Ryan Hargett Transformed His Low-Mile Street Mustang Into A 7-Second Drag Week Dream Machine
Dream Thriller
When the Coyote prowled onto the scene, it set a whole new standard for performance from a Ford 5.0-liter V8 engine. As with all other platforms that preceded it, this engine family, and the 2011-and-newer Mustangs that were blessed to have it howling underhood, inspired many owners to aggressively modify their pony cars right off the dealer lot.
Obviously inspired by the then-new engine platform, Ryan Hargett added a new Mustang to his stable, but it didn’t rack up a lot of mods or miles for the first few years. He is busy running a shop, and he has other fast cars vying for his attention, including a Jerry Bickell-built, Brand X Pro Mod racer.
“To be honest this is only my second Mustang personally, but I have owned fast street cars and race cars my entire life,” Ryan said.
A Kona Blue S197 is a beautiful sight in any configuration, it didn’t take on its current aggressive form until he decided to live out his dream of competing in the demanding yet rewarding ranks of Hot Rod Drag Week.
“I purchased the car new in 2011 and when the car was about four years old and only had 5,000 miles on it, we decided to build the car. It took about two years to build the car from start to finish,” Ryan explained.
If you aren’t familiar with the week of drag, you probably need to get out more. This event challenges contestants and their vehicles to a drive their vehicles from track to track over six days, six towns, and 1,000 miles. These cars compete in variety of classes on the dragstrip, and after making their runs, they travel along a prescribed route to the next track and do it all over again. It is a glorious grind.
Suffice it to say, this is a challenging endeavor. It stresses not only the driver’s stamina, but the fortitude of each car’s combination. Despite its challenges, those who compete in the event come away raving about how much fun they have in the process. For Ryan, however, the first crack at living this dream far exceeded his expectations.
“We ran Drag Week in 2017 and finished second in our class. We went to Drag Week without even making a full quarter-mile run under power,” he enthused. “It’s always been a bucket-list thing for me just to enter Drag Week and finish.”
In order to withstand the rigors of the week, Ryan needed a robust combination. Fortunately, he also happens to run his own shop, Hargett Automotive & Performance. There he performs everything from bolt-on upgrades to full race car builds, and his own project falls somewhere in between.
