Some of the most amazing car builds emerge from Martin Connelley’s barn in Salyersville, Kentucky. Chock full of character, the structure his grandfather built in 1976 is a source of inspiration for Connelley. He went from building go-karts in it as a child, to building cars in it for racers across the country, as well as his own championship-winning car, as an adult.

One of the most recent “Barn-Built” projects is a Fox Mustang belonging to Steve Rasnic, who was racing in 235 followed by No Time categories, and decided after impacting the wall last year to make the move to the wonderful world of Ultra Street.

“I took my car to Tin Soldiers Racecars in Hebron, Kentucky, to be repaired, and it was while it was there that I decided to move to Ultra Street,” said Rasnic, of Clarksville, Ohio. “My car was running low fours with a Bennett Racing 400U on a Dart cast-iron block with Trick Flow High-Port heads and a 98mm Forced Inductions turbo, but it needed some work before I could move to Ultra Street, and that is where Martin Connelley came in. He has worked on my car before, and I completely trust him.”

Connelley, with an assist on this project from his 15-year-old son, John Martin, replaced the previous turbo with a new, 76mm Harts turbo, and performed all of the fabrication work associated with that.

“We had to re-do the downpipe and charge pipe, and I had to clearance the hole on the nose and do a little cosmetic work on the fiberglass front end,” Connelley explained. “I put a TurboSmart oil-pressure regulator on the turbo, and wired a turbo speed sensor into the car.”

Additionally, Connelley scaled the car and carefully added 600 pounds of ballast to comply with class rules, adjusted the car’s rear suspension and addressed a fuel safety concern in the setup. His son replaced the car’s previous tires to Mickey Thompson ET Street R tires.

“Adding 600 pounds of ballast was a task, let me tell you,” Connelley confessed with a laugh. “You cannot just put it anywhere. You really have to make sure you put it in good places for weight distribution and safety.”

The super-clean Mustang showcases a Turbo 400 by RPM Transmissions, and converters from M&M Transmission and ProTorque are at the ready depending on conditions at the track. Jason Waterman tunes the combination with FuelTech, and Rasnic’s crew chief and brother, Jeremy Rasnic, his wife, Jill Rasnic, and Justin Johnson, will continue their all-important roles as crew members.

As soon as possible, Rasnic will head to a test session with Connelley, so they can compare notes before cutting loose in competition.

“I am so sold on Martin Connelley,” Rasnic added. “Whenever I need anything done, he is my go-to guy. He does good work, and he is down to earth and easy to talk to. On top of that, he is a great racer with championships, so I am in good hands with him and the rest of my crew, as I aim to compete in a tight field where racers are running 4.30s to 4.50s.”