Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings has seen its fair share of surprises over the first third of the season and celebrated another first-time winner Saturday night in Epping, New Hampshire, when Giuseppe Gentile outlasted 31 other drivers to take home $40,000.
Gentile drives the ‘69 “Gucci” Nova, sporting a Noonan Hemi with a ProCharger, and was deadly on the instant green tree all afternoon against some of the biggest names in NPK.
“What a weekend,” Gentile said on social media. “We took our first NPK win! Gucci Nova was on a mission… it was tough competition, but we got it done.”
Gentile drew veteran Jeff Lutz in the first round and started picking off members of the 405 early and often. After defeating Lutz, Gentile outran Shawn “Murder Nova” Ellington in round two, setting up a huge matchup with three-time defending series champion Ryan Martin in the quarterfinals. Gentile got the holeshot on Martin and managed to hold him off at the stripe in
one of the closest races of the day.
The semifinals saw Gentile lined up against rookie sensation Nate Sayler, with Gentile once again winning by less than half a car length. In the other pairing, Kayla Morton received a bye run, as Invitational points leader Damon Merchant broke during his burnout. Gentile then defeated Morton, a multi-time NPK winner, to secure his very first Invitational trophy.
“Thank you to the crew who worked their tails off,” Gentile stated. “Thank you to our family, friends, and sponsors that believe and support us. Thank you to all the fans that came by to check out the car, buy merchandise, and say hi. We couldn’t do this without you!”
Gentile has competed in NPK on and off again for a number of years but stepped up his program in a big way this season and now sits third in points for the Invitational, as well as tied for third in Great 8 points for the Individual championship. His win also moved his team – comprised of himself, team captain Ryan Martin, Robin Roberts, Rich Bruder, and Chuck Seitsinger – into third place for the Team Championship.
No Prep Kings will now take a five-week hiatus during the summer. The series will return to action August 11-12 at Tulsa Raceway Park.
This story was originally published on July 5, 2023. 
