But before he goes globetrotting, the Winter Valley local has one very important stop to make: a couple of hours down the road at Victorian Motorsports Park.

Justin’s bringing his Spitfire-green 1995 Holden Commodore ute, MRCHOW, to the Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational 3 and reckons he’s pretty stoked to be doing it so close to home.

“I’ve been looking forward to that for a while,” he says. “I think to be the first ones out there on that is going to be pretty cool.”

It’s a fitting way to kick off what’s shaping up to be a big run for Justin, who’s spent around 15 years in the burnout scene and has managed to turn a hobby into a pretty serious operation.

He got his start working for Russell Harris in Ararat, the bloke behind the well-known VL LOO5E.

“We started doing burnouts and got the bug,” Justin says.

Fifteen years and plenty of burnt tyres later, he’s still at it.

Justin moved to Ballarat and opened JJ Performance, building and tuning burnout cars for customers while developing his own. He says there’s a particular satisfaction in seeing something he’s built get sent hard on the pad.

“I just got joy out of seeing my work get punished,” he says.

MRCHOW has been part of that journey for the past few years. Justin originally built the ute to follow his mate Lynchy around the burnout scene, but it didn’t take long for the green ute to start making a name for itself.

At Summernats 37, MRCHOW finished third in the Open Class. Justin later scored a wildcard at Darwin Gazzanats, which helped him make his way through to the Summernats 38 finals in the big-boy class, where he finished second.

He’s also picked up wins at Red CentreNATS, Gazzanats and Bendigo, giving the ute a pretty solid list of results for a car that started out as a way to keep an eye on a mate.

Under the bonnet is a 364ci naturally aspirated LS, built in-house at JJ Performance. The forged 6.0-litre combo runs on methanol, revs to 8,000rpm and makes around 700hp at the tyres. It’s backed by a Paul Rogers’s Transmission Powerglide and a nine-inch diff.

The ute is tubbed, wears 20-inch billet Boyd Coddington wheels and features a custom diamond-stitched black leather interior.

It’s a serious package, especially for an NA car.

The combination came about after Justin found the limits of the original stock L98 in spectacular fashion. At Red CentreNats, he put in a good skid, celebrated a little too hard and left the bottom end on the pad.

After that, the plan was to build something stronger and give the blown cars a run for their money.

“We’ll build something a bit more reliable and give the big boys a run for their money,” he says.

That’s meant plenty of development, and plenty of maintenance. Every time the car’s used, Justin cleans the injectors, changes the oil and filter and puts it on the dyno, making sure it’s ready for the long trips that come with competing around Australia.

Now he’s got the Invitational in his sights and, by his own admission, there’s a bit of pressure. 

“I don’t show it, but I get very nervous,” he says. “There’s 50 of the best of the best.”

The Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational 3 hits the freshly laid burnout pad on Saturday 21 November, bringing together 50 hand-picked Pro Burnout cars for a high-stakes showdown. With a $20,000 winner-takes-all prize, three Pro Burnout Series qualifying tickets and one wildcard up for grabs, drivers will have one last opportunity to secure their place in the Summernats 39 Grand Final in Canberra.

With only a handful of naturally aspirated cars expected in the field, MRCHOW will be bringing a different combination to the mix. Justin isn’t making any big predictions, though. He’s keen to turn up, give it his best and enjoy the chance to skid on a new pad so close to home.

And then? Well, the world tour gets underway.

Justin’s been spending plenty of time in the United States, recently heading over to judge a burnout competition. He’s due back again soon and has more plans in the works, including the possibility of taking MRCHOW over next year.

Justin’s also considering a change of direction for the ute and is thinking about switching to a blown setup after another crack at the Invitational.

For now, though, the focus is on getting MRCHOW to VMP and making the most of the home-ground opportunity.

“Come and see it while you can,” he says.

Fair warning, this might be the last local stop for a little while.

Justin would like to thank his sponsors JJ Performance, Late Model Enginees, Lynchy, Rolling Rubber Tyres, Race Pipes, Warspeed, Howe Automotive, Martini Racing Oils, Paul Roger’s Transmissions.

Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational #3 takes over Victorian Motorsports Park on Saturday 21 November 2026. General Release tickets are on sale now and will move quickly!
Get ‘em before they’re gone.

EVENT DETAILS 

Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational 3

Saturday 21^st November 2026 

https://proburnouts.com.au/events/rod-shop-invitational

Tickets are on sale HERE