Racing is a powerful draw. Some consider it a sport. For others it’s a business. Yet, for most racers it is simply a way of life. When it comes to Terry ‘Beefcake’ Reeves, all of those worlds come together at the racetrack. Now he is set to return to competition in his supercharged 2015 Mustang GT.

“Toward the end of 2016, I sold the Team Beefcake Racing 2011 Mustang GT mid-7-second ‘race car.’ The car was years of fun and frustration at times, and we will really miss it,” Terry laughed.

Not only was the decision one of practicality, but it also signified a return to racing the kinds of cars his customers are building.

“But, Team Beefcake Racing’s business plan doesn’t really focus on ‘race cars,’ it focuses on the street car market. The 2011 at full weight had bested an 8.74 three years ago, and then we decided to make the transition to heads-up racing, and started pulling weight, adding gear drives, installing Turbo 400s, etc.,” he explained. “The thing is, our core customer doesn’t buy the Turbo 400s. They don’t buy gear drives, and they don’t throw Renegade blowers on their cars. So, we want to get back to doing something that our customers look at and say, ‘That could be me.’”

With the help of longtime crew chief, Brian Campbell of Finish Line Performance, Terry plans to campaign on the NMRA circuit. He will do so with support from his primary sponsor, Vortech Superchargers. Also backing his efforts are Baer Brakes, Beechmont Ford, Exedy Racing Clutches, Lund Racing, Stainless Works Exhaust and Tru Fiber.

“So, for 2017 we have continued some of our past partnerships and added some new ones and looking toward NMRA’s new Limited Street class that debuts next year. This will hopefully be a class that a good portion of our customers could come out and race in,” Terry said. “Until the NMRA’s new class hits, we will jump back into Super ’Stang, where we have done very well in the past, including two of our three NMRA Super Bowl Championships.”

His new combo is based on the foundation of a BES-built short-block topped by ported Shelby GT350 heads and boosted by a Vortech YSI-B supercharger. It’s an aggressive combination (see sidebar), but one that is still based on production parts and attainable mods.

“All the parts you find on the car are the same parts that we offer and install on all of our customers street cars. Our goal is to showcase what the average guy off the street is capable of doing without destroying the bank account,” Terry added. “Our previous best in the car is an 8.86 and we hope to take that down to the sub-8.5-second range, all while maintaining all the factory creature comforts.”

We can’t wait to see if Terry attains his goals. After all, you definitely have to love a streetable, mid-8-second Mustang.