Nearly a decade ago, Mac Brosnan took a leap of faith and dropped out of college during his senior year to start his own business. Now, at age 29, he is making waves throughout the import racing community.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #185, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in Nov/Dec of 2023.]
“I’ve dedicated the last eight years to import drag racing,” says Brosnan. “The whole reason I started my shop is because I wanted to make a name for myself doing something I actually love to do, rather than just get a job to pay the bills.”
Brosnan originally opened his shop, Command Performance, in Connecticut. However, when the offer arose four years ago for him to merge with The Shop Houston in Texas and become a co-owner, he jumped at the opportunity. In 2022, they expanded again, moving into a brand-new 13,000-square-foot facility.
“Being down here in Houston, it’s year-round,” Brosnan says. “There’s no winter, and there’s so many more people. We do a lot of street cars, but we primarily specialize in Nissan GTRs – anything from regular bolt-on cars to ones that make over 2,500 horsepower.”
Brosnan’s love for drag racing began long before he opened his shop, however. At age 13, he began racing a Jr. Dragster on the condition that he keep his school grades high enough. Once he received his driver’s license, he immersed himself in the street car world, eventually leading him to buy the 2009 Nissan GTR he currently races.
“I got the car when I was 23, and started street racing it,” recalls Brosnan. “The car’s called ‘Kimbo,’ after Kimbo Slice. I used to only race it on the street, and Kimbo started as a street fighter. It progressed to a race car in 2018, and it’s just gotten more and more wild. It used to be a good car; now it’s a drag car.”
Many of the changes to his car over the years have been born out of necessity. With only 3-4 events per year tailored to the factory combination GTRs come with, Brosnan knew he needed an upgrade to better represent his business. Using the VR38 engine platform with a Turbo 400 transmission, Brosnan won the GTR Unlimited class this year at TX2K23.
“Drag racing as a business is tough,” Brosnan says. “We’re pushing these cars to the absolute limit, and I wanted to make the car something that could be competitive in other events. We’re making over 2,000 horsepower on stock blocks. We’ve got two more in the shop right now that we’re doing the same thing on.”
Further adjustments are on the horizon, as Brosnan recently switched from twin turbos to a single-turbo setup to fit the rules in the highly competitive X275 class. He made his class debut at the Haltech World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway, and with plans to end the year at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals in Bradenton, Florida. From there, the possibilities are endless.
“The biggest part for me is racing with my friends,” says Brosnan. “I would love to be in a Pro Mod eventually. But I have such a love for import stuff, it might end up being a Pro Import car. Honestly, I think that’s the next step. I want to stick with the VR38 platform, because of how much power they make, and how efficient and reliable they are. As long as I can advance my career enough to allow me to do what I love to do, that’s the goal for me.”
This story was originally published on February 21, 2024. 
