Winning Summernats Grand Champion is a massive honor, and the past winners list reads like a who’s who of Australian Street Machining royalty. To win the coveted trophy and sword you need an immaculately presented ride, and the will to drive it to the limit, and that’s exactly what Jeremy Gilbert did to win the inaugural title of Summernats USA Grand Champion.

“Winning the Grand Champion at Summernats USA made my heart swell with joy,” Jeremy says, and it’s an understandable sentiment when you hear the full story behind this truck.

You see, Jeremy’s dad bought the 1982 model C10 back in 1984 and drove it for a bunch of years before selling it to Jeremy’s cousin Travis, keeping it in the family. Travis and his brother-in-law Josh spent countless hours and weekends rebuilding the truck, tearing out the old 305 small block and T350 driveline to replace it with a tough 400ci and T400 combo. They even laid a cool flame job over the original dark red paint.

Then tragically Travis was killed in a motorcycle accident and his wife parked the Chevy pick-up in the garage for eighteen years until a time came when their children could make a decision about what to do with their father’s beloved pick-up.

“I reached out to Jessica about 4 years ago, and asked her if she would consider selling the truck back to me,” Jeremy says. “I also mentioned to her that my plans would be to make this the best version of this truck that it could possibly be.”

Jessica ran the idea past the kids and they all agreed that it would be nice to see it stay in the family and see something good happen with the truck, so Jeremy headed over to Oklahomo to pick up the truck before continuing on to Texas where the C10 was delivered to PTS Fab for some heavy duty modifications.

“I made Jessica and the kids a promise before I left that I would have this truck in car shows, magazines and it would be a contender in the Lil Gangsters class before it was all said and done,” Jeremy recalls, and he’s certainly lived up to his side of the bargain.

Ultimately it would take three years to elevate the pick-up to the level that it is today. Nick and the team at PTS Fab did most of the heavy lifting, after Jeremy delivered them the truck without an engine and transmission. With the idea that this beast would need to run in the popular Lil’ Gangsters class – a 5.30 fixed index, eighth-mile event – it was going to need some serious hardware. To run a 5.30 over the eighth-mile, you need a car that can run low eights over the quarter mile, and that’s not usually the kind of territory where you find a square-body C10. Underneath, the truck has been totally transformed with a combination of custom fabricated suspension parts working with some quality gear from QA1 and Wilwood to ensure that, not only does it go, but it stops and turns as well. Despite the rollcage, tubs and four-link rear end, this is a truck that’s built for the street as much as the strip.

As Jeremy says, “The truck has a killer stereo, full carpet and ice cold AC and heat. This is one of the most comfortable five-second [eighth-mile] cars you will ever see.”

The full size pick-up is no lightweight import so up front there’s plenty of mambo to get it moving thanks to a twin-turbo 427 built by Gary Ochs, at Ochs Performance, who like PTS Fab, is also based in Texas. The Dart-based LS combo runs Monster series heads, a Brian Tooley Racing intake and twin 76mm turbos and it makes enough power to push the C10 to a 5.13 at 146mph over the eighth-mile; and before you get your calculators out that is good enough to dip into the high seven-second zone over the quarter.

With the mechanical side of the truck sorted, Jeremy enjoyed cruising the C10 for a short time, working out any bugs before handing it off to Ryan Scheffler in Kansas for a new coat of paint. 

“I originally sent the truck to paint with the idea of gun metal gray,” Jeremy says, “But after Ryan saw the truck and the quality of the build in person he immediately called me to discuss the color choice. He asked me if I trusted him and I said yes, and about two hours later Sandman was born, and he nailed it. I love the sand colored paint with all the black accents.”

Apparently he’s not alone, the truck has won Car of Show at its only other show outing and it impressed the judges at Summernats USA, but as legendary show judge Owen Webb says, “As we have seen time and time again in Canberra, the driving events were what ultimately decided it.” Several cars were in the running for the top prize, but it was Jeremy’s skill behind the wheel in the specialised Grand Champion driving events that swung the needle in his favor. “We had one car on 20 points and two cars on 19 – that’s how close it was,” Owen says.

If that wasn’t a big enough win, Jeremy was also top qualifier for the 8.50 fixed index class at Summernats USA against some serious competition. With the car set-up for quick sprints over the eighth-mile, Jeremy found himself having to back off in the second half of the track to stay above the index, which saw him score an 8.507 at only 154mph to top the list. After three rounds of racing Jeremy found himself up against the very experienced racer and youtuber Tommy Hoskinson and his twin turbo ‘61 Falcon, but in the heat of the afternoon, the traction was a little bit harder to come by and the C10 spun in the final, handing the win to the black Falcon. “Tommy has won numerous Lil’ Gangster events and has one of the most reliable and toughest cars around,” Jeremy says, “He’s one of the toughest competitors in our class.”

But despite the final round loss we still reckon Summernats USA Grand Champion, and runner-up in the 8.50 class counts as a pretty successful weekend.

“I couldn’t wait to call Travis’s wife Jessica to tell her the news,” Jeremy says. “She was so proud to hear the success the truck was having, and even more proud that I delivered on my promise and we both knew that Travis was smiling down from heaven.”

Jeremy is already planning his next Summernats USA outing, which will be held in Indy, September 18-19th 2026. “I enjoyed every one of the staff I met at Summernats, and I cannot wait to compete at your next event and see you all again,” he says.