HAWX x Lost Angels Career Center: Presenting the SEMA Chase Truck
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Tiempo de lectura 3 min
You can get a lot done in five months. Building a custom chase truck from a junkyard ‘87 Chevy crew cab? That’s ambitious, even for seasoned pros. But as the student team at Lost Angels Career Center have proven, with the right tools and a hunger to learn, it can be done.
HAWX and the Lost Angels Career Center share a strong belief that giving opportunity to young tradespeople and investing in the skilled trades can transform lives. That’s why this June, HAWX and LACC launched a partnership with a daring goal: build a completely custom racing truck that could not only hold its own on the unforgiving terrain in Swing Arm City, Utah, but could also earn a spot on the SEMA show floor in Las Vegas, where the best of the best in the automotive world share their proudest work.
LACC’s mission is simple: equip young people with valuable trade skills so they can forge successful, lifelong careers. Every 12 weeks, they welcome a new cohort of 18-24-year-olds—all high-barrier, low-income students—and put them through an intensive program in classic car restoration. The results speak for themselves: a 95% program graduation rate, and 97% of graduates land jobs in the industry.
LACC’s go-to projects are usually lowriders, newer builds, and 1950s-style restorations. But for this build, HAWX pitched a pre-runner chase truck built for endurance, speed, and real-world performance—something functional that could take one hell of a beating and look good while doing it. This build was designed to push the students’ limits and show the world what young people with raw passion and tools in their hands can do.
THE BUILD
The students needed to harness new skills, discipline, and raw determination to pull off this build. On day one, the team had a bare shell—a forgotten ’87 crew cab that needed a ton of work. The body was rusted, the frame was shot, and the long road to transformation began with the basics.
SERIOUS OVERHAUL
The team stripped the cab down to metal. They pulled bolts, removed panels, and sandblasted away decades of wear. Every step was hands-on. Students who’d never torn down a truck before were suddenly doing full disassembly, learning firsthand how every component fits and functions.
CUSTOM FABRICATION
Once the body was stripped and clean, the students cut, welded, and reshaped a 2007 Silverado frame to fit the crew cab body. It was a demanding job that required intense precision and patience.
SUSPENSION & FUNCTIONALITY
Working alongside veteran off-road builder and LACC instructor Joe Godde, the students tackled one of the toughest parts of the build—designing a suspension that could handle the punishing terrain of the Utah desert.
BODY WORK & FINISHING TOUCHES
Once the frame and body came together, the team began the long process of refining every surface with body filler, sanding, primer, and paint. The final touch was a bold, custom-designed livery.
THE ULTIMATE TEST
Swing Arm City, Utah. The name is legendary among off-road racers, a testing ground known for its brutal terrain and unforgiving conditions. The perfect place to see if the new truck could rise to the challenge.
The goal wasn’t just to test the truck’s off-road capabilities; it was to push it to its breaking point. The team wanted to squeeze every ounce of power out of it and see everything this student-built truck could do.
From tearing through desert flats to hitting jumps along the death-defying Knife Edge, the truck continually held its own. No breakdowns. No failures. For a team of students doing this for the first time, most in their late teens and early twenties, that’s an unbelievable achievement.
The students built a vehicle that not only looked good but could handle itself in the harshest conditions. Watching the students work, test, and repair on the fly was a reminder of what happens when young people are given the tools, trust, and opportunity to create something real. The pride and joy on their faces said it all. They earned this. This is the work they were born to do.
THE SHOWCASE
In November, 2025, the team’s work took center stage at SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association’s annual trade show in Vegas, where the most innovative and expertly crafted vehicles in the world are unveiled.
LACC’s truck debuted in the Boot Barn WORK booth and is entered to compete in the Battle of the Builders “Young Guns” category, which features builders under 29 who are shaping the future of the automotive industry.
For the two cohorts of LACC students who worked on this build, this is the culmination of five months of back-breaking, relentless work. For everyone involved with this project, it’s a celebration of what investing in the next generation of skilled tradespeople can accomplish.
The story doesn’t end here. HAWX and LACC will continue showcasing the truck at more events and races across the country.
As for the two cohorts of LACC students who cut their teeth on this truck—they’re already stepping into highly-skilled, well-paid jobs across the trades, welding, fabrication, automotive engineering, and beyond.
That’s the real mark of success.
Thank you to all of the LACC students, instructors, and sponsors who made this truck build possible.
