Contrary to what media like The Fast & Furious and Need for Speed may lead you to believe about street racing, the reality is that it's a popular (And legal) form of racing (At least if you're talking about sanctioned street racing-series). These cars are better suited to dusting a quarter-mile, not running from the police.

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Of the vehicles to compete in sanctioned street races, a large portion tend to be American made and in the "muscle" category. The reason behind this is a simple one: A ton of power. Also, since corners aren't a big deal, muscle cars become the perfect platform. There are a lot of choices, but these ten are some of the best muscle cars favored by street racers...

10 Chevrolet El Camino

To start, we have a bit of two worlds: Muscle cars and trucks. Of course, this is in reference to the well known, and beloved, Chevrolet El Camino: A hybrid of sorts, being that it was part truck and part Chevelle.

Although the El Camino is a heavy boy (Like a lot of muscle cars), the power output possible with its chassis and spacious engine bay makes for a cheap and easy starting point. What's really awesome, though, is that it still has all the accessibility of a truck; meaning it can be multi-purposed.

9 Buick GNX

If you've happened to read any of the other articles of ours surrounding the Buick Grand National GNX, you are well aware of how great it is. For once, Buick proved that they could be much more than a brand for 60-year old slowpokes.

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With a joint cooperation between Britain's McLaren and America's Buick came the love child of the two, the GNX. The car is very quick, especially in a straight line. This was due to the well-tuned V6 and massive turbocharger, which had a scary habit of popping on at inconvenient times.

8 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

A car that some seem to overlook in the drag racing and street racing communities is the classic Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Sure, the car looks great, but did you know that it can be competitive on track too?

Those who are brave (or crazy) enough to modify and tear apart a Trans Am will quickly discover that, like the El Camino and others, the Firebird is also a perfect platform to improve upon.

7 1970 Chevrolet Nova SS

Chevrolet seems to have a knack for making the perfect dragsters. Over and over again, time after time, Chevy has produced cars that are not only good enough stock, but ripe with opportunities.

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The Chevrolet Nova SS is one such car. Sharing a lot of commonalities with its sibling, the Chevelle SS, but differed in terms of exterior appearance, chassis, design, and engine (most of the time). Either way, the Nova is still a popular car in all sections of the muscle car community.

6 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C6)

Hopefully you like Chevrolet, because you'll be seeing a lot of them in this article, and for good reason. As stated beforehand, Chevy makes popular cars, particularly their Corvette models.

Although Chevrolet improves the Corvette each and every year, one body style has remained a constant favorite in street racing circles: The C6. The C6 is, currently, at an affordable price-point that, in turn, is equipped with some of Chevy's best engines, the LS-series.

Even if you want to leave it relatively stock, the C6 (Especially the Z06 version) will still give everyone else a run for their money.

5 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (4th Gen.)

Once again, we have another Chevrolet vehicle. This time, however, it isn't a Corvette, Nova, or El Camino, but a fourth generation Camaro Z28. Although it wasn't as well received as other Camaro's, it's still a great car.

As far as price is concerned, the fourth generation Z28 is surprisingly cheap nowadays. Don't be discouraged, though, because a low cost doesn't mean a bad car (In this instance), but a good deal. With the right upgrades and tunes, the Z28 can take you up to the highest category of Street Racing.

4 Pontiac GTO

Not every great car is well known to everyone. Some slip through the cracks; forgotten by countless individuals who would've otherwise loved that vehicle. A superb example of this can be observed in the Pontiac GTO.

Due to Pontiac's collapse in the late-2000's, the brand as a whole sort of faded away from the public mind. What didn't disappear, though, were the vehicles they made, including the GTO. The GTO is a very special muscle car. On the outside, it looks like a sleeper, but on the inside sits a beastly V8 that can give LS' a worthy opponent.

If you look hard enough, you can probably find a few good ones of less than $10,000. That's a real steal for what you're getting!

3 Mustang Shelby GT350R

Obviously, if the topic of muscle cars is being discussed (Regardless of the category), it's likely that the Ford Mustang will come up at some point. That's because Mustang's have been a backbone of muscle car culture, specially in regards to the Shelby's.

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Even though Ford has the more powerful Shelby GT500 in their lineup, the smaller GT350R is significantly more affordable and (Arguably) more balanced, with a closer focus on aerodynamics and cornering capabilities than ever before.

2 Chevrolet Chevelle LS6

Politics are present in nearly every facet of life, even in places where you wouldn't expect; like the automotive industry, for example. The victim, in this case, was the Chevrolet Chevelle as it was bottlenecked to stay below their lineup of Corvettes.

This factor, however, didn't stop the Chevelle (Especially with the LS6 engine) from being a worthy fighter. During the LS6's creation, horsepower figures varied between 400 to 500 horsepower, with the later models decreasing in power.

Luckily for us, however, we're not limited by corporate goals and political quagmires, so owners of a Chevelle can do to it what Chevy was always afraid of: Make it better than the Corvette.

1 Dodge Challenger Demon

Last up on the list is one that many of you have probably expected to be featured here: The Dodge Challenger Demon. Dodge's latest attempt, and success, at making one of the world's fastest street-legal cars.

The Demon was bread for one thing: Decimating drag-strip times, and it does so easily. As far as brand new cars go, the Challenger Demon is the new king of drag racing and burnouts after being upgraded from the 700 horsepower predecessor, the Challenger Hellcat.

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