"My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad" - Spring Break Tuner Bash 2002 Daytona Beach Florida

You could almost smell the testosterone in the air as the sweaty brows of the opponents glistened in the sun. It was a power match-a typical "mine is better, stronger, faster, and bigger than yours is" match. The crowds gathered around as the behemoths stepped into the proverbial ring to duke it out for the title. Who was going to walk away with the crown, the hot babe, and the glory? That's what it was like at the Castrol Dyno Challenge during our Spring Break Tuner Bash in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Local and not-so-local combatants brought their cars to this event strictly to see who was flexing the biggest guns. Everything from four-cylinder, normally aspirated Hondas to fire-breathing, two-rotor Mazdas and turbo'd and sprayed Lexuses came out to battle in the beachside sun. And we're talking raw numbers here. This was a straight-up, put-your-car-on-the-ramp-and-mash-the-pedal type of setup, and no prisoners were taken.

The top dog of the weekend's events was a '99 Lexus GS300/Aristo conversion owned by Florida native Chuck Puttman. Chuck's car is the epitome of what daily-driven raw horsepower should be.

Chuck and his silver turbo-powered Luxo-rocket pulled out only 399 hp at the wheels on the first run, but that was due to the traction control being engaged and not letting the nitrous kick in. Pete Friedland came to bat with his highly modified '95 Mazda RX-7, and although he took First Place in the Rotary Turbo category, he thought this would be his chance to take the Highest Horsepower spot too. Pulling 397 hp put Pete squarely in Second Place. But once Chuck realized his earlier mistakes, all the stops were pulled out. With a few secret instructions to the dyno technician and the push of a button, Chuck made his Lex whip out a big ol' 439 hp at the wheels. With the 15-19 percent loss in the automatic tranny, we were looking at approximately 517-525 hp at the crank. Who says luxury cars can't be comfortable and fast?