Curt Ukasik of RPM Hot Rods in Warrendale, Pennsylvania was presented with the Goodguys Trendsetter award in Las Vegas, Nevada. The award is presented annually at the SEMA show to rising young talents in the realm of rod & custom car building.
Hand crafting cars in the mountains of southeastern Pennsylvania, Ukasik has left his mark on the industry in both hot rod and muscle car fabrication. With a vision to build cutting edge cars that combine reliability, style and extreme performance, he has taken RPM Hot Rods to the forefront of the industry. He and his talented team turned out the Goodguys 2009 Gearstar Hot Rod of the Year (Bill Steele's Model A) as well as the Goodguys 2009 Detroit Speed Muscle Machine of the Year (Bryan Frank's '69 Pontiac Trans Am) before setting his sights on the 2010 Goodguys Grand Prize Giveaway Car - the BOSS SNAKE.
Starting with nothing more than a Dynacorn body, various parts from suppliers and a Jon Kaase BOSS 429 hemi, RPM Hot Rods hand built the majority of the car, including suspension, engine and body modifications turning it into a muscle car masterpiece to recreate the famed "Quarterhorse" cars from the 1970s. The original Quarterhorse Mustangs didn't allow room for a BOSS 429 shotgun hemi, necessitating a complete reconfiguration of the car's inner structures. Ukasik and his team made it look so seamless it appeared as though it rolled off an assembly line somewhere in Detroit. Ukasik is the 13th recipient of the prestigious award.
Past recipients of the Goodguys Trendsetter Award include; Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier, Alan Johnson, Eric Peratt, Tim Strange, Dave Lane, Zane Cullen, Dean Livermore, Jesse Greening, Troy Ladd, J.F. Launier and Phil and Jeremy Gerber.