Rolling The Dice: 2024 Muscle Cars At The Strip

The 2024 Muscle Cars at the Strip (MATS) presented by ARP marks another year of friendly domestic competition. Muscle cars of all makes go head to head on the autocross, drag strip, and even the car show field at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If you are not familiar, the event is 21 years old and began as Mopar-only (then known as Mopars at the Strip). And despite the fact that its old enough to drink, it’s still a family friendly event.

Since inviting the General and FoMoCo, the event has continued to grow, each year surpassing the last in attendance since 2021. The autocross is run by Racing Byrds and attracts some of the best Pro Touring rides in the southwest, typically selling out within a month. The car show field attracts some of the finest classic Mopars anywhere, as well as a strong contingent of late model Mopars and a growing number of Chevys, Fords, and Pontiacs.

Drag racing is arguably the centerpiece of the 2024 Muscle Cars at the Strip, which benefits from a world-class racing facility with a world-class racing surface. Classes range from a trucks, stick shift, Hellcat Shootout, All Pontiac Shootout, Modern Muscle, Street Muscle-sponsored Pony Car Wars, Milodon Pro Class, Demon 170 presented by Dragzine, PMR Stock/Super Stock, Redtide Small Tire Shootout, West Coast N/A, Big Tire No Time, and Xtreme Pro Mod presented by Dragzine.

A few other interesting elements of the 2024 Muscle Cars at the Strip include a Project Cars at the Strip display, which welcomes those still in the building phase to come and hangout. A Manufactures Midway features some of muscle car owners favorite brands like Speedtech, and there is even a Swap Meet. Most notably, though, is the raffle of a 1966 Plymouth Satellite to benefit the Children Cancer Charity. The raffle is inspired by a fellow enthusiast and friend Quinn Peterson and his courageous battle with bone cancer. If you are reading this and want to enter, click here to purchase a ticket by Sunday at 11:30am PST.

Day 1: Friday, March 15th, 2024

It was a slow and soggy start to the 2024 Muscle Cars at the Strip. It rained off and on from when the gates opened at 8:30am through the afternoon. By 1pm it dried up enough to get a handful of cars around the autocross course and few classes down the drag strip. The faster classes such as Xtreme Pro Mod had pulled into the staging lanes while the track crew feverishly prepped the surface. No sooner was the glue applied that it started to sprinkle again, only to give way to some harder rain. By 4pm it was declared the end of drag racing for the day.

By 6pm the rain had started to subside and as the sun went down, it was time for Friday Night Under the Light Autocross. The course was still a bit wet, but there were some impressive machines laying down fantastic times. The weather did not put a damper on things as bundled-up racers and friends waited their turns for yet another lap.

Day 2: Saturday, March 16th, 2004

After a brief rain delay, the sun played hide and seek for most of the day as more cars and attendees filtered in. The concert stage was the center of the 2024 Muscle Cars at the Strip universe, which sat directly in front of the car show. While all makes and models could be found in the car show, Mopars continue to have a very strong presence – true to the event’s roots. Speaking of Mopars, some of the fastest classic and late model Mopars in the country flocked to the drag strip. The Dragzine Demon 170 class featured nearly a dozen factory supercars ranging from low to mid 9s on the well-prepped track. In fact, the track was so sticky, it ate a rearend and a driveshaft. The Small Tire class had some of the west coast’s finest, as did Dragzine’s Xtreme Pro Mod. Aside from the rain delay, there was only one major delay when a Nostalgia Gasser flipped. Thankfully the driver hopped right out and was no worse for the wear. That pushed Pony Wars and some of the other classes into the night to finish up qualifying.

Day 3: Sunday, March 17th, 2024

After two tough days of weather, all were hoping for the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and the little leprechauns delivered. A little cloud cover in the morning gave way to clear skies as the drag strip roared to life. The starting line claimed another driveshaft and was credit to a few wheelies to start the day. The autocross course was reversed for a faster course, and a few saw fit to drift their way around it – not the fastest laps but definitely fun. Eliminations started around noon in the bracket classes.

One of the biggest stories of the afternoon was Brandon James’ crash in the Small Tire No Time class. The blown Nova inexplicably took flight near the finish line at full song, after taking the win in the first round of eliminations. Thankfully Brandon was OK and the car was remarkably intact, minus the right front wheel and spindle (full crash sequence can be seen here).

Between drying the track, a few crashes, and a few oil-downs – the track crew was certainly busy all weekend. Following the Brandon James crash, a Hellcat rearend leaked from the starting line through the finish line (after a late night of clean-up the prior night). The downtime provided the perfect opportunity to give away a beautiful 1966 Plymouth Satellite to benefit Childrens Cancer Charity, in honor of fellow racer Quinn Peterson and his courageous battle of bone cancer. Peterson was on hand to hand over the keys.

Drag Racing Results

Autocross Results

Final Results

Friday Night Under the Lights – Classic Muscle

Friday Night Under the Lights – Modern Muscle

Friday Night Under the Lights – Street Car

Friday Night Under the Lights – Truck

Friday Night Under the Lights – Ladies

Awards were given out for each day, as well as for the whole event. Danny Weller took the top spot for the weekend, running 2019 Camaro in the Modern Muscle class. Chad Ryker took Third overall and first in Classic Muscle, wheeling a ’67 Mustang with TCI suspension. Lisa Ramirez was the fastest Lady on the property (8th overall out of 75) in the New Edge Mustang. Clearly the SN95 chassis was dialed in, as her husband took Second overall in the same ride. George Reiss won the Truck class (taking 13th overall) in the Reiss Racing square-body C10 (aka Sabotage). Jayssen Frederick won the Street Car class in his ’07 Miata with Cody Frederick trailing behind by 16 points in the 2019 Corvette, letting both his family and us down. For shame, Cody. For shame. The J class was led by John Huff in the 1971 Barracuda, which was a class filled with interesting projects.