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As the car rolled, so did Kendrick
Gray’s stomach. In a scant few seconds,
his prized WRX was pummeled into
oblivion. The black ’05 Subaru was in the
hands of a “semi-pro” driver for a video
shoot, and, in the midst of a serious
hot-lapping session, the car did a death
wiggle, found itself in the dirt, bounced
off a berm, and cartwheeled to its death...
It all took about 12 seconds.
The unfortunate events on Turn 2
at Washington’s Pacific Raceways set
Kendrick on the road to resurrection
and ultimately the creation of this
awe-inspiring STI. The journey took the
better part of a decade and transformed
Kendrick from a wide-eyed enthusiast
into a capable builder. “This all started
when I lived in an apartment building
with a one-car garage. It took seven
years to build this car, a lot of trial and
error, a lot of promises, and a lot of broken
promises from people who were going
to help along the way. It really forcedme to tool-up and skill-up to make it
happen, because at times I couldn’t rely
on anyone.” The Subie was well worth
the wait. It was conceived as a double-
edged sword that’s as impactful on the
show circuit as it is on the track, with
no shortage of attention to detail and
mechanical grip.
Kendrick, who’s an IT manager for a
local construction company during the
day, really went to school building the STI.
“I learned how to read a Subaru wiring