Famed NASCAR crew chief and car owner Ray Evernham sets out to conquer Pikes Peak in his custom-built Modified race car, known as The Ghost.Old school styling fused with modern tech, this '36 Chevrolet body features top-tier NASCAR components. Evernham will pilot his car in the Exhibition Class in the 96th Annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Built with a simple yet wild premise, The Ghost will perform as many disciplines of racing possible. Pikes Peak is one facet of racing, as The Ghost has previously raced at Road Atlanta, and set to drag race and Ponoco later this year.

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The Ghost is taken up a notch from the traditional car its modeled after. The Chevrolet SB2 is beefed up to more than 850 hp, and despite the open wheels, The Ghost recently underwent extensive wind tunnel testing in preparation for the Pikes Peak run.

"We wanted to design and build the car from the ground up, the way we did in the '70s and '80s. No computers, no lasers, just using the knowledge we have accumulated through the years. On the outside, the car looks like the Modified I grew up watching race at short tracks in New Jersey, but on the inside, it's packed with the latest and greatest racing technology you can get," said Evernham via a press release. "Countless hours have gone into getting both the car and me ready for this event.We can't wait to get on the mountain to see what it can do."

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For those less NASCARsavvy, a Modified car refers to race cars built with the sole purpose of going fast, sans fenders and an openchassis allow for the widest tires in the sport, and thehighesthigh hp-to-weight ratio. The Modified class was formerly thetop-tier in NASCAR when the sport was primarily run on Saturday-night, local tracks. That's where Evernham got his start, raking up championships at local New Jersey racing events.

Evernham, a recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, became famous in the late '90s as Jeff Gordon's crew chief, making the team the most dominate team of the '90s. Evernham took the Rainbow Warrior team to 47 Cup wins and 3 Cup championships. Far from retirement, Evernham hosts and produces the showAmericarna, where he searches, restores, builds and races some classic American race cars from around the country.

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The Pikes Peak Exhibition Class will feature other motorsport superstars such as Rhys Millenbehind the wheel of a 2018 Bentley Bentayga,Scott Birdsallwith his 1949 Ford F1, "Old Smokey," Honda Brake design engineerJordan Guitar, California'sRoss Murrayin a 2015 Dodge Viper, andDonald Greenberg with his own 2015 Viper.

Racing starts June 24th, 2018. The track is 12.42 miles with 156 turns. Be sure to follow HOTROD.com for updates.

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