Michael Johnson Technical Editor November 15, 2017

There were so many spectacular performances from the recent Mod Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park that it is difficult to focus on just one. However, one that hasn’t really garnered the attention it deserves is Donnie Gilder’s 2015 Mustang GT, originally purchased for his wife Melissa. Donnie’s GT has had its fair share of mechanical issues lately, but he was able to put together a string of runs to take the win in Heavy Street.

Heavy Street, as you can guess, in Mod Nationals-speak, is a class designed for Mustangs weighing in over 4,000 pounds with driver. That is the only rule in Heavy Street, and with the latest Mustangs being a tad on the portly side, the class had plenty of participants.

Donnie’s 2015 Mustang GT was one of them. The Unicorn, as it is named, is a full-weight street car with a Sai Li-built short block, fuel system, and custom tune. Brett LaSala built the car’s 6R80 transmission to handle the big power available from the Hellion Power Systems’ Eliminator Twin Turbo system, and the aforementioned engine package.

The Unicorn’s main source of motivation is the Sai Li built and tuned powerplant combined with a Hellion Power Systems’ Eliminator Twin Turbo system. With a Brett LaSala-built 6R80 in the tunnel, the 4,000-plus pound 2015 Mustang GT is good for 8.90s.

The Unicorn’s suspension is fortified with Steeda Autosports’ IRS braces, bushing inserts, solid differential bushings, adjustable camber arms and toe links, vertical links, and rear control arm bearings. In addition, the Unicorn features Steeda’s drag rear sway bar with billet mounts, the company’s front and rear drag springs with adjustable coilover struts and shocks, and a custom drag-spec alignment.

Between the drivetrain and suspension, everything worked in conjunction to produce short times in the 1.28-1.31 range, and an 8.962 best elapsed time to win the class. Congrats to Donnie, Sai Li, Brett LaSala and everyone involved on the Unicorn for the 2017 Mod Nationals Heavy Street class win.