Chevrolet Nova – MURDER NOVA @ LIGHTS OUT 7

Shawn Ellington’s Murder Nova, a 1969 Chevy built around a Proline Racing big-block, is one of the most recognized cars in grassroots drag racing. At Lights Out 7, one of small-tire racing’s biggest proving grounds, the Nova pushed all the way to the semifinal round, silencing anyone who doubted a TV personality’s car could actually run with dedicated racers. Here’s how a kid from Sayre, Oklahoma built a name that still means something at the track.

With his Proline twin turbo Chevy big block motor paired with 88mm turbochargers, the Murder Nova hits the track at Lights Out 7.

A name like “Murder Nova” isn’t the kind of thing a car earns by accident, and the man behind the wheel built the reputation to match. Shawn Ellington’s Proline-built big-block Chevy has become one of the most recognized cars in grassroots drag racing, the kind of build that turned a cable guy from small-town Oklahoma into one of the sport’s most bankable names. What actually happened when he brought that car to Lights Out 7 is a story that still gets talked about years later.

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The Man Behind the Name

Ellington was born in Merced, California in 1977 before his family relocated to Sayre, Oklahoma when he was five, and he built his reputation the same way most Street Outlaws OKC crew members did, racing on public roads long before television cameras ever showed up. The Murder Nova itself is a 1969 Chevy Nova carrying a big-block built by Proline Racing, a shop with a reputation for building some of the meanest naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines in grassroots drag racing.

Proving Ground at Lights Out

Lights Out is one of the biggest proving grounds in small-tire drag racing, and Ellington’s run at Lights Out 7 saw the Murder Nova push through to the semifinal round of eliminations, silencing doubters who questioned whether the car could hang with dedicated no-prep and radial-tire specialists built for exactly that kind of event.

That semifinal appearance mattered because it proved the Murder Nova wasn’t just a television personality’s car, it was a genuinely fast machine capable of running with the best of the small-tire world, a reputation Ellington has kept building on at events ever since.

Cars like the Murder Nova have helped turn grassroots, small-tire drag racing into must-watch content for fans who grew up idolizing NHRA stars, proving a bracket-built Nova out of a home garage can carry just as much star power as anything running a professional touring series.

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