3K Hooptie Challenge

David Freiburger and Brian Lohnes hunt down the fastest Hoopties sporting whatever cheap turbo their owners could get their hands on. They revel in the ingenuity and the passion of real, low-buck, grassroots racecars.

It's all about the lowest-buck power into even-lower-buck cars. David Freiburger and Brian Lohnes sniff out America's fastest nitrous-aided "drag cars" and line 'em up two-by-two. Fireballs and fuel mixtures be damned, we're goin' racin!

These days you can shove General Motors' famed LS engine into almost anything, though David Freiburger and Brian Lohnes find a few places they maybe shouldn't have gone.

Hooptie fun isn't just for cars, and we prove it with beat-up trucks, hopped-up vans and even a down-on-its-luck motorhome. Secure the cabinets and fill up the spare tank, we’re taking the long trip to Tucson to give away another $3K.

These garbage cars that don’t really fit into any other $3K Hooptie racing category. But they still deserve a day in the sun for freak factor, sins against automotive humanity and general grotesqueness.

It's the best of the worst. All of the beloved winners are back (plus a few worthy stragglers) to compete in a three-round battle of the budget beaters! Someone has a chance to do it all over again and sputter home with another $3,000.