The first thing that comes to mind when I see that price range is to go a bit higher and get an early-90's Dodge Stealth R/T twin turbo. Downside: insurance costs and the fact that it's a big jump from a Neon, perofrmance-wise.
If you're looking for something under 8k, maybe an older DSM car, preferably one of the 4wd turbo models. They look nice, are endlessly modifiable, and pretty reliable. You can have a lot of fun with it stock, or slowly trickle money into it until you have a daily driver that can run some respectable times on the strip.
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