Winners of the Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge — Sponsored by AutoBidMaster

The dust has settled at Gainesville Raceway, and what a weekend it was. The 2026 Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge brought together some of the most creative and resourceful builders in grassroots motorsports. AutoBidMaster was there to power it all as the official sponsor for the second year in a row.

A Repeat Champion Takes the Crown

After two days of hard-fought competition across autocross, drag racing, and concours judging, Derek Penner came out on top with his wild 1970 Volkswagen Beetle build. Calling it a “Beetle” might be generous — underneath, it’s a turbocharged Mazda Miata. That’s exactly the kind of creative engineering this event is built for.

Penner didn’t just win one class. He swept multiple categories, walking away with the biggest trophy, a $1,000 Tire Rack gift card, and the AutoBidMaster Fastest Dynamic Time award, which came with a Premium membership certificate and a special trophy from our team.

His car posted the quickest combined time across all disciplines, proving the most unconventional build in the field was the fastest.

Other Standout Performances

The competition ran deep across every class this year:

Second Overall: Wreck Racing, a student team, showed up with a 1986 Dodge Conquest TSi that held its own against much more experienced competitors. They also picked up the Fastest Student Team honor and left with a fully stocked Carlyle Tools cart worth over $5,500.

Third Overall: Jonathan Whitaker’s 2001 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 earned a spot on the podium thanks to consistent performances in both speed events.

Fastest Budget Drag Car: Bandit Willoughby put his 2004 Ford Mustang down the strip in 9.342 seconds — the quickest pass among cars built within the $2,000 budget limit. That run earned him a $500 cash prize from Knight’s Automotive.

Over-Budget Speed Record: Kyle Cox pushed a 2021 Ford Mustang GT500 to an 8.859-second pass, the absolute quickest of the entire weekend.

What Makes a $2000 Challenge Special

The $2000 Challenge isn’t a typical motorsports competition. You can’t just bolt on a turbo and hope for the best. Teams need to balance raw speed with presentation, walking judges through their build process, showing off fabrication details, and explaining the creative decisions behind their cars.

That combination of resourcefulness and skill is something we see all the time from the AutoBidMaster community. People who know that with the right mindset, you don’t need a huge budget to build something genuinely impressive.

Looking Ahead

With another great year wrapped up, we’re already thinking about the 2027 challenge. The competition gets tougher every time, and we’re curious to see what next year’s field looks like.

To everyone who competed, came out to watch, or pitched in behind the scenes — thank you for making it such a memorable weekend. And congratulations once more to Derek Penner and all the class winners who showed how far $2,000 can really go.

Thinking about starting your own challenge build? Head to AutoBidMaster.com, create a free account, and start exploring auction inventory. Your next project car might already be sitting there!