Trey Beasley’s low and mean-looking 1978 Chevrolet Camaro has taken social media by storm in recent days, and while a serious racing machine on the surface, you might be surprised to know the family history of this very piece of American iron. Originally purchased brand new by his mother — “my mama” as he tells it, in his native South Carolinian accent — in 1978, Trey drove the car to high school and later turned it into a 7.0 bracket car under the guidance of his father. After racing it for several years, Trey parked the Camaro in the late 1990s, where it sat in a barn for over two decades. “I drove it to high school,” Trey recalls. “When I was a senior, my dad built me a motor for it, but it was too fast for him to let me put it on the highway, so we started bracket racing.”
Fast forward to the present, Trey’s Camaro has undergone a significant transformation, thanks to Bob and Jay Gianelli at NRC Motorsports. Trey, who has dabbled in various race cars over the years, knew it was time to bring his first car back into the spotlight, but with a serious upgrade.
“I wanted to go run Pro 275. I was having a Mustang built at the time and I thought, ‘you know, everybody and their mama has got a freaking notchback Mustang or a first-get Camaro … so I’m going to do something different. It would have cost me less to build a car from a couple of remanufactured quarters and a roof, but this car has sentimental value to me.”
The build, designed to meet Pro 275 rules, is an impressive mix of personal taste and world-class parts and pieces. Trey was hands-on with the look of the car while leaving the technical work of the chassis to NRC. “I made it clear up front,” Trey says, “I’m not going against what they want as far as the chassis, but the way this car looks—that’s all me.”
Under the hood sits a 521 cubic-inch engine with an Alan Johnson block, Noonan cylinder heads, a Pro Line intake, and other components sourced from top-tier performance shops. Rather than rely on big-name engine builders, Trey trusted his longtime friend Clint Gauthier, an engine builder and tuner he’s known for years. “Clint, he’s been doing engines all his life. He’ll handle the tuning, the engine, and the transmission,” Trey says confidently. The build features the entire complement of FuelTech electronics, including an FT600 ECU, FT Injectors, and the works.
The Camaro’s extra oomph comes from a ProCharger F4X-140, paired with an M&M three-speed transmission. It’s equipped with all Menscer Motorsports suspension, and rides on RC Comp wheels in the front, with Sander Engineering wheels in the rear. Trey’s careful attention to detail is evident in the car’s menacing appearance. “The roof line is between your belt buckle and your chest,” Trey says. “Even the top of the roof is just above your belt line.”
The car boasts an intricate carbon-fiber front end, which Trey and the NRC team worked on before having it molded by Premier Fiberglass. “People keep asking me online, ‘Where can I get that front end? Where can I find the wing?’” Trey says, acknowledging the buzz his one-of-a-kind Camaro is generating. The color, inspired by a special-edition color that was available on select second-gen Camaros, is a late-model Acura factory gold color that Jerron Settles laid down and expectedly airbrushed the details.
While the Camaro will first run in 275 radial no-time events, in part because he has more opportunities to race the car in no-time trim, but he has his eye on class racing in the near future. With testing planned for this winter, Trey is confident the car will soon be ready for competition. “When it hits the track in February, it won’t take but a couple of runs to get it dialed in,” he asserts.
“It’s not all about what these cars look like when it comes down to racing, but I tried to be a little bit different with this car,” Trey adds in closing.
