The Show N’ Shine was STUFFED for the first day of LS Fest 2021. The road into the track was lined side-to-side with beautiful rides. If you took a second and look behind the front line, there were plenty of incredible rides hanging out in the back.

First up was Ken Becker, who was religiously cleaning his GTO. Wild paint schemes may create more buzz, but there’s something to be said for a simple color scheme of black & chrome. Ken’s car has been finished for a couple of years and he's been enjoying it ever since.

This ride has a 376ci LS3 crate engine with a Magnuson 2300 supercharger sitting on top. For most people, 500 horsepower is plenty, but Ken isn’t that guy. Power flows through a TKO600 5-speed transmission to a built 9-inch with 3.73’s. A Holley Dominator ECU controls the engine.

Ken wanted his Goat to ride and drive properly so underneath, it’s fully upgraded with tubular control arms, coilovers and 4-wheel disc brakes.

The GTO has a staggered wheel setup with 19in front and 20in rear on the car and it fits just right. Becker wanted the car to have an equal amount of show and go and that carried over to his very simple custom interior that has some tasteful, modern touches devoid of overkill.

Parked alongside the glistening goat, was Becker's next-door neighbor and friend from Chicago Chris Schmidt and his 1968 Camaro. The butternut-yellow ’68 Camaro is a fresh build with just under 1,000 miles on the clock. Chris purchased this vehicle from the original owner, a customer of his for years, and he bugged her regularly to sell him the car. Finally, she decided she wasn’t driving anymore and let Chris take it off her hands. It was a plain-Jane 327 car, but Chris only needed solid bones for what he wanted to do. With friends like Ken, it immediately snowballed into a full build situation.

He wanted the blend of old and new to work together perfectly, so he bought an Infinity wiring system which removes all the keyed ignition, A/C controls, and extra knobs for a simple touchscreen unit that controls everything. He used this in conjunction with a Terminator X Max EFI system and Digital Dash to keep the wiring and interior of this ride as clean and modern as possible.

The powerplant is a 416ci LS3 stroker hooked to a 4L80E, both controlled by a Terminator X Max EFI system. Out back Chris has a 9in-style axle with Detroit Speed’s QUADRAlink rear suspension and mini tub kit to fit a massive rear tire. Up-front it has tubular control arms, coilovers, and of course disc brakes all around. Chris really built this thing to drive and he’s here cruising Bowling Green with friends this weekend. This camaraderie and story of chasing the car you wanted for years is one of the many reasons we love what we do.