In 1984, after 24 years in the specialty automotive industry, Jerry Landgraff started a serious interest in R/C racing. His son Brian (16 years old at the time) had been racing 1/10 scale off-road cars for several months when he decided oval racing might be fun. Jerry and Brian saw their first dirt oval race on a Wednesday night at the Ranch Pit Shop in Pomona, California, and the rest is history. After limited success with modified off-road cars, they decided to build a car designed specifically for dirt oval.

The first Custom Works "Oval" car was definitely in a class by itself. This dream car had front and rear gear reduction, A-arm suspension, left side batteries, all graphite chassis components, drag link steering, chain drive, Delta shocks with 4-way adjustable ride height, an 11" wheelbase and many other new and innovative ideas. Many industry icons doubted the potential of Jerry's radical new ideas. Little did anyone know that this first prototype car would change the course of dirt oval racing over the next three years. Even with Brian's limited experience as a driver, the car was unbeatable!