Competition Eliminator is one of the toughest categories in the NHRA sportsman ranks, but that hasn’t stopped Travis and Trent Gusso from pursuing the goal of winning an NHRA Wally (or three).
The racing journey began decades ago when the twin brothers from Sioux Falls, South Dakota converted a 5.0 Mustang into a Stock Eliminator racer.
Today, they compete in a home-built Chevy Cobalt with a screaming small block that revs past 10,500 rpm. The Chevy runs in D/Super Modified ranks and typically goes low 8s at 160-plus mph.
Travis and Trent share a love for cars and drag racing, and over time they’ve enjoyed street cars and a variety of drag race machines. And each of them has been prepared in the home garage, dubbed “Dakota Speed Lab.” In fact, we mentioned the Cobalt is “home-built” because it was fabricated from a shell into a winning car by Trent.
The Gusso’s work as a team, with Trent serving as fabricator, builder and crew chief, and with Travis handling the towing and race driving.
“Trent can pretty much do anything with his hands and he’s at home with a welder,” said Travis. “He’s always built our cars, and they have improved over time.”
Following the Foxbody Mustang Stocker, they made the leap into Comp in a 1999 Mustang with Ford power, and then with a white Chevrolet Cobalt. The first Cobalt was eventually sold to make room for the current car and because they applied better techniques on the second build.
“You learn something everything you build a new car and go racing,” said Travis.
“Trent has a handle on how to get the most from a racecar, but we’ll stick with this one for a bit.” Travis is humble in his opinion, as the Cobalt is nothing short of incredible. It looks as good as any professionally built car and runs at the top of the class, too.
The beautifully fabricated Chevrolet with “row-of-dime” welds and custom parts would make you think Trent is a professional chassis builder by trade, but to the contrary, he is chiropractor, who only works on the car as time allows. Travis, on the other hand, serves as Vice President of the family owned Gusso Surety Bonds company.
Super Modified cars in Competition Eliminator are tricky, requiring mastery of the engine and clutch combination and precise driving.
They are one of only a few production-based categories (as they are mixed with dragsters, altered, roadsters, and Pro Stock-type tube chassis cars) in Comp, so teams are always looking to balance power, gearing, launch, and down-track performance.
As of lately, the Gusso brothers have homed in on a winning combination.
In 2023 they captured their first NHRA National Event win, and they backed it up with a second victory. “After a long time competing, and 5-6 Runner-up finishes, we won both Vegas races,” said Travis, including the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
“Literally, it took 20 years, but it was worth the wait. Last year was also solid for us, we went many rounds and won the final race of 2024 in Pomona. It’s a good race to win because you’re the last winner so you get to enjoy it for longer than usual,” he added.
While many Comp racers move weight to bounce from class to class, the Gusso’s tend to stick with D/Super Modified (D/SM), a category with a 9.5-pound-per-cubic-inch weight break.
That means, with a 314-cubic-inch displacement small block, the minimum weight is 2,980 lbs. with driver.
To make the power, engine builder Larry Allen of Indiana selected a traditional SBC with iron block and aluminum GM Performance Parts heads. The heads, along with the sheet-metal intake, were prepared by CFE.
The mill is fed by a pair of Holley carbs and it drinks VP Racing gasoline.
Other features include a massive solid roller cam that lifts the valves over 1.0 inch off the seats, it has 16:1 compression and develops over 900 hp.
On track, Gusso leaves the line at 6,400, shifts at 10,500 and crosses the line at a ridiculously high 10,700 rpm!
Stick racers to the core, they rely on the venerable Liberty Equalizer 5-speed manual, along with an ACE 7-inch dual-disc clutch. As you’d imagine, the rear is a 9 inch Ford with a stout 6.20:1 ring and pinion.
The 2010 Cobalt also uses a four-link rear suspension with Santhuff shocks and Goodyear 14 x 32-inch radial slicks.
Performance varies from track to track, but the best 60-foot to date is a 1.17 and the best quarter-mile pass was an 8.24 at 166 mph.
“We take racing serious, but it’s a hobby so we always try to have fun,” said Travis.
“There’s a mix of characters in the Comp pits, and we fit right in. Racing in any class is hard. We put in the work and have a good crew, including, me, Trent and Jeff Cullison, who flies in to help at each race. “And of course we get support from our wives, Cassie (Trent) and Holly (Travis). Finishing with a win was nice, and we’re hoping to carry that success into 2025.”
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