Austin Wilson Among Ultra Street’s Newest Blood

Austin Wilson, a second-generation racer from the automotive capital of the world of greater Detroit, represented some of the newest blood to the popular Ultra Street category this season in what was his first year behind the wheel of a dedicated racing machine. The young driver has some big plans for the future.

Wilson’s 1993 Ford Mustang Fox body is powered by a stock-block 454-cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet, bored .100″ over to 477 cubic inches with factory stroke a custom-ground camshaft. It’s topped with Brodix cylinder heads, a PRO Systems 1200 cfm carburetor, and an Induction Solutions fogger system delivering a 450-horsepower nitrous hit. The modest mill has pushed the 3,050-pound car to a best of 4.97 at 136 mph. The combination feeds power through a JW-cased Powerglide transmission and a PTC weld-together converter.

Wilson purchased the Fox from his brother, Dustin, as a shell with a mild-steel roll cage, then pieced it together at home with the help of his father, Alan, and and Dustin. “I put my motor and transmission in it, built the rear end, wired it, and finished all the electronics,” Austin says. “My dad and brother helped me with wiring and setting up the suspension. We scaled it ourselves, checked where the weight was, and just made it work. It was a lot of late nights in the garage, but we learned as we went.”

The car retains its stock-style suspension, original torque boxes, and all-steel body panels, including the factory shock towers. A RaceCraft K-member up front and rear lower control arm brackets, TRZ rear upper control arms, and a narrowed rearend with a RaceCraft anti-roll bar form the foundation for planting the horsepower. Santhuff double-adjustable struts with Racecraft 2-inch drop spindles and caster/camber plates handle the weight transfer up front, while Santhuff double-adjustable shocks are located in the rear. Spindle-mount Weld wheels ride up front, and Weld rears are wrapped in the class-standard 275 radials. A 25.5-cert cage protects Austin, and aside from a fiberglass hood and decklid, the Mustang sits much as it did when it first rolled off the assembly line.

Running locally at Milan Dragway’s (now Darana Dragway) heads-up series, Wilson entered Ultra Street — a class that uses Radial Outlaws Racing Series rules — as his proving ground this season. “This was my first season ever racing a real car,” he explains. “I made the finals at one race, semifinals at another, and finished top ten in points. For a rookie season, I’m proud of that. I just wanted to get out there, get some laps, and learn how to race competitively.”

Wilson grew up around racing; his father Alan has competed in Open Comp and All-Motor classes, and his brother David campaigns an Ultra Street Mustang of his own. “We’ve always been a racing family,” Austin says. “My dad ran a naturally aspirated car on a 9-inch tire back in the day, and my brother’s been running heads-up stuff for a while. I just wanted to carry that forward. They’ve both taught me a ton about how to build and tune a car.”

As he eyes 2026, Wilson plans to transition to a ProCharged small-block Ford combination and trim some weight with fiberglass doors and lexan windows. “The car’s just 50 pounds heavy for the combination now, but there’s a lot we can take out,” he says. “Eventually I want to do some traveling, run with the Radial Outlaws guys and be competitive. Those cars are in the 4.40s, and I know that’s a big step, but that’s the goal.”

For a young driver stepping straight into a heads-up category, Wilson’s methodical approach to driving, building, learning, and competing alongside his family marks him as part of the new wave of promising drag radial talent.