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Low to the ground and powerful right out the gate, the LS2-powered Pontiac GTO was indeed a worthy successor to the 1960s nameplate of GM musclebound lore. Enthusiasts of street and racing stripes have found the car to be incredibly useful and modifiable, like the above 2006 model owned and raced by Shane Whalley in the Formula Drift circuit.
The second place trophy Whalley took home from Round 2 of the Formula Drift event in Detroit earlier this month.
Whalley, aged 28 and a resident of the Motor City, got started in motorsports young: “I worked for a racing team in F2000 for a couple of years. Doing that really made me want to get behind the wheel, and I got into drifting because it was just a blast to do. I started with a 1983 Toyota Celica Supra as an amateur, then moved up to ProAm and started working on the GTO.”
The GTO was a logical choice for Whalley, as he considered it a solid foundation due to its drivetrain. It was a dealer demo car with 6,000 miles when purchased, so for all intents and purposes, it was practically new. “I just dug into the project and never looked back,” he said. “I think I still owed about $8,000 on the GTO when I started the work to turn it into a drift car.”
These days, the Goat is a far cry from its factory-fresh setup. It weighs 3,041 pounds with over 700 horsepower coming from the turbocharged engine, and all the work was performed by Whalley, from design to fabrication to engine building. All told, Whalley estimates it’s taken between 600 and 700 man hours over the past four years.
A mashup of the GTO’s various phases over the years (the bottom is the most recent).
Canton Racing Products also supplied a bevy of parts to make the car more efficient at cooling and lubrication, too. “Canton has been a huge supporter over the years,” said Whalley. “I run their Accusump system, oil pan, oil filer relocation system, oil cooler, oil catch tank, coolant swirl pot, coolant overflow tank, and remote power steering tank.”
Whalley’s balance between working and racing is arduous, but it has yielded rewards. He recently took home a second place finish at the Midwest Drift Union Formula Drift ProAm Round 2, and he has his sights set on some more wins to follow.
“Looking back on it, it does give a sense of accomplishment to be proud of I’ll admit,” Whalley continued. “The fact that I did it on the tight budget is probably what I’m most proud of. I wouldn’t be where I am with out the help from all of my supporters and sponsors, that’s for damn sure.”
Whalley and his GTO are set to appear next at the Street Life Tour in Ohio on September 9th. Find out more about the man and his machine by visiting Facebook, and look for more information on Canton’s catalogue by visiting the website.
