rollback over and get the car out of the trailer. Braden and his friends started tearing the car down right away. I just sat there and watched since I couldn’t do anything. It was hard, but I was mentally prepared for it,” Brad says.

Once the car was stripped down, Brad needed to get the car repaired, and ready to be put back together. The plan was to have a local chassis shop take care of getting LumiNasty whipped back into shape, however, the cost was beyond Brad’s budget. So, Brad and Braden brought the chassis back home to do the work themselves.

The 521 cubic-inch Brad Anderson-based HEMI combo still remains under the hood, along with the ProCharger that provides boost. Behind the engine, there’s an Extreme Automatics TH400 and ProTorque torque converter. A fresh set of AFCO shocks were added to the Lumina after the crash. A Holley Dominator ECU controls the engine and is tuned by Brad.

“We had to rebuild everything from the firewall forward, and from the 4-link brackets back on the car. Work began right around the beginning of March and we didn’t finish it until we were in the lanes for our first hit at National Trail Raceway. We also realized that the upper seatbelts weren’t adjusted properly because they were extended all the way out. I had to hunch over, suck my body in, and clinch so my son can get me strapped in. It was tight, but I was in there and ready,” Brad explains.

Brad was mentally in the zone to make his first pass, but then Tim Brown crashed, and that led to an extended clean up. It wasn’t an ideal situation for Brad since he was focused, and then had to reboot his mind all over again when he got back in the car. When it was Brad’s turn to make his first run, the car made a solid 60-foot hit. This is exactly what he was looking for. The team now had a starting point to make adjustments.

LumiNasty went back up on jack stands in the pits so Brad could make some changes based on video and data from the first pass. On the next pass, Brad was on his way to beating Birdman, but the engine sneezed and fell silent. The plan then was to enter Outlaw Big Tire to get more data, but then an injector came unplugged and damaged a piston. Brad’s weekend was over, but he was back in the saddle and the car was running.

Getting LumiNasty back on the track hasn’t been easy, and Brad is thankful for all of those who’ve helped make it happen.

“A lot of people have helped me get back to the track. Not all of them want public recognition, but they know how much their assistance meant to me. I also need to thank all of the companies that sent me parts to help get the car back together. Two Girls Garage and MTX Audio have stood by me as sponsors through all of this as well. Most of all, I need to thank my wife Julie, daughter Jordyn, and son Braden for their support. They’ve been totally behind me on this and I couldn’t have done it without them,” Brad states.

Brad Eglian is the embodiment of the racer who does whatever they can to run with the best out there. The LumiNasty team might not have an epic-sized bankroll, but they have the biggest hearts in the pits and the fact the car is back on the track is proof. Hopefully, we’ll get to see Brad and his team in the winner’s circle this year.