Good morning race fans! It’s qualifying day here at Pomona, the sun is shining, and cars are going down the track. We’re coming up on the first round for the heads up classes, so keep it here all day for updates, photos, and results, and don’t forget to page down for Friday’s test and tune notes.

Saturday Pit Notes:

Mad respect to the guy who flat-tows to the track…

Here’s an interesting detail from Scott Oksas’ new Pro Street Camaro – a single-wheel offset wheelie bar.

Always good advice…

Ed Crowe is stacking nitrous on top of a pair of rear-mount turbos in search of an eight-second timeslip in True Street. After fighting electrical gremlins yesterday that led to an Exxon Valdez incident in the staging lanes when the turbo scavenge pump stopped working, it seems like he’s got things better sorted today with a 9.40 pass in time trials.

Round One Qualifying

ARP Outlaw 8.5

Yah, you saw that right – DJ Reid pulled off a 5.096 at 151.46 MPH in what was a 5.30 class… The rest of the Outlaw 8.5 field will have to find another half-second over the eighth mile if they want to hang.

Lucas Oil NA 10.5

Randy Jones leads the pack in NA 10.5 qualifying after the first round, with an 8.264 at 164.29 MPH.

 ProCharger 275 Drag Radial

Jeff Young sits atop the Drag Radial qualifying after one round, owner of the only seven-second timeslip in the class so far. The track is proving to be a bit of a puzzle for the tire-limited class, but we expect to see more competitors to dip below eight flat in the next round.

Mickey Thompson True 10.5

One car in the sixes so far in TT5 – Rick Snavely’s 6.975 holds the current leader spot in qualifying, but a number of other heavy hitters in the class are still looking for a hooked-up pass. Stay tuned for round 2…

Garrett Turbo Pro Street

Randy Walker, quickest in yesterday’s test and tune, ran 6.692 to lead qualifying, followed by Gary Ross (shown here) with a 6.751 and carrying almost 20 MPH through the traps on Walker’s El Camino. Scott Oksas is in third with a 6.816 with the next three cars stretched through the mid sevens. Expect to see more representative low-sixes as the track comes around a bit this afternoon in the second round.

Index Qualifying Round 1 Sheets

True Street Results:

Unfortunately as we began to finish up Pro Street, Joe Roubicek would end up oiling the entire track down. The delay to clean up the mess will likely kill the third round of qualifying today.

Round Two Qualifying

ARP Outlaw 10.5

Lucas Oil NA 10.5

ProCharger 275 Drag Radial

Mickey Thompson True 10.5

Garrett Turbo Pro Street

Final Qualifying

Garrett Turbo Pro Street

 Mickey Thompson True 10.5

ProCharger Drag Radial

Lucas Oil NA 10.5

ARP Outlaw 8.5

Index Classes:

]]> http://www.dragzine.com/race-coverage/nmca-coverage/nmca-west-pomona-2013-same-day-coverage/feed/ 0 http://www.dragzine.com/image/2013/05/MG3_1203-400x266.jpghttp://www.dragzine.com/image/2013/05/IMG_5769-300x200.jpg http://www.dragzine.com/news/nmra-announces-mid-season-rules-changes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nmra-announces-mid-season-rules-changes http://www.dragzine.com/news/nmra-announces-mid-season-rules-changes/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 20:02:40 +0000 Jason Reiss http://www.dragzine.com/?p=493230 The NMRA‘s new Street Outlaw class has been taking shape so far this season thanks to incredible performances from the likes of star racers Sean Ashe, John Urist, Jason Lee, and Phil Hines, among others. Since the Street Outlaw class is brand-new, the rulesmakers have been keeping a close eye on the performances of these racers in order to keep a tight racing field moving forward. Also, the Renegade class underwent a number of changes in the offseason designed to tighten up the class, and now that there are three races completed this season, the series is releasing a couple of rules adjustments designed to tighten things up in those top two classes. 

The Power Automedia titles have covered many NMRA races over the years and have always found them to be a great show – the performance racers in both series can achieve with the limited parts they are permitted to use is nothing short of amazing, and these changes should only serve to make the racing more exciting. Check out the NMRA’s class rules structures and purses here. 

AFCO Street Outlaw

• Big-Block Nitrous up to 588ci base weight adjusted to 3,000 pounds
• Small-Block Nitrous base weight is adjusted to 2,400 pounds
• 365ci and smaller engines and all Modular Motors deduct 100 pounds from base weight
• All supercharged entries with a ProCharger F1R or Vortech Xi deduct 100 pounds from supercharged base weight

Edelbrock Renegade

• Air-to-Water intercoolers add 150 pounds to base weight (formerly 200 pounds)
• Air-to-Air intercoolers add 75 pounds to base weight (formerly 100 pounds)
• Manual Transmissions add 50 pounds to base weight (formerly 75 pounds)

Strange Engineering Coyote Stock, Presented by 5.0 Mustang & Super Ford Magazine
No Changes

Nitto Tire Factory Stock
No Changes

Image credit: Black Iguana Frozen Rita on Facebook

Those paying attention to the NHRA ESPN2 telecasts of late have likely heard popular Pro Stock driver Erica Enders-Stevens allude to her team’s recent sponsorship woes, which she suggested could potentially take them out of the running for the championship should they be unable to find funding. Well, her Cagnazzi Racing team recieved some solid support on the sponsorship front this week with the announcement that Tomball, Texas-based DGI Beverage, maker of an innovative pouch drink known as Black Iguana Frozen Rita, has signed on for the next two races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule, beginning with this weekend’s 25th annual Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

“We’re very excited to bring BLACK iGUANA the national exposure and marketing horsepower it deserves. They’ve been huge supporters of ours and couldn’t be a better group of guys to work with. It’s a great product with a taste, look and convenience that can become a major player in the industry,” said Enders. “As they work on growth and investment as a company, we’re looking to prove our program and the loyal NHRA fans can play a huge role in achieving their corporate goals. If we do our job, and the fans respond well, this is just the beginning of a very exciting marketing partnership.”

Black Iguana is a line of premium, ready-to-drink margarita cocktails that are packaged in single-serving pouches. Flavors include classic lime, strawberry, peach, and pina colada. The brand was founded in 2005, and the partnership with Enders-Stevens and Cagnazzi is part of DGI Beverage’s national marketing program that follows their grassroots philosophy of promotion.

The Black Iguana branding and colors, as the company points out, is the perfect compliment to the flat black look that Enders-Stevens’ Camaro has carried this year.

“We came up with the idea for BLACK iGUANA while enjoying time spent outdoors with family and friends. And that’s what going to the races is all about,” said co-founder Earl Castor. “We fell in love with Erica and how the drag racing community supports products that support NHRA teams. It’s fans get an experience and level of access to their favorite drivers that’s unlike anything else in motorsports. We want to be a part of that.”

The West Coast Hot Rod Association, one of the hottest small-tire doorslammer organizations on the west coast, is set to swing back into action in just a couple of shorts weeks, as the series joins forces with the always-popular Super Chevy Show for its third event of the season at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. the weekend of June 1-2. Along with the True 10.5 and Limited 10.5 heads-up classes, competitors in the TCI Engineering (Total Cost Involved) Outlaw 8.5 class will also help headline the third of five races on the 2013 event schedule.

TCI Engineering proudly supports the Outlaw 8.5 category in the WCHRA as the title sponsor of the exciting class that puts the tuner and driver to the ultimate test, as they attempt to put the power to the ground through tiny 8.5-inch wide slicks. Outlaw 8.5 is gaining popularity all around the country thanks to its tire-limited nature, and the WCHRA is helping lead the way with its TCI Engineering 8.5 category.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLn6At4OwjQ

At the last event on the WCHRA tour at Bakersfield back on April 27-28, South San Francisco native Kevin Keller outlasted the 8.5 field in his 1964 Chevrolet Nova, running a 5.41 at 136.76 mph in the 1/8-mile to defeat Ryan “Toaster” Jones, who carded a 5.63 at 149.86 mph, in the final round. Jones had earlier recorded low elapsed time and top speed of the meet at 5.119 and 150.66 mph. Jones had clocked runs of 5.190 and 5.173 in the first two rounds, several tenths quicker than Keller on the other side of the ladder, but when it counted, Keller was on his game as Jones slowed and captured the win.

For more information on TCI Engineering or learn more about their involvement with the WCHRA and see some great videos of the TCI Engineering Outlaw 8.5 action, visit their home on the web and their Facebook fan page.

There’s horsepower hidden in them there pans…

A well designed oil pan won’t act as just a passive component of your engine. Rather than just sitting and collecting your oil, a good oil pan will actively help you keep the correct amounts of oil everywhere it should be, keep oil out of places it shouldn’t be, and even help you make more horsepower while it’s at it. Our friends at Canton Racing design oil pans with advanced features that do all of these things, and they recently put up this helpful post on their website revealing the “why” and “how” of these features. Below is a brief overview. 

Baffling Systems – The baffling inside an oil pan is there to serve one main purpose: to keep the oil pump pick-up tube covered at all times no matter how extreme the forces are pushing the oil away. Additionally, most of Canton’s oil pans feature trap door baffles and oil runners that make it easy for oil to get to the pickup, but make it impossible for it to move away from the sump once it’s there.

Windage Trays – There is a hurricane-force wind storm going on inside your crank case caused by the constant motion of your rotating assembly, and this wind storm is constantly churning up your oil supply. A windage tray helps the oil coming off the crank get back into the sump without being caught up in the turbulence, as well as keeping the oil already in the sump from sloshing up onto the crank because of motion.

Canton offers this louvered windage tray as an additional piece that can be bolted to the main caps for use in an oil pan that does not have a windage tray.

Recovery Pouches, or “Power Pouch” – A recovery pouch does just what it sounds like: it recovers oil being slung off the crank and sends it directly into the sump. This helps to “thin out” the atmosphere of the crankcase, which allows the crank to spin more easily and produce more horsepower. Canton’s Jeff Behuniak tells us, “The power pouch keeps the oil from hitting the side of the pan and sloshing back into the crank. The power pouch is a great feature to cut down windage and free up some of the power that is robbed by an oil soaked crank.”

The “power pouch” is the area between the two indentations, which catches the oil as it is flung off the crank and quickly moves it away, creating more power by freeing up the crank from access drag.

Crank Scrapers – The crank scraper serves a similar purpose to the recovery pouch, but does it in a different way. It catches the oil spray as it comes off the rotating assembly, and helps free up horsepower by thinning the crank case atmosphere. “The crank scraper is a great feature to free up the crank,” says Behuniak. “However, it is a feature that can only be used on motors that don’t have a main stud girdle.”

All these features give you better oil control for better longevity and even more horsepower – it’s a win-win. For more info on Canton’s oil pans, and to see what they offer for your specific application, head on over to their website or give them a call at (203) 481-9641 to personally talk with one of their techs.

Official Release:

VP INTRODUCES “X16 ” RACING FUEL – an Advanced Blend of Performance and Economy
 
VP Racing Fuels, a leader in race fuel technology, has introduced its newest blend—VP X16. “Our chemists have outdone themselves again with X16,” said Jim Kelly, VP’s Regional Manager-Race Fuel Sales. “It’s a perfect blend of performance and economy.”

Designed for naturally aspirated engines, X16 is an economically priced option for two and four-stroke engines with compression ratios of up to 16:1 and for engines using nitrous up to 300 HP. “X16 offers the power and protection of leading 116 octane racing fuels for a lower price and is an ideal fuel for a wide array of motorsports applications,” said Kelly.

“For extreme nitrous applications, we continue to recommend the superior performance and engine protection of VP’s C16, NO2 or C23,” Kelly continued. “For forced induction applications, we recommend C16 or Q16.”

“For racers that are used to fuels like Maximal, they’ll really like X16’s performance and price!” Kelly added.  X16 is now available in pails and drums throughout VP’s extensive dealer and distributor network.

Features:

• Designed for naturally aspirated engines
• Offers the power and protection of leading 116 octane racing fuels for a lower price
• Economically priced option for two and four-stroke engines with compression ratios of up to 16:1 and for engines using nitrous up to 300 HP

Jason Line’s victory over Shane Gray in the April 28 Houston final was a signal to the drag-racing world that the previously dominant KB/Summit team was not missing in National Hot Rod Association action.
 
Line and teammate Greg Anderson had been shut out of the finals all season long. That has been terribly uncharacteristic for two-time champion Line, who’s on the verge of winning his 360th round-win and just earned that 30th victory . . . and for Anderson, who has a Hall of Fame list of accomplishments that include four series crowns and 568 elimination-round victories against just 223 defeats.

Image courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

They have been off the radar a bit this season, although fifth-place Line had an 11-6 record this season heading into the Topeka race and eighth-place Anderson was no worse than .500 on race day. But being .500 on race day is neither something the fans expect from Anderson nor what Anderson expects from himself.
 
Adding to the aggravation was the NHRA’s announcement late Tuesday that it has fined Anderson $5,000 and penalized him 10 crucial Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship points for removal of safety equipment (lifting his helmet shield too early).
 
Citing the 2013 NHRA Rulebook, Section 2, Page 1, removing safety equipment is prohibited from the time the vehicle leaves the starting line until the vehicle is on the return road. Glen Gray, NHRA vice-president of technical operations, told Competition Plus magazine the sanctioning body had warned Anderson several times and this was his fourth violation.
 
“Actually, this was the fourth violation that I’m aware of.,” Gray said. “He has been sent three letters regarding this over the past several years.”.

Whether the penalty fits the crime or the rule is applied evenly is up for debate. Nevertheless, Anderson chose to speak this week about the positives.
 
“We’re on an upswing with both of our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros this year,” he said.
 
“The win that my teammate, Jason Line, got a couple of weeks ago in Houston really helped this team. We’ve been working very hard ever since then, and it gave the guys a little more drive,” he said.
 
Despite statistics that indicate Anderson had a far better performance record last year after seven races than he had this season, he said he feels more comfortable where he was entering the Topeka event. That’s almost hard to believe, considering in 2012, he headed to Kansas with three victories in five final-round appearances.

 
“To be honest with you, I have a lot more confidence in my car right now, especially after Atlanta and the test sessions we’ve had,” Anderson said. “I really think we’ve turned a corner. My car is going to be good, and it keeps getting better each weekend.
 
“At this time last year, I didn’t feel like we had a complete handle on our race car, but this Summit Racing Chevy Camaro is adapting to the different conditions that we have to race in, and we’re closer now than we have been in a long time to making good, consistent runs, time after time,” he said. “We’re feeling a whole lot better, and we’re not over-confident, but we’ve got more confidence than we’ve probably had all year.”

Image courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

The KB / Summit Racing team, Anderson said, made 26 passes in two days of testing back in North Carolina between the Atlanta rainout and the rescheduled completion of the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals.
 
“We haven’t been spectacular yet,” Line said even after his victory at Royal Purple Raceway at Baytown, Texas. “But . . . we definitely feel like we have something that we can build upon.

“Historically, KB Racing has done pretty well at the beginning and the end of the season, but this year surprised us because we started off a little slow,” he said. “But I do feel good about where we are right now. We’ve figured out a few things, particularly on Greg’s Summit Racing Chevy Camaro, that had us a little perplexed before.”
 
Both drivers have qualified in the top half of the field at every race this season but one (Las Vegas, where Anderson was ninth in the order). So it’s not as if they have fallen off the face of the Earth or have had a dismal showing. Moreover, it isn’t as if one driver has dominated the class. Four of the first five races saw different Pro Stock winners — Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders-Stevens, Allen Johnson, and Mike Edwards. By the start of race No. 8, at Topeka, Johnson and Edwards had won twice each and Enders-Stevens, Jeg Coughlin, and Shane Gray all had scored two runner-up finishes.
 
But the KB / Summit duo who have combined for four straight series titles from 2003-2006 and have claimed two of the past three aren’t terribly excited about class parity. They want to be blowing the competition’s doors off at every race.
 
“These Summit Racing Chevy Camaros are capable of winning, and that is always the expectation,” Line said.
 
And Anderson, the NHRA’s No. 4 racer in victories — among racers in all pro classes — with 74, is eager to get that first victory of the season and first since last June at Englishtown, N.J., when he debuted his Camaro and beat Line in the final round.

 
“I’m really, really hungry for a win,” Anderson said on the eve of the Topeka race.  “It’s time that I find my way back to victory lane. I believe I still know how to do it, but I need to prove it to myself. I’m overdue, but nobody is going to hand you one of these things. You need to go out and earn it, and that’s what I plan to do.”

Line said the Mooresville, N.C.-based operation “has been working really hard both at the KB Racing shop, in testing, and at each race we go to.” He still contends, perhaps too modestly, that “we may not be as fast as we were last year, but we will be able to make a decent showing.”
 
What was supposed to be a string of three races — at Charlotte, Houston, and Atlanta — with a break before the trek to Topeka turned into five consecutive weeks on the road. Thanks also to rain, the class (along with others, of course) lost several qualifying sessions that provide valuable data.
 
Line called that “both good and bad,” saying, “We miss having the time at the shop to work on things, because that time is definitely valuable, but the way things have worked out certainly allows you to get into a groove, so to speak. Hopefully, that will work to our advantage.”
 
Another move that the team hopes will give them an advantage is adding Tim Freeman to the organization. Freeman has raced in several classes, builds Comp Eliminator engines, has worked fulltime for sportsman standout Bo Butner, and has worked for a number of Pro Stock teams, most recently Rodger Brogdon Racing.
 
Posted on his Facebook page is the remark: “When he decided to take a break from Pro Stock last year, he decided that the only way he would go back is if he could be a part of a front-running team who had the possibilities to win races week in and week out.”
 
Anderson said of the second-generation racer from Tennessee, “We’ve observed him for many, many years out here, and he has a lot of experience. We just felt that we need a little bit of a different counterpoint on how we race. Maybe it’s time for a set of eyes from the outside world to take a look at what we’re doing. Sometimes when you look from the inside, you don’t see the forest through the trees, so we’re hoping that Tim can help us with that.

Image courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

“He’s very positive, and he’s a hardcore, old-school racer, and he’s a welcome addition,” Anderson said. “This should be fun. We’re looking forward to the challenge, and so is he.”
 
Line constantly keeps himself on his toes, continually looks at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series action as a challenge, always mindful that “you can go from champ to chump real quick out here.”
 
These champs never have been chumps, but from the way they’re talking and feeling these days, their numbers soon will back them up.

Since the body isn’t an exact carbon copy of a CTS-V, Rich Mathews explained why the bodies are built the way they are. “My brother and I have spent a lot of time and money developing this body. It is one of a kind. I would like to address a few reasons for the way the car was designed. After consulting with an engineer it was decided that the rounded rooftop design would produce less drag and more manageable downforce. The plug design was done on a CAD system. Left to right is exact. The plug was then milled on a five-axis machine. The bodies have a two-inch stagger built into them…no need for body work or moving wheel openings,” he said. As far as we can see, it’s definitely unique, and we hope to see a couple of these things populating the Pro Mod ranks soon.

Never heard of Postman Pat? Us neither. According to Wikipedia it is a popular children’s cartoon show following the “adventures” of Pat Clifton and his cat, Jess, as they deliver mail and solve villagers problems. It’s aimed at pre-school kids, and has been on the air since 1981, spawning spin-offs and childrens toys.

What was once a children’s coin-operated riding machine was bought for 250 pounds to become a drag car. All the fabrication was done by Tom Armitage and Dave Taylor, according to their website, and the bodywork was done by Ian Armitage. Powered by a 4-stroke, 500cc engine, the little drag racer sports a six-speed manual transmission and wheelie bars to keep it from tipping backwards.

Yes, it’s a child’s toy with wheelie bars. Wild, right? You have to feel bad for the guy in the Mustang, because either he has heard of the world’s fastest Postman Pat van and knows what he’s in for, or he hasn’t heard of it, and doesn’t know what’s about to happen. The Postman Pat rips off a 12.5 in the quarter mile at 96 mph, beating the Mustang by a solid two-seconds.

That’s gotta hurt, but it’s also undeniably hilarious. Cheers mates.

You might be wondering how such a combination stacks up against a bunch of throaty V8′s, and if you aren’t already familiar with this car from our previous stories on it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that Bales is actually the current all-time Super Stock elapsed time record holder with the sporty little Honda at 7.923 seconds, which was recorded during time trials at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, just a stones throw from his Lebanon, Ind. home, last September.

Over the off season, with the magnitude of what he’d accomplished with that stunning performance certainly still fresh in his mind, Bales set out to find more horsepower from the F22 bullet to better his record marks in 2013. A major part of that process involved a switch to AEM Electronics’ Infinity ECU, one of their latest engine management system units that delivers state-of-the-art electronic fuel injection control technology commonly found in the top levels of motorsports. With the Infinity, combined with a few other additions, Bales reportedly found himself up nearly 75 horsepower during some low-boost dyno pulls at the same RPM from where the engine was a year ago. According to the folks at AEM, the dyno operator, not used to an engine screaming well beyond 9,000 RPM, actually dialed it back during the pull. Nonetheless, Bales and company saw some significant gains from their hard work and the addition of the Infinity ECU.

At the NHRA North Central division season opener in Indianapolis in late April, Bales qualified No. 46 in the 94-car Super Stock field with an 8.077, -0.873 under his 8.95 index. Not quite the record numbers we saw in September, but you’d better believe there’s a sleeping giant in that Honda that will be wide awake soon enough.

Official Release:

Big engines make big power, but often cylinder heads don’t provide the necessary flow characteristics for large power plants. New RHS Pro Elite LS7 Big Port Cylinder Heads solve this problem.

They are the only raised runner aftermarket LS7 heads with the runner volume to support large cubic inch applications, yet they are still able to utilize both production and aftermarket intake manifolds and valve trains. The heads work well with all existing LS7 parts, but have a bigger intake port size and valve than the standard RHS Pro Elite LS7 Cylinder Heads.

These aluminum, CNC-machined heads feature a 307cc intake runner, 98cc exhaust runner and 69cc chamber volume. The intake valve is 2.250″ x 5/16″, while the exhaust valve is 1.615″ x 8mm. Designed for 454-502c.i. street engines, RHS Pro Elite LS7 Big Port Cylinder Heads are also ideal for smaller cubic inch, all-out race engines.

Features:

• Raised 307cc intake runners, 98cc exhaust runners
• 69cc Chamber volume
• 2.250″ x 5/16″ Intake valve
• 1.615″ x 8mm Exhaust valve
• Best for 454-502c.i. street engines, smaller cubic inch race engines
• LS7 Style valve train
• Accepts production and aftermarket intake manifolds

Launched in late April, Fuelab’s revamped website offers everything you’re used to getting from Fuelab in a more concise and easy to navigate layout. Not only does the new website feature a new look, it also offers a better dealer locator and product search options. Access to Fuelab’s history, blog and customer support options are also readily accessible on the company’s homepage, allowing you to dive even deeper into your relationship with Fuelab.

Whether you’re after Fuelab’s Prodigy Series DC Brushless fuel pumps, the award-winning 529 Series electronic fuel pressure regulator, or one of the other hundreds of fuel system products Fuelab offers, the new website will get you access to what you need in a jiffy. Street performance, diesel and race performance- Fuelab has you covered.

Be sure to connect with Fuelab on Facebook for all of the company’s latest news, and download the new 2013 catalog for all your modern fuel system shopping needs.

CLICK HERE to pre-register

The 3rd Annual JE Pistons NMCA West Coast Shootout, presented by Lucas Oil, will once again take place this upcoming weekend (May 16-19) at historic Pomona Raceway in Pomona, California. The NMCA West series has been a resounding success so far, providing the heads-up and bracket racers on the West Coast a chance to race for a Wally at each and every event. This is the second stop of the season for the Flowmaster NMCA WEST Street Car Nationals, and its expected that the racing action will be hot and heavy in all of the classes. At the last event in Bakersfield, Joe Lepone, Jr. took home the Garrett Turbo Pro Street win over John Durden, while the amazing Camaro of Al Jimenez snagged the Mickey Thompson True Ten 5 crown over Rodger Holder in a pedalfest.  

NMCA WEST is limiting participation to the first 500 entries so be sure to lock-in your position today. CLICK HERE to pre-register!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the Top Ten Reasons (according to NMCA West) to race this weekend:

1. Race Historic Pomona Raceway’s 1/4 Mile
2. All classes (except True Street – 6′  Trophy) Race for an NHRA/Aerospace Unleashed Wally
3. The weather forecast is perfect (80 degrees and sunny all weekend)
4. Track conditions are vastly improved over last year being only 90 days after the NHRA Winternationals with cooler temperatures
5. Streamlined registration process for this year
6. Your NMCA WEST Membership is good if you signed up at last year’s event
7. Giant Manufacturer’s Midway with lots of sponsors coming out For you…Also a HUGE car show sure to impress
8. Major media support means magazine and digital event coverage
9. Race in front of 15,000 screaming SoCal fans
10. It’s one week after Mother’s Day…so bring your mom to watch you race!

The Flowmaster NMCA WEST Series will run the following classes at Pomona:

• Garrett Turbo Pro Street
• Mickey Thompson True Ten 5
• ProCharger 275 Drag Radial
• ARP Outlaw 8.5
• Lucas Oil N/A 10.5
• Granatelli Motorsports Mustang Madness
• Burns Stainless Open Comp
• Hedman Hedders Nostalgia Street Car
• Calvert Racing Quick Street
• Edelbrock Super Quick
• K&N Filters Pro Comp
• TREMEC True Street

Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson was hit with a $5,000 fine and penalized 10 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series points for lifting his helmet shield while still on the racing surface, which the rules prohibit from the time the vehicle leaves the starting line until the vehicle is on the return road, as outlined in the 2013 NHRA Rulebook, Section 2, page 1.

Also, the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock team was fined $10,000 and its driver, Rickie Jones, was sacked with a 25 point deduction of Mello Yello series points for improper modification of the Electrimotion Pro Stock Shutoff Controller Kit, which is required in all Pro Stock cars. The Electrimotion safety device is designed to assist an impaired driver in stopping the race car once it reaches a specified point beyond the finish line. As outlined in the 2013 NHRA Rulebook, modification or tampering with the Electrimotion Pro Stock Shutoff Controller Kit is strictly prohibited.

As required by NHRA, both Anderson and Elite Motorsports will have to pay their fines in full prior to either driver/team being allowed to participate at another NHRA Mello Yello series event. As always, both fines may be appealed, as outlined in Section 1, pages 16-23 of the 2013 NHRA Rulebook.

(Photos courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster)

Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, as memorialized in a classic poster from Moroso.

More than 150 personal items from the estate of the great engine builder Bill Jenkins are up for auction this Saturday in Indianapolis, and three of the lot numbers are very unique engine items. Also up for sale is Jenkins’ Snap-On tool box, which is completely full of the Grump’s hand tools.

Catching our eye, however, were the three totally custom engine components. Lot K111 is an aluminum box manifold likely sent to Jenkins from Junior Johnson. There’s also a manifold top designed for the Busch Series V6 restrictor-plate engines that hits the catalog at Lot K224. Finally, Lot K179 is a 750cfm 4-barrel carburetor made by welding a pair of 2-barrel carbs together.

Always the innovator, Jenkins conducted extensive behind-the-scenes development for General Motors and NASCAR race teams in addition to building drag race engines. The catalog listings, however, don’t provide any background information about the items. So, EngineLabs contacted former Jenkins associate Steve Johns, who now heads up engine development at Cagnazzi Racing, for a quick history lesson — starting with the 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National season opener at Daytona.

“Right in the middle of winter, NASCAR threw a restrictor plate at everybody,” remembers Johns. “Everyone threw their arms up in the air but Grump went to work.”

Jenkins experimented with a manifold lid for the GM V6 engine that featured four 7-degree tapered holes with the top opening the same size as the restrictor plate.

“It went on top of a box cross-ram manifold that GM was casting. When NASCAR laid the plate on there, it gave a nice little venturi to pull a little more air,” adds Johns. “We made about 15 more horsepower with that one simple thing. That concept put Mike Swaim on the pole.”

While just the lid for the V6 engine is being auctioned, an experimental box intake for a V8 is being sold without a lid.

“That came from Junior Johnson,” says Johns. “I think I remember hearing there were only three or four of those manifolds cast. And I remember we had two of them, and there was a big, ribbed cast top. I guess that’s missing.”

Johns remembers one of the manifolds was fitted with fuel injection and used on a R&D Corvette with an L98 engine. The manifold up for auction, however, doesn’t have provisions for injectors and could possibly have been used for another project.

First 4-barrel carb?

According to Johns, the spliced-together carb was before his time.

“I don’t know when four-barrel carbs came into existence,” says Johns. “But it could have went back that far! That was stuff was probably on the shelves when I started in 1980. You could daydream all day looking at his stuff. Back then, you had to make it yourself.”

In parting, EngineLabs asked for one good Bill Jenkins story:

“When we were match racing against Sox and Nicholson, as soon as he’d unload the trailer he’d draw a crowd. He’s leaning over the carburetors and asked for a pair of pliers. I reach in the drawer and hand him the largest pair of Channel Locks you’ve ever seen. Right? He wants to pull the cotter pin out of the throttle linkage. He looks at me, looks away, looks back and grabs them from me. It was part of the show”

Those Channel Locks just might be in the showcase item of the auction, Grumpy’s personal toolbox filled with tools. The box has all the expected pit-generated patina and collection of memorable product decals. For more information on the sale, visit the Mecum website.

Those who have been in the LS game long enough should be quite familiar with the name Kurt Urban. If you aren’t, then let us bring you up to speed. He’s the former director of operations of Wheel to Wheel Powertrain, a shop that was on the front lines of the LS explosion during the late-90s/early 2000s. 

Several years ago, if you were driving one of the fastest cars in the country, it’s a very good chance that you had a Wheel to Wheel-built powerplant under your hood. However, after Wheel to Wheel closed its doors in 2008, Urban decided to go off on his own to start Kurt Urban Performance. Still specializing LS-series engines, and helping build some of the sickest LSx-powered cars in the world, Urban knows his way around an LS engine probably better than anyone else in the industry.

Recently, he finally had the opportunity to make time in his busy schedule to sit down and talk with us about how he got started, his experiences, his current activities, and what his plans are for the future. We also asked him about where he thinks the LS scene is headed and what the future holds for the Gen-V LT1. For someone who has built some of the sickest engine creations over the last 30 years or so, he was surprisingly soft-spoken, and one of the most laid back guys in the industry. 

LSXtv: First, we would like to thank you for taking the time to sit down and talk to us.  So tell us, how did you first got involved with engine building and the LSX scene?

One of the first cars that Urban built for GM was this ’98 Camaro, featuring a 402-inch naturally aspirated stroker that went into the low-10′s. It’s still around -  auctioned off a few years ago, it resides in a private collection today.

Kurt Urban: “I’ve been building engines since the late ’70s, but not as a business. I still had a normal day job back in those early days. It wasn’t until the mid-90s where I started building engines professionally for other people.

But one day in 1997, engineers from GM stopped into Wheel to Wheel Powertrain, which I shared a building with at the time, and were looking for someone to build them an engine for their Corvette race car. It was the first year for the LS1 and the C5, so they really wanted to make a competitive introduction into the road racing scene at that time.

I remember the very first LS1 car we put on the dyno – it made 360 flywheel horsepower with just headers. We eventually got those engines up to around 500 horsepower and obviously, we’ve progressed ever since. Before they ever raced, they were at about 460 horsepower. Then they went out and beat everyone at their first race.”

“A year later, John Moss approached me to build him an engine for the new 1998 Camaro – also with LS power of course. You might remember it. The car was a yellow drag car with red trim on it. It was the first naturally-aspirated LS to go into the 9′s. It was probably the first one to go into the 10′s too I believe, back in January, 1998. Then within that year it ran in the 9′s.

It had a fully-forged crankshaft in it with a small bore and stroke. We had to make a camshaft for it out of billet, since the engine was too new, and there was literally no aftermarket for it at the time.” 

LSXtv: So you eventually landed a position as Director of Operations with Wheel to Wheel Powertrain. How did that happen?

KU: “I started working for them in 1998, shortly after the first few projects I had done with General Motors, and stayed with them until their closing in 2008. Wheel to Wheel actually had two buildings. We were in the west side of Detroit, but Wheel to Wheel’s main building was in the east side of Detroit, which was closer to Ford’s proving grounds. But they didn’t have anyone doing machine work at their west side facility, and they needed somebody, so I ended up going to work for them. I really liked working there; we built a lot of cool stuff. It was a good time.

Towards the end, most of the builds we were doing were for GM concepts and race cars, and we were keeping really busy. But then GM got into the financial mess that of course everyone now knows about, and when they went bust, then so did Wheel to Wheel Powertrain. It’s amazing how many people that the auto industry actually affected. All of the car companies had to cut back their staff about 50%, so that’s how it goes sometimes. When they closed, I moved south and opened up my own business. I love the weather down here [in North Carolina], but in between then and now, I closed up shop and now work for someone else.”

Urban has built over 400 engines in his lifetime, and a very large fraction of those have been LS motors. Naturally aspirated, small cube, large cube, supercharged, turbocharged - it doesn't matter. He's done them all.

LSXtv: How many engines do you think you built in your life – if you could ballpark it?

KU: “Oh gosh, I don’t know – probably four hundred or so. I’ve had years where I only built twenty the entire year. It varies, and it also depends on how many engines I have sent to me, and if I can even have parts for them. That’s one of the downfalls of these engines, they’re so popular, that it can be difficult to get parts for them. Some of these engines I’ll have in my shop for three or four months, so playing the waiting game on parts can have its effect too. I might have five engines in my possession at any one time, but it takes a lot of time to complete each one. Like I’ve said earlier, even though the engine has been around over fifteen years now, it’s hard to get parts for them, at least in a short amount of time. I do what I can on my part to quell that issue.“

LSXtv: What seems to be the most popular combination you build?

Urban has built engines like the blown 412 CI LSX found in Eric Gustafson’s ’69 Camaro. It has gone as quick as 5.27 at 142.5 MPH in the 1/8 mile.

KU: “Boost. As well as these engines run without it, it’s become too easy to make big power with a blower or turbocharger. You know, there was a time where to run 11s, you needed a big block with a very aggressive camshaft and a huge blower.

With an LS motor, running into the 10s with a camshaft upgrade, a high stall converter, and some slicks have become commonplace. Add some nitrous, and you’re running high 9s. It’s amazing when you think about how technologically advanced GM has made the pushrod engine, and continues to compete with the best DOHC engines from all over the world. 

Ford has done an excellent job with their offerings, but they’re physically larger and heavier then GM’s LS-Series. Chrysler has taken the pushrod design into the 21st century with their late-model HEMI engines as well, although the aftermarket hasn’t been as strong there as it has with the LS-series. Tunability has been a contributing factor with those engines also.“

LSXtv: What are some of your favorite features of the LS-Series engines?

KU: ”Basically, the whole engine is an excellent design – aluminum block, the valvetrain, high-flowing heads –  GM really created a remarkable pushrod engine with the original LS1 back in 1997, and they continue to develop the pushrod design today, which I really like. It’s a really nice engine. It’s a really impressive engine in stock form, and it’s a very good pushrod motor.”

LSXtv: What is the split between your business between doing high end builds, and tamer street or street/strip engines – what aspect of the business pays the bills?

Urban poses with his formerly owned, but currently famous (or infamous?) twin-boosted sleeper Nova that’s been featured everywhere from our website, to countless other magazines, online blogs, and even a TV show or two. Image: Hot Rod Magazine

KU: ”Gosh that’s hard to say, really. I would rather build the high horsepower stuff since it takes about the same amount of time. I recently built a race engine for a guy in Ohio by the name of Mark Carlyle – you might have heard of him. He’s currently the record holder for having the fastest IRS Corvette in the quarter mile. It’s also one of the fastest LS-powered cars out there, if not the fastest at the moment. I think his best pass to date is either a 6.80 or 6.70 at 220 MPH.

It’s turbocharged and makes well over 1,500 horsepower. There was a lot of work to be done, and for an engine to be built to that level, I typically charge $200 an hour, just to have a profit. But I actually work for someone else now, so it’s easier for me to put all of the numbers down on paper. It actually takes me 100 hours to do one of those special engines, especially an engine that takes special parts to help it produce that kind of power. I’d like to do a 2,000 HP crate engine at some point, but the thought behind it would be that most of the components would be off-the-shelf or based on an off-the-shelf part, that way in case you need a component from me, I could get it out to you quickly.

Take for instance your BlownZ project car; you guys regularly race it in the 275 Drag Radial series category. If you were to ever break something and needed a part, you would be waiting awhile until it finally arrived. The LS-series has been around for sixteen years now, but if you were to call someone right now needing a crankshaft, chances are they would tell you that they don’t have one. That’s why I always do my best to keep them in stock, just to be safe.”

LSXtv: What are some of the common mistakes you see when customers bring you engines that were previously “built?”

KU: “A lot of mismatched parts. Typically, I’m used to seeing enthusiasts and racers bring me engines that they or someone had previously built, but everything was done on a budget. They see parts on sale or at a bargain at an aftermarket supplier, or land a decent deal on used parts from some forum, but then they piece it all together and expect excellent results. It rarely happens.

There’s also the misconception that you can buy a junkyard 5.3-liter, strap a cheap turbo onto it, and make 1,000 horsepower. It can be done, but it won’t last for too long. Eventually they’ll end up with a big pile of rubble on the ground. But then you have them thinking they’re doing a really good job building an engine if they put stronger rod bolts, and a new set of head gaskets in it. But the level of components that the engine will require to hold together is more significant than that.”

From the online video channel Drive came the recent video of Urban's former Nova sleeper car. With beater patina, and a 1,200 HP twin-boosted LS under the hood, it well represents Kurt's hot rod style and engineering capabilities.

“The first engine in my truck went 107,000 miles and put out 900 horsepower. It went 11.40 at 120 MPH. I put a water pump on it, and regular maintenance items and a few driveline mods. It held up well, but [eventually] broke an exhaust lifter. But I built another engine for it that has even more mileage on it now, and I drive it every day. It’s all in how you build them and the tune. Again, it can be done on the cheap, but don’t expect any real long-term life out of it.

You see guys put these boosted engines on a dyno, and making real quick, 1,000 horsepower bursts out of them, and then they shut them down – only because they know that the engine can’t stay in the powerband for very long because they don’t want to risk blowing it up. I love hearing about those engines, but I have no interest in building one.”

LSXtv: Where do you think the future LS engine building will go?

KU: “They’ll continue to be popular with enthusiasts the world over. They’ve made plenty of them, and pretty much all of the mysteries to the engine have been discovered. At one time, hot rodders weren’t too big on things like electronic fuel injection, mass air flow sensors and the like. Personally, I’d like to start building more high horsepower crate engines. It’s number four on my list of things I want to do.”

LSXtv: What do you think of the Gen-V LT1? Do you think tuners and engine builders will embrace the LT1 like they have the LS Series?

KU: ”That depends. The only way that will happen is if GM actually puts the LT1 engine [platform] in other vehicles. If it’s limited to just the Corvette, then probably not. The aftermarket won’t make too much for it, since the demand wouldn’t be there. But if they share it with the future Camaro, Chevy SS, CTS-V, and full-size truck line, then yes, I can see it eventually taking off.

Will it replace the LS-Series in terms of demand like you see with engine swaps? Probably not. With as cheap as you can pick up a Gen-III or Gen-IV today, it’s not going to be feasible for a lot of people.”

Urban tells us that the LT1 will generate a huge aftermarket support system and enthusiast following – but only if The General utilizes it in other cars other than just the C7. You’ll see gearheads swapping these into ’69 Camaros too, he said.

LSXtv: What, if any, complications do you see with tuning or building the Gen-V LT1?

KU: ”I think that with the direct injection, you’ll have a lot of enthusiasts take a step back. The LT1 looks to be a fantastic engine, basically taking everything GM has learned from the LS-Series, and have taken things to the next level. But again, the direct injection will have an effect on the demand. At the moment, nobody makes [aftermarket] fuel injectors for the direct injection engines, so it’ll be hard to build a high horsepower or boosted engine – at least for a while.

As far as cracking the ECU is concerned, it make take a little while until it happens, but that’s what they said about the LS1, the Chrysler HEMI, and even the new Nissan GT-R. They say that because they don’t want anyone to mess with the engine for warranty issues, but tuners always find a way. I wouldn’t worry about that too much. You’ll see guys swapping these into ’69 Camaros too, just not as much as you have with the LS-series.”

LSXtv.com: Well it was nice of you to take the time to sit down and talk to us, Kurt!

KU: ”No problem, it was nice talking to you. If you guys ever have any other questions, let me know – I’ll be happy to help!”

After we thanked Mr. Urban for his valuable time, we took a minute to realize how far the LS Series platform has come in the last 16 years. It went from an unknown/unloved piece of design, initially, to eventually becoming the go-to engine for hot-rodders and engine builders alike. They’ve found their way into everything from street cars to Formula D imports, to some of the fastest drag cars in the world. 

The aftermarket has grown and thrived for these engines faster than what the pioneers of the first small-block Chevy have seen, and with guys like Kurt Urban around, they’ll continue to be the hot ticket for years to come. 

Begley, competing at the Australian National Drag Racing Association’s Nitro Champs at the Sydney Dragway, had a destructive engine failure near the half track mark in his “Chemical Warfare” Chevrolet Camaro flopper and was instantly engulfed in flames. Like the fires of old, the flames only grew larger with time and the parachutes burned right off the car as Begley began attempting to bring it to a quick, albeit safe, stop. And that he did, after sliding in his oil and tapping the guardrail with the nose of the car. Then, as quick-footed as he could, Begley climbs from the roof hatch that’s billowing with black smoke and bails out…boots smoking and all.

This of course wasn’t the only harrowing incident of the 2013 Nitro Champs. If you’ll recall, last week we published the video and story of Top Bike racer Chris Matheson, who was yanked from his nitro-burning motorcycle over 200 mph, meaning the safety crew was hard at work all weekend.

Apart from some minor burns to his hands, Begley was uninjured in the blaze. No word on whether or not he saw Elvis at a thousand feet.

The upcoming ADRL U.S. Drags at the Virginia Motorsports Park will mark the debut of Brad Waddle’s brand new 2013 Jerry Haas Race Cars-built Ford Mustang in the series’ Extreme Pro Stock division, and while the fresh new machine is plenty reason to be excited, it’s perhaps what’s on the side of the car that has Waddle looking forward to hitting the track most.

Waddle and his Innovators West team announced this week a new partnership with Hurco, a leading machine tool supplier worldwide, to the fold as a primary sponsor on the black Mustang.

“Hurco is a great group of people and we’re really thrilled about this partnership,” Waddle said. “They’re coming into the racing scene, and having them on our car is only going to increase brand awareness to all these racers and fans.”

“Our team is trying to show them what participating in drag racing can do for their business, and we’re trying to focus on brand recognition. Their market is race fans and race teams, and their equipment is designed for a lot more hands-on use, making it really oriented to fans or hot rodders. I think this is going to work out really well.”

Waddle, a veteran racer in the mountain motor ADRL Extreme Pro Stock ranks, has worked with Hurco for the past five years through Innovators West, having purchased five Hurco CNC Lathes and Mills that significantly improved machining efficiency.

Waddle’s Hurco/Innovators West machine will fire up for the first time in official competition at the ADRL’s annual visit to the Richmond, Virginia facility the weekend of June 7-8, where Waddle will showcase the new machine to an expected overflow crowd.

“It’s really going to be a great opportunity to spread the Hurco name,” said Waddle. “Virginia Motorsports Park is an outstanding facility and is a great location for us to debut our new car and our partnership with Hurco.”

Waddle plans to complete the balance of the 2013 ADRL schedule, with four events remaining following the U.S. Drags. The Innovators West and Hurco team will also be attending the 2013 Performance Racing Industry trade show in Indianapolis in December.

It appears that hanging off the nose of Kolivas’ Bennett Racing-powered Cobra is not the typical pair of turbos we’ve seen on the car for eighth-mile racing; rather, there’s just one large single turbo, and that can mean only one thing – that Kolivas is gunning for the boys in his former stomping grounds. Prior to becoming the world record holder on the 275-wide tire as he is today, Kolivas and crew chief Jeff Reed decimated the NMRA’s Drag Radial class, and in the years since he’s made sporadic visits to the NMRA when it fit into his schedule of racing Outlaw Radial eighth-mile events across the South.

We chatted with him a few weeks ago and he hinted that something big was in the works for his team – maybe this is the something big? One can only hope, as the NMRA’s Street Outlaw class put on a hell of a show at their recent event in Maryland, with nearly all combinations into the 7-teens and Sean Ashe crushing it on a test pass on Sunday with an astounding 7.03. As the Street Outlaw class has exceeded everyone’s expectations already, having the Iceman add his two cents into the mix can only improve the potential for growth in the class for the future. Since Johnny K doesn’t usually make a move until he’s sure it’ll be worth his time and effort, we can only infer one thing from this video.

Then again, there could be two turbos on the front of the car, and the grainy quality of what appears to be cell-phone video makes it look like there’s only one turbo, and we’ve done a lot of typing for nothing. You be the judge.

With Antron Brown winning the Top Fuel trophy and Johnny Gray topping teammate Matt Hagan in the Funny Car final, Saturday’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals marked the fourth time this year Don Schumacher Racing has sent two nitro-class drivers to the winners circle.
 
It came on the heels of the team owner’s induction May 1 into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, Ala.

Photos by Ron Lewis

Brown and Gray hoisted their Wally statues at Atlanta Dragway, near Commerce, Ga., along with Pro Stock winner Mike Edwards, and it mirrored their Gatornationals double-up achievement in March at Gainesville, Fla., that pushed DSR to the 200-victory plateau. Edwards, coincidentally, was runner-up that day. But he, too, earned his second victory of the season Saturday at this rain-delayed seventh event on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
 
Except for four pairs of Pro Stock cars that made passes before the previous weekend’s deluge, racers had to wait a week to see if Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), and Edwards could hold onto their respective points leads. They did.
 
Friday’s qualifying went smoothly, but a brief shower Saturday suspended eliminations for an hour and a half.
 
As the teams head to next weekend’s Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, Edwards owns a 26-point advantage over Jeg Coughlin. Brown, the No. 2 qualifier here, is No. 2 in points, five behind Schumacher. Gray improved from fifth place to third.

 BROWN GETS SECOND 2013 VICTORY - Antron Brown earned his fifth Atlanta Dragway victory (three in Top Fuel, two in Pro Stock Motorcycle) and 39th overall (23rd in a dragster). It was his second of the season, as he reached his third final round in five races with the Matco Tools/Army/Toyota Dragster. “We like this place a lot. It was tricky this weekend. All of our crew chiefs definitely had their work cut out for them. All the teams were running phenomenal this weekend. It was a monumental deal for us to get this thing done,” Brown said after winning easily with a 3.801-second elapsed time at 321.35 mph.

Runner-up Brandon Bernstein lost traction in his ProtectTheHarvest.com / MAVTV Dragster and clocked a 7.105, 90.64 mph. Bernstein, who afterward said he had back pain “shooting down the leg and the numbness in my toes” and that “it wasn’t fun driving today,” recorded low E.T. of the meet with his 3.761-second semifinal victory over Shawn Langdon.

GRAY TOPS F.C. TEAMMATE - Johnny Gray joined Cruz Pedregon as a two-time Funny Car winner with a tune-up in his Pitch Energy Dodge from crew chiefs Rob Wendland and Rip Reynolds that he said was “good enough even I can’t screw it up. When they’ve got it reeled in, it’s a hot rod.” Gray defeated Magnetti Marelli Dodge driver Matt Hagan with 4.077-second E.T. at 314.17 mph to Hagan’s 4.160 / 309.49. Hagan’s top-qualifying time of  4.067 seconds was quickest of the weekend, and he advanced to his third final round in the past six events.
 
EDWARDS RUNS TABLE - Saying he “made a sweet run” in the final round against Shane Gray, Mike Edwards used his winning 6.595 / 209.14 in his Interstate Batteries / I Am Second / K&N Camaro to maintain his points lead and become a two-time Pro Stock winner this year. Edwards said, “The competition is amazing. Shane was on today. He did a phenomenal job. They’re definitely catching a fire.”

Gray took his second straight runner-up finish with a nearly perfect (0.001-second reaction time) and a 6.643 / 208.17 clocking in the Gray Motorsports Camaro. Edwards had low E.T. and top speed of the meet with his 6.583 / 210.57 that gave him six No. 1 starting positions in the season’s first seven races. “We’re going to have to keep digging,” Edwards said. “The season’s got a long ways to go. I hope we can keep it up.” He said he’ll try to follow Gray’s advice and eat “a big ol’ box of Wheaties” before the upcoming Topeka race.
 
MAYBE LIKE FATHER LIKE SON NEXT TIME - Only one half of the father-son combo of Johnny Gray (Funny Car) and Shane Gray (Pro Stock) in the finals won Saturday. But Johnny Gray said he’s hoping they can score a “family double” before he retires at the end of this season. “Our cars are running good enough I think there’s a real good chance we can do that this year,” he said. “That would be the absolute best way to end my career, to be able to stand on the stage with my son and both of us win a race. That would do it all for me.”
 
TOP FUEL CLASS OUTDOES ITSELF - Top Fuel track records fell in the first three rounds Saturday. Top qualifier Shawn Langdon broke the track E.T. record he had set the evening before when he beat Morgan Lucas with a 3.782-second run. But Brandon Bernstein registered a 3.761 for best of the weekend with his semifinal victory over Langdon. So he added insult to injury, eclipsing Langdon’s track-record E.T. by two-hundredths of a second. On the speed side, Langdon entered eliminations with the track record at 324.36, but Antron Brown started his winning day with a 324.98 mph. Before the round was finished, Kalitta had posted a 325.37. Kalitta improved that to 325.61 mph in the quarterfinals in defeating Tony Schumacher.

 
SO CLOSE . . . AGAIN - Al-Anabi/Toyota Dragster driver Shawn Langdon, might not have known statistics were not in his favor Saturday. In the previous quarter-century at Atlanta Dragway, the No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier had won only three times. He led the field for the second time in the past three events. That marked the sixth time he has qualified No. 1 since the U.S. Nationals last September, more than any of his competitors in that stretch. But again, he advanced to the semifinals or better for the third straight race but didn’t win.

“We had a good-running car again today. The last couple of races we’ve kind of beaten ourselves by overpowering the race track. Today, we started off with the track record elapsed time in the first round and felt pretty confident in what we were doing. We just got a little too conservative in the semifinals. The Al-Anabi car still ran a 3.80, but that wasn’t enough. It was a good drag race. We just came out on the wrong end.”
 
EARLY END FOR FORCE TEAM - By Round 2 all John Force Racing teams were out of contention, as the team’s most experienced and its least experienced lasted longest in eliminations. Top Fuel rookie Brittany Force, in her Castrol EDGE Dragster, shook off a DNQ from Houston and a last-minute jump into the show and knocked out veteran Clay Millican. “Getting that win in the first round was exactly what this team needed,” she said. Langdon, one of her familiar competitors from their Super Comp days, halted her upset-minded plans in Round 2.
 
Brittany’s dad had his share of issues in Funny Car competition Saturday. He got a lucky break when class rookie Chad Head inadvertently triggered a red light and disqualified himself. “Chad Head is a good racer. His dad (Jim Head) is a good tuner. That Funny Car has been tough all year,” Force said. “They put up great numbers, and we were lucky to get that round win.”
 
Despite the blunder, Head ran the class’ best speed of the event (314.90 mph). And Force’s luck ran out in the quarterfinals against Matt Hagan. In staging, Force took a moment to adjust his position in the seat of his Castrol GTX Mustang just as Hagan was rolling his car into the staging  beams. When Force realized he was on the clock with just seven seconds to prepare to launch, he quickly staged, then had his best reaction time of the weekend (.043 seconds). But he couldn’t parlay that into a victory. “I nearly screwed myself up against Hagan. I was trying to get up in my seat and when I looked up he was staged. I used almost all of my seven seconds. I wasn’t trying to screw anybody, but I almost screwed myself,” he said.
 
FUN WHILE IT LASTED - Reigning Pro Stock champion Allen Johnson lost in the opening round for the first time this season.
 
MORE THAN A SEMIFINALIST - Doug Kalitta’s scorecard will say he was a semifinalist. But his weekend was more glamorous than that. He wrote and rewrote the Top Fuel track speed record in Saturday’s eliminations in the Mac Tools Dragster, closing with a 325.61 mph. The No. 3 qualifier also recorded his 450th round-win, against nemesis Tony Schumacher. “The Mac Tools car has been strong all year, and we were running really great this weekend,” Kalitta said. “We’re a little disappointed that we went out in the semis, but we’ve been up near the top all season, and we just need to keep building on this momentum.” He’s fifth in the standings.

For over five decades, the Marion County International Raceway has been home to adrenaline pumping racing action. Founded by brothers Bill and Tom Guthery, the raceway began it’s life back in 1969 with the promotion of the first International Motorcross held in the United States.

Recently the announcement was made that the ¼-mile IHRA sanctioned dragstrip is up for sale. The 39-acre facility has been family owned and operated since it’s beginning and boasts RPM ‘Track of the Year’ honors for the United States and also a two-time IHRA ‘Track of the Year’ winner. The Marion County International Raceway joined the IHRA in the early 80’s after originally being affiliated with the American Hot Rod Association. The young drag strip saw success almost instantly as they hosted the AHRA Nationals very soon after their opening.

After the initial ownership of Bill and Tom, Bill added his wife, Shelby, as a partner in the summer of 1976.  For nearly thirty years they worked together seeing to the success of the track. Sadly, Bill Guthery passed away in 2005. Shelby managed the facility for two seasons before handing the raceway down to her son, Mark.

Located in LaRue, Ohio, just a few miles outside of Marion and just a rocks throw from Columbus, the Marion County International Raceway comes complete with state-of-the-art facilities that are sure to be satisfying for any potential buyer. From a three-story tower that comes equipped with a wet bar, to a souvenir building, to seating 4,000-plus screaming fans, the package certainly is complete. The property has also seen consistent upgrades over the years with a new timing and scoring system, new offices, and the list continues. The amenities the drag strip offers are to numerous to list all in detail here, but the thought of owning such a piece of racing history certainly is tantalizing.

Official Release:

Turbosmart’s Big Bubba BOV

Overview

Turbosmart might be famous for fitting a lot of performance into small packages but that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate the fact that sometimes bigger is, indeed, better. This is exactly the premise behind the Big Bubba range.

Big Bubba is, as its name suggests, big, bold and in-your-face. It is by far the largest valve in the Turbosmart range. But it’s not all about the size and looks – Big Bubba packs a lot of punch too! With a heavy duty, CNC billet aluminium body and components and a 52mm (2.05”) hard anodised aluminium two-piece piston, Big Bubba gives a new meaning to the term “hardcore.”

A -4AN threaded vacuum port offers a wide variety of connection methods. Outlet fitting size: 50mm (2.0”). To make things easy we’ve ensured all Big Bubba valves use the same inlet flange and V-Band clamp as the Turbosmart Race Port. All that in a package that weighs only 790 grams (1.7lbs)!

Applications

Big Bubba has been designed for big horsepower, high performance and high boost turbo and supercharger applications. If you’re looking for an inconspicuous, valve for your small capacity, low boost daily driver you will need to look elsewhere!

All the owners of big and small block Chevs and Fords, drag rotaries, straight sixes and big turbo diesels looking for a better response from your turbo or supercharger – the Big Bubba is for you!

Also available in this range: Bubba Sonic – Big Bubba’s vent-to-atmosphere version. Springs available for the Big Bubba range: 7, 12, 17 and 21 inHg.

Features:

• Hard-anodized aluminum
• Comes in both recirculating and open-air
• Designed for high horsepower applications

The hits just keep on coming in the Drag Radial ranks. But this latest hit might just be one of the most shocking.

On Friday afternoon, ahead of Saturday’s rescheduled Ronnie Brown “No Holds Barred” 28′s Gone Wild event at the South Georgia Motorsports Park, perennial Outlaw Drag Radial frontrunner Kevin Fiscus, whose 2004 Ford Mustang was wearing a set of Mickey Thompson’s world-beating ET Street Radial Pro tires, unleashed the quickest 1/4-mile pass ever recorded on the small 275 drag radials, stopping the timers in an incredible 6.79 seconds.

And the best part is…the Fiscus/Klugger team wasn’t even trying to set a 1/4-mile record.

Fiscus, in his 632 cubic inch, twin-turbo, Proline big block-powered mount, blasted to a likewise impressive 4.48-second elapsed time at 182 mph to the 1/8-mile and threw the laundry out well before the 1/4-mile stripe (around 800 feet), but still managed to coast across at 6.79-seconds at just 179 mph. Once word of the run hit the internet, conversations began immediately regarding just how quick the team could or would have gone had Fiscus poured the coals clear to the scoreboards.

Of course, in this case, he didn’t have to leg it out to make his mark.

In February, NMRA Street Outlaw racer Phil Hines became the first to break the six-second barrier on 275 radials in his supercharged, small block Mustang, when he ran a 6.89 at 198 mph, also at the South Georgia facility. Prior to Fiscus’ monster shot, that run stood as the all-time 275 radial world record. But now, it’s history, and the question left to be begged truly is…how quick can Fiscus (or anyone else that straps on the 275 Radial Pro tires) go in a full-pull to the 1/4-mile mark? Klugger believes their run would’ve netted a high 6.50 at around 240 mph. Eventually, some brave soul will deliver the answer, but for now, Fiscus is the king of the mountain with a number no one could’ve ever imagined. Parachutes out and all.

The car is powered by the now-familiar 5.0L Ti-VCT engine topped off with a 2.9L Whipple/Ford Racing supercharger. New for 2014 is the C3 automatic transmission featuring a Reid aluminum case and new gear set, built by Joel’s on Joy in Detroit. Unique to the new CJ is the sweet matte black paint finish available only on these cars – not the mainstream Mustang. At this time, the Ford Racing team is not prepared to share any testing numbers, but if past accomplishments are any indication of future performance, mid-eight-second elapsed times or quicker are on the horizon for the new machine. Evan Smith and Ford Racing chassis engineer Andy Vrenko were on-site in the driver’s seat, and after a complete week of testing, the Ford Racing team now has tons of data to digest before the cars are sold to the general public. Production is scheduled for sometime this summer, and hopefully at that time we’ll be able to show you some of the behind-the-scenes action that happens in the Flat Rock assembly facility. For now, enjoy the sights and sounds of wheels-up Cobra Jet prototype goodness on the dragstrip.

Antron Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory Saturday at the weather-delayed Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
 
Johnny Gray (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also were winners at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event, which was delayed for one week due to persistent rain showers.
 
Brown claimed his second victory of the season and his fifth win at the Georgia dragstrip, powering past Brandon Bernstein in the final round. Brown covered the distance in 3.801 seconds at 321.25 mph in his Matco Tools dragster, while Bernstein’s ProtectTheHarvest.com dragster lost traction at the start and finished in 7.105 at 90.64.

Photos courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

“It’s big to win down here at the Southern Nationals,” said defending world champion Brown, who also defeated Pat Dakin, Spencer Massey and Doug Kalitta in earlier rounds to secure his 39th career victory.
 
“This track’s been real special to me,” Brown continued. “It reminds me of going to a racetrack in my hometown. It’s been around forever, and it has that special atmosphere with great fans that pump you up. You get that aura of the passion for the sport that they have. Everybody was running so strong this weekend that it was monumental for us to get the job done.”
 
With the win, Brown moved to second place in the points order, within five points of series leader Tony Schumacher.

“Every team gets in a groove, and our car can run what the track will hold when we’re in our groove,” Brown said. “People probably know that, if they want to take that win from us, they’re going to have to step up because we’re not going to leave any scraps on the table. We threw some good numbers out there.”
 
In Funny Car, Gray earned his second win of the season by defeating event No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan in the final round. Gray’s Pitch Energy Dodge Charger led the entire way down the track with a performance of 4.077 at 314.17 and Hagan trailed in his Magneti Marelli/Rocky Footwear Charger with a 4.160 at 309.49.
 
The victory pulled Gray out of bit of a mini-slump, which he had been in since winning in Gainesville, Fla. in March and included a DNQ at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte and a pair of second round losses at Las Vegas and Houston.
 
“We got over-center here for a couple of races and struggled pretty good,” said Gray, who moved up from fifth to third in the series standings with the win. “The car was getting really inconsistent, and the boys made the election just to back the thing way down, get way over on the soft side, and start picking their way back up. I didn’t know they’d pick it up quite that quick, but they picked on it pretty good today. The thing came back real strong.”
 
Gray outran Robert Hight, Ron Capps and points leader Cruz Pedregon in earlier rounds to claim his fifth career victory and first ever at Atlanta Dragway.
 
“We’re tickled to death,” Gray said. “[Crew chiefs] Rob [Wendland] and Rip [Reynolds] are pretty phenomenal over there. They get a little left of center there every now and again, but, boy, it doesn’t take them long to reel it back in, and when they’ve got it reeled in, man that’s a hot rod. They give me a car good enough even I can’t screw it up.”

 
Edwards scored his second Pro Stock win of the season and the 36th of his career by defeating Gray’s son Shane in the final round with a 6.595 at 209.14 in his Interstate Batteries/I Am Second Chevy Camaro.

“All things considered, it was a great day in the office,” said Edwards, who beat Warren Johnson, V. Gaines and Greg Anderson in the first three rounds. “Man, it just seemed like we were a little bit faster than a few of them. We’re making good runs, just need to make better runs. We just tried all day long and couldn’t make it go any faster, but hey, it just feels good to come out with a win. It was a great win for me and my guys.”

The younger Gray posted a 6.643 at 208.17 in his Gray Motorsports Camaro in the runner-up effort in his third consecutive final round appearance. He barely missed joining his father in the Mello Yello Series winner’s circle, which would have been a first in the sport. The only other time a father-son tandem advanced to final rounds in different Mello Yello Series categories at the same event was in 2008 at Brainerd, Minn., with Brandon Bernstein in Top Fuel and Kenny Bernstein in Funny Car. Neither driver won that day.

 “Shane was on today,” said Edwards, who with the win increased his series points lead to 126 over second-place Jeg Coughlin. “I asked him down there at the other end what he had this morning, and he said a big ol’ box of Wheaties, so that’s what I’m having in Kansas. He did a phenomenal job. I think that’s three finals in a row for that team, so they’re definitely catching fire, and they’re running good.”

Gray rattled off several amazing reaction times to advance to the final round, including back-to-back .002 and .001 starts in the semis and final. Edwards, the 2009 world champ, says winning an NHRA Pro Stock race just keeps getting tougher and tougher.
 
“The competition is amazing,” Edwards said. “Pro Stock is just a great class. It’s fun to be a part of, but I’ll tell you what, the older I get, my nerves are getting shot. It’s tough. Them guys are so good. They pull up there and just pop them .00s on you. Man, we made a real nice run in the final. I was a little worried because that was the first time we were going to be the first pair out, but it made a sweet run. It’s all good when you win.”

Saturday’s final results from the 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The race is the seventh of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:
 
Top Fuel — Antron Brown, 3.801 seconds, 321.35 mph  def. Brandon Bernstein, 7.105 seconds, 90.64 mph.
 
Funny Car — Johnny Gray, Dodge Charger, 4.077, 314.17  def. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.160, 309.49.
 
Pro Stock — Mike Edwards, Chevy Camaro, 6.595, 209.14  def. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.643, 208.17.
 
Super Stock — David Latino, Chevy Cobalt, 9.699, 127.10  def. Ryan Richardson, Chevy Camaro, 10.191, 112.59.
 
Stock Eliminator — Jeff Strickland, Chevy Nova, 10.686, 120.35  def. Jeff Adkinson, Chevy Camaro, 10.672, 114.44.
 
Super Comp — Lauren Freer, Dragster, 8.904, 173.87  def. Michael Rastall, Dragster, 8.884, 169.34.
 
Super Gas — Billy Upton, Chevy Corvette, 9.915, 153.79  def. Scott Lawton, Corvette, 9.925, 146.89.
 
Super Street — Troy Williams Jr., Chevy S10, 10.944, 130.83  def. Mike Desio, Chevy II, 10.877, 138.74.
 
Top Dragster — Ray Miller III, Dragster, 6.843, 191.87  def. Jeff Strickland, Dragster, 7.204, 174.08.
 
Top Sportsman — Jeffrey Barker, Chevy Cobalt, 6.690, 206.61  def. Tommy Turner, Pontiac GXP, foul.

Final round-by-round results from the 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:
 
TOP FUEL:
 
ROUND ONE — Brittany Force, 3.892, 321.42 def. Clay Millican, 3.937, 319.82; Spencer Massey, 3.845, 314.31 def. Steve Torrence, 3.884, 318.39; Brandon Bernstein, 4.128, 213.23 def. Terry McMillen, 6.876, 87.07; Antron Brown, 3.857, 324.98 def. Pat Dakin, 4.007, 295.21; Shawn Langdon, 3.782, 322.81 def. Morgan Lucas, 3.802, 319.45; Doug Kalitta, 3.808, 325.37 def. Leah Pruett, 5.679, 120.95; Khalid alBalooshi, 3.843, 322.58 def. David Grubnic, 6.907, 82.59; Tony Schumacher, 3.799, 323.74 def. Bob Vandergriff, 3.893, 318.47;
 
QUARTERFINALS — Brown, 3.798, 318.24 def. Massey, 4.286, 205.13; Bernstein, 3.847, 320.43 def. alBalooshi, 4.071, 318.47; Kalitta, 3.789, 325.61 def. Schumacher, 3.813, 323.04; Langdon, 3.791, 323.81 def. Force, 3.874, 322.96;
 
SEMIFINALS — Bernstein, 3.761, 324.05 def. Langdon, 3.807, 324.44; Brown, 3.788, 320.43 def. Kalitta, 4.864, 150.68;
 
FINAL — Brown, 3.801, 321.35 def. Bernstein, 7.105, 90.64.
 
FUNNY CAR:
 
ROUND ONE — Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.139, 307.79 def. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 6.566, 97.94; Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.100, 307.86 def. Jeff Arend, Dodge Charger, 6.751, 92.74; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.663, 280.02 def. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 6.213, 111.45; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.096, 309.98 def. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.235, 287.35; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.122, 307.79 def. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 6.027, 116.01; Del Worsham, Camry, 4.187, 301.00 def. Courtney Force, Mustang, 7.727, 75.77; Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.137, 309.27 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 5.860, 121.54; John Force, Mustang, 7.085, 93.48 def. Chad Head, Camry, foul;
 
QUARTERFINALS — Hagan, 4.104, 309.56 def. J. Force, 4.214, 301.07; Gray, 4.090, 307.51 def. R. Capps, 4.175, 305.01; C. Pedregon, 4.124, 299.60 def. Worsham, 4.118, 303.03; Wilkerson, 4.142, 303.71 def. Beckman, 4.361, 297.48;
 
SEMIFINALS — Hagan, 4.106, 311.05 def. Wilkerson, 4.714, 220.58; Gray, 4.088, 311.34 def. C. Pedregon, 4.099, 302.41;
 
FINAL — Gray, 4.077, 314.17 def. Hagan, 4.160, 309.49.
 
PRO STOCK:
 
ROUND ONE — V. Gaines, Dodge Avenger, 6.626, 209.23 def. Rodger Brogdon, Chevy Camaro, 9.802, 93.11; Jason Line, Camaro, 6.615, 209.62 def. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 7.307, 143.92; Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.618, 209.01 def. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.652, 208.30; Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.642, 207.37 def. Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.632, 208.84; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.623, 209.33 def.
Chris McGaha, Avenger, 11.578, 75.57; Mike Edwards, Camaro, 6.612, 209.62 def. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.706, 206.80; Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.615, 209.04 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.693, 207.50; Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.664, 206.64 def. Rickie Jones, Camaro, 6.783, 165.58;
 
QUARTERFINALS — Anderson, 6.630, 208.97 def. Stanfield, 6.677, 207.62; Gray, 6.653, 208.68 def. K. Johnson, 7.986, 125.44; Coughlin, 6.624, 208.75 def. Line, 6.619, 209.39; Edwards, 6.601, 209.43 def. Gaines, 12.272, 65.14;
 
SEMIFINALS — Gray, 6.620, 208.75 def. Coughlin, 6.607, 209.49; Edwards, 6.607, 209.65 def. Anderson, 6.609, 209.82;
 
FINAL — Edwards, 6.595, 209.14 def. Gray, 6.643, 208.17.

Racers in several exciting heads-up categories, including Pro Modified, Outlaw Pro Modified, Outlaw 10.5, Hot Street, and others wowed the crowd at the Tulsa Raceway Park in Oklahoma as the facility hosted the Osage Casino Throw Down in T-Town over the weekend. Ace photographer Steve Wilson and his up-and-coming photographer son, Dallas, were on hand once again in Tulsa, capturing all the sights of what’s quickly becoming one of the hottest drag racing events in the midwest, if not the country. From nitro Harleys to to Pro Modifieds, tire shake to wall-slaps, the Wilson’s nabbed a little bit of everything through their camera lenses. Below is a gallery of fifty of their best images from Tulsa that they’ve shared with us that you’ll want to check out!

While we can’t predict the future, we can tell you that for the 2014 model year, Ford has at least one more Mustang Cobra Jet planned. Ford Racing released this brief teaser video to get us all drooling for this drag racing Mustang monster.

While the teaser video is just 19-seconds in length, we already have a few key details about the final iteration of the S197 Mustang Cobra Jet. This includes a new color option, the popular Gotta Have it Green paint job, and a new 3-speed racing transmission along with a parachute mount. While none of these additions are game changing, it shows that the Cobra Jet program continues to evolve.

We expect the Cobra Jet program to evolve with the next-generation Mustang as well. Ford already rolled out a twin-turbo V8-powered Cobra Jet concept at the 2012 SEMA show, perhaps hinting at the future of the drag racing Mustang. With Ford going all-in with its EcoBoost engine line, a turbocharged Cobra Jet seems like a sure thing for the next-generation S550 platform.

For now though, we’ll enjoy the delicious whine and supercharged shenanigans of the 2014 Cobra Jet. No word yet on what the times were, interestingly enough, Ford has slapped some grim reaper badging on this prototype aimed at their other factory competitors from GM and Chrysler. We’ll be anxiously awaiting the announcement of the official time slips from testing.

For now we can tell you that the car is available with a supercharged Coyote engine, nine-inch rear end, that three-speed, racing automatic, and an optional matte-black paint job, that was never offered on a production Mustang. With Ford being so secretive about the timeslips, we have a feeling their about to put their competition on notice again at the drag strip, and continue their dominance there. Until the full details come out, enjoy this teaser video.

The announcement this week that the ADRL will add a Pro Drag Radial class to it’s existing line up has created quite a buzz and rampant speculation in the outlaw radial ranks prior to the rules package release. Comments have ranged from “this will be the knife that kills outlaw radial racing” to “it’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

Recently, the rift between what is “Outlaw Radial” and isn’t has widened along with the debate heating up once again due to the success of Donald “The Duck” Long’s Radial vs. the World format, and the fact that other tracks and promoters have chosen to adopt the more open rules package, further pushing the purists into a corner.

Now with Pro Drag Radial in the mix, the term step-up or step-out just got real. There’s big interest in the international stage that the ADRL brings to the game; this will focus more teams to do just that, and some to make the commitment to stay solidly in the traditional Outlaw Drag Radial class on a local level. Dragzine spoke with several racers this week about Pro Drag Radial to get their thoughts and comments on the ADRL addition. One thing for sure is the Pro Drag Radial class’ debut at the U.S. Drags VI on June 8^th and 9^th at Virginia Motorsports Park will be a can’t-miss race.

 Said Keith Berry: “Myself and my sponsors that I’ve spoken with think it’s awesome. Until rules are released speculation will be like wild fire. The ADRL is the very definition of badass extreme race cars. I expect the Pro Drag Radial class will be exactly that. We want to race the Tim Lynch’s of the Outlaw racing world. If they follow suit of Donald’s Radial vs. the World rules, we can compete with anybody in the world. We’re very excited to compete in this series here stateside and in Qatar.”

Chassis builder Chris Terry said they were in with “Thrillbilly” Shane Stack’s Monte Carlo.

 Fresh off their Heads up Madness win in Bradenton last Saturday, the ADRL’s announcement was met with open arms from the team of Kevin Fiscus and Josh Klugger, who are perennial contenders anywhere they show up with their twin-turbo Ford Mustng. “I think this is awesome for the sport. Thanks to everyone that has helped put this together. We can’t wait.”

Frank Soldridge (left) and Kyle Huettel at the South Georgia Motorsports Park.

The preliminary rules have the big block nitrous and big block twin turbocharged cars at the same weight; a welcome change for Frank Soldridge. Soldridge is one of the top drivers in the class with several runs in the 4.2X zone at multiple tracks. His local track is Cecil County, Maryland where he runs at 3,350 pounds with his twin turbo big block combo. The PSI team is excited about the new class and the opportunity to take out 100 pounds for the ADRL. They have never tested at 3,250 and maintain the philosophy of “bolt on the radials, and put it in the beams.” Kyle Huettell holds the overall record and is sure to be a top player in the ADRL’s Pro Drag Radial.

Mark Micke, who drives the twin-turbo Chevy Malibu campaigned by Jason Carter in the NMCA Super Street 10.5W ranks and recently bolted on a set of radials for the first time with stellar results at the Holly Springs Dragway Shootout at the Springs, also plans to take part in the class, if the car will fit the rules. “We can’t wait to race with the ADRL. I’ve raced with them in the past and its really cool deal they have over there. Plus, the number of fans you get to race in front is unreal, so Jason and I are ready to slug it out with the best racers in radial tire racing,” said Micke. Dragzine had spoken with Mark prior to Wednesday’s rules release, and after a conversation with Jason Carter on Thursday, it appears that the subtly stretched nose on his Malibu could force them to sit out based on the current wording for car bodies. Pending final rules, the team will field two cars with the Malibu  and Mark Woodruff’s stunning Corvette.

Jason Carter’s twin-turbo Chevy Malibu that recently wore radials for the first time. Mark Micke pilots the car that, pending the final rules, will compete in the ADRL’s Pro Drag Radial class.

Those currently expressing an interest in the class include Micke, Woodruff, Fiscus/Klugger, Keith Berry, Todd Berry, Soldridge, Stack, Dave Hance, Paul Major, David DeMarco, Kevin Mullins, Eric Kenward, Eddie Harrison, Scotty Guadagno, and Brad Edwards. Other possibilities include Tim Lynch, Jason Enos, Willard Kinzer, Mike Keenan, and others.

Racing is all about innovation. Or at least, it used to be. When American G.I.s came back from Europe after “The Big One”, hot rodding became a cultural phenomenon, and guys that were used to seeing little Italian sports cars and German luxury wagons came back to their ‘40s Fords and Dodges and started tinkering in a big way.

They say that the first auto race happened the day the second guy in town got a car, and that’s probably true. And from that day on, people started hot rodding, eventually culminating in the white-hot NHRA drag racing scene of the ‘50s and ‘60s. There weren’t very many rules back then, which allowed guys to experiment with some truly radical designs. Some worked, some didn’t, and some killed their revolutionary inventors. But for every failed drag car design, something was learned, for better or for worse.

In this list of 10 cars that didn’t work, you’ll see a few names pop up more than once. That’s no knock against them; it’s a testament to their ingenuity, their courage, and frankly, the size of their balls to think outside the box of conventional thinking. We salute them, while we also point out where they got it wrong.

The Vulcan Shuttle

The Vulcan Shuttle. Photo source: the-rocketman.com -

A lot of racers have tried to harness the uncontrollable power of a rocket engine, some better than others. You see, the problem with a rocket in a drag racing situation is that the length of time that thrust is being created is directly proportional to the amount of solid fuel in the tank. The driver is not controlling the throttle; that’s the job of physics. We’re not talking about a turbine here, like that used in a jet airliner – those have on/off switches. A rocket? Not at all. You light the fuse and hang on for however long it decides to burn. And that’s why a lot of guys have been killed driving rocket cars. The Vulcan Shuttle came out in around 1980 or so, a rocket motor housed in a Volkswagen. Yeah, it sounds stupid to us writing this 30 years later. With a surplus engine that was about 10-feet long, this little Bug acted like an out-of-control bottle rocket, and eventually killed its driver, Rodney Poole, during a test pass at an airport.

The Sidewinder

Photo courtesy of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing

Don Garlits –you know him as Big Daddy — has been around drag racing for as long as it’s mattered. Enduring through Wally Parks’ Fuel Ban in the ‘60s, Big has had his share of innovations when it comes to getting down 1,320 feet of asphalt quicker than the next guy. Some worked, and some didn’t, but you can never fault the man for trying something different.

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Swampt Rat 27 prior to the sidewinder engine experiment. Photo courtesy of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing

The Sidewinder Top Fuel Dragster, known as Swamp Rat 27, of the mid-‘80s looked like one that would work, but it didn’t. The idea was to mount the engine sideways, so that the natural torque (rotational) force of the engine would apply traction to the rear tires. The problem was transferring the power to the tires. Mike and Chuck Sage, with Russ Camp, developed a gearbox that drag racing historian Bret Kepner described as “a masterpiece,” but the car just never worked up to Big’s expectations. Constant breakage, often thought coming from the axles and not the gearbox, were the car’s Achilles’ heel.

The Funny Vega

Gary Gabelich is best known for his land speed heroics at the Bonneville Salt Flats, but before he became famous there, he was a drag racer, and his greatest FUBAR was a rear-engine, all-wheel-drive, Vega Funny Car. Car Craft did a cover story on the car, and we’ll let them tell it again, ”This month’s cover car represents one of the best-kept secrets of recent drag-racing history. Even in Southern California, few people were aware that a Chrysler-powered, rear-engined, four-wheel-drive, monocoque, Vega panel truck was under construction. Even with the rumors that circulated, few people knew the who, why, and where of the unique undertaking. Now the car is finished and ready for its driver, Gary Gabelich, the ‘fastest man on wheels.’”

This particular car began to evolve during a discussion between Bob Kachler and Kenny Youngblood at Kachler’s Racing Graphics offices in Long Beach, California. Ideas developed into drawings, and soon chassis-builder Paul Sutherland had become involved, bringing with him Al Willard, a friend and engineer who had helped design the highly innovative and successful Ti-22 titanium Can-Am car.

All that was left was to find someone with some money and an interest in the project. That person was Gary Gabelich, holder of the World’s Land Speed Record at over 600 mph, a record achieved at the Bonneville Salt Flats in a rocket-powered vehicle.
Drag racing is nothing new to Gabelich. He has piloted both Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, including the Beach City Corvette. He was also a test subject for the astronaut’s life support systems—space suits and ejection equipment—for the Apollo moon program. Now, following his success at Bonneville, Gary wanted to try his hand at drag racing again. And, in a unique fashion.

Gary’s car couldn’t be much more unique at the present time. Currently there are no single-engine, four-wheel-drive cars on the drag strips. Nor are there any monocoque vehicles (Mickey Thompson’s monocoque Mustang has long since been retired). There are only a handful of rear-engined Funny Cars, and none that can be considered successful. There are no Vega panel trucks. And, certainly, there is no other car that has as distinctive an appearance.

The car’s construction was handled by Paul Sutherland at his Race Car Works from plans produced by himself and Al Willard. Since the entire concept of the car is so unusual, there is a minimal number of parts that are already in existence that are adaptable to this particular design. For this reason, the cost of the car is slightly higher than the average Funny Car.

Near the end of construction, the cost was just approaching $32,000, thanks in part to such special items as the hand-spun, two-piece, 12-inch-wide Cragar aluminum wheels and the Spicer-Dana constant-velocity axles (each of the four axles is worth over $900). The formed-aluminum monocoque construction was chosen for lightest weight and maximum driver safety, and contributes to the car’s 60% – 40% weight distribution. With a wheelbase of 130 inches and an overall height of only 41 inches, the Vega panel easily qualifies as one of the longest, lowest Funny Cars ever to hit the strips. Don Kirby handled the paint; Kenny Youngblood did the lettering and detail painting. As unique as it is, the Gabelich Vega represents only one in a series of radically different drag-racing vehicles to be featured first in the pages of Car Craft in the coming months.

The short story is that he debuted the Vega in front of the media in Southern California, intending to do a burnout and a short squirt of throttle, but adrenalin got the better of him and he decided to make a full pass…which resulted in a bad crash and nearly a severed hand in the process. As Bangshift.com’s resident drag racing historian Brian Lohnes said, “I think the Gabelich Vega is probably the biggest conglomeration of bad ideas ever in a Fuel car. It combined the trifecta of four-wheel-drive, rear-engine Funny Car, and a monocque chassis. That and wrecking on the day one of the PR shoot.”

Garlits’ Mangler

Garlits’ “Foot Chopper.” It’s one of the most famous drag racing photos ever taken, of Don Garlits’ clutch explosion that cost him half of his foot. Again, thanks to Brian Lohnes: “Garlits’ dragster that took his foot had a transmission in it called the Garlits-Drive. It was a two-speed planetary transmission that was actually an underdrive. In the days before slipper clutches it was going to be a crude attempt at limiting wheel-spin and maxing acceleration off the starting line. He and T.C. Lemons did not get enough oil into the transmission, and the oil was what kept the drum for over-speeding. With not enough oil, the drum oversped and that’s what caused the transmission to blow up.” Ouch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1a8ZQxq8EE

The Vacuum Cleaner

Pete Robinson’s series of “Tinker Toy” dragsters were some of the most innovative cars in the history of drag racing. He had one that launched off jacks on the starting line, one that ran an automatic transmission, and other revolutionary differences. But the one that killed him ran what looked to have a big squeegee under it. This was actually an air dam, and Robinson apparently understood aero more than anyone back then. It sucked the car right down onto the track, but it worked too well. On a lap at the ’71 Winternationals, the front wheels came off the rims (presumably because of how hard they were being sucked down onto the track) and he crashed, fatally.

Another Robinson innovation that could have changed the entire “science” of drag racing was his vacuum cleaner. Pete was a strong proponent of light car weight, believing it was easier to accelerate a lighter mass. He knew if the tires could be made to “think” his car weighed 2,500 pounds, rather than 1150, the tires would have far more traction. The car would perform better, providing, of course, that he only had to accelerate 1,300 pounds of car and driver down the track.

After a lot of thought he came up with the “vacuum cleaner” concept. Attached between the frame rails was a piece of 15-inch wide by 4-foot long panel of honeycombed aluminum, parallel to the ground, directly under the engine. Then he fastened rubber “curtains” extending down from the panel, perpendicular to the track, around its circumference. They just brushed against the asphalt, making a closed chamber under the car. Then he built a piece of oval cross section aluminum tubing, one end of which fit snugly into the mouth of the Enderle injector atop his blower, extending forward. The tubing then curved down 90 degrees directly in front of the blower drive, with the other end scaled into a hole cut in the top of the chamber. Start the motor and you’ve got a chamber under the car sucking it down. The whole thing didn’t weight 25 pounds. To regulate the amount of air that was sucked from beneath the car (since volume of air passing through the motor gets astronomical as a function of increasing RPM) he put a flapper door in the air tube between the injectors and the chamber. It had an adjustable spring to open when the suction beneath the car became too much, admitting air into the blower from the normal atmosphere without drawing it from beneath the car.

During private testing he had some sorting out problems. The vacuum device sucked the car down so hard the rubber curtains were folding over and dragging against the asphalt. But it worked. As soon as NHRA heard about it, they banned it. Understand this was months before Roger Penske and Mark Donahue did the same thing with their Can Am Porsche that flat ran away from all the other sports cars until the SCCA banned vacuum devices on race cars.

 TV Tommy Ivo’s 4-Engine Car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiR8y7BmDug

You may be questioning why an exhibition car is on this list, but it didn’t originate as an exhibition machine; he meant the car to be competitive. Your author is honored to live a mere three blocks from TV Tom and has talked to him many times about this car. It was originally built as a dragster, without the station wagon body that you recognize it with today, but it was just too heavy to be competitive in Top Fuel. Still, it continued to solidify Tommy Ivo as the showman he still is today.

Garlits Again

Photo courtesy of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing

Back in the Space Age, when The Jetsons were on TV, everybody was crazy about turbine engines, and drag racers were no different. Once again, Don Garlits dipped his toes into the fray and built a turbine-powered dragster in the very early ‘80s. When the top cars were running 6-flat e.t.s, or high-5s, Big’s jet was only in the mid-6s and didn’t work. The crowd also hated it, since it didn’t thunder the stands, and their guts, like the nitro cars did.

Jocko’s Fantasy

Jocko Johnson may have been the smartest man that ever lived. Unfortunately, he was also one of the craziest. A certified nutcase, he built perhaps one of the most scientific cars to ever go down a drag strip, at least in the late-‘50s and early ‘60s. His streamliner was the quickest car in the world in 1959 and ran in the 180 mph zone, but when technology progressed and Fuel cars started running a lot faster than that, the car liked to fly. Don Garlits, a frequent player on this list, stuck a Fuel-burning Chrysler Hemi under that aero body (as opposed to the huge and heavy V-12 Allison aircraft engine in the original car) and spent an entire year running a short-wheelbase dragster (175 inches compared to 225 inches) to learn how to control the shorty. It didn’t work. With that speed and at that power level, Garlits declared it un-driveable. It’s in his Ocala, Florida Drag Racing Museum today. The original Jocko car still makes appearances at the Bonneville Salt Flats every now and then.

Little Red Wagon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT8Obu9mH8Y

Another exhibition car that went on to be famous for not was it was intended for, like Tommy Ivo’s four-engine car, was Bill Golden’s Little Red Wagon Dodge truck. Built to compete in B/FX, it sucked as a race car. But it gained a huge career in the showmanship ranks, and with a sale price of $500,000 at a big auction at the Petersen Museum a few years ago, as well as the hundreds of thousands of model kits of the car/truck built (of which your author was one), it has to go down in drag racing history. If it didn’t work, history doesn’t care.

The Turbonique Sizzler Chevelle

In Captain Jack’s own words, as transcribed by Bangshift.com’s Lohnes, “I ran the sizzler car for one season,” McClure said. “I think I ran 25 or 30 dates with it. The car was a real Z16 Chevelle that had one of the Turbonique Rocket Axles in it. The big problem was that all the Turbonique stuff was shit and it didn’t hold up. On the track I would put the car in neutral, hit the button and drive the Chevelle down the track with the rocket axle providing the power and smoking the tires all the way down. The way the rocket axle worked was pretty simple. There was a rocket engine that was ignited when I hit the button. The exhaust (thrust) from the rocket engine would spin this big turbine wheel, which was attached to some planetary gears that spun the axles and drove the car. The problem was that the gears and turbine wheels couldn’t hold up to the abuse and I had a couple turbine wheels break and even melt on me. All this came to an end when I went through the lights at 162 mph, the turbine wheel melted, and locked the whole works up tight. I was told the car rolled 12 times. I was lucky not to be killed and I was done with anything that had to do with Turbonique.”

Photo credit: Ron Lewis

 As he returned Friday to Atlanta Dragway to resume the rain-postponed Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, Torrence said, “We made the change because we need to try something new in an effort to get back into this championship hunt. The results so far this season do not reflect on the amount of hard work and talent this team has.
 
“I also want to be perfectly clear that this season’s record does not reflect on Richard Hogan’s skill as a crew chief. He is an amazing tuner. I have to thank Richard for all the work he did to help us put this team together and win three races in our first season. Unfortunately, this team is in a slump, and we simply needed to make a change. That is why Lee is coming on board.”

Image courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

Beard abruptly resigned Wednesday as Director of Racing Operations for the Rapisarda Autosport International team that fielded driver Larry Dixon.
 
He said, “I am committed to getting this team back on the right track. I’m not afraid to work hard.”
 
It is the third position for Beard since last November, when he helped tune Cruz Pedregon to the Funny Car victory at the Auto Club Finals at Pomona, Calif. During the off-season, he and Pedregon parted company and Beard signed on to oversee the Australian-owned, Brownsburg, Ind.-headquartered team.
 
Beard called his move “a tough decision.”
 
For Torrence, that move was invigorating. “Lee brings a different tuning style, and I’m excited to see what effect that has on the car. It makes me that much more excited to get back in there and go for a ride,” Torrence, who earned his first Top Fuel  victory at Atlanta last May, said.

Power Automedia is proud to welcome Lunati, one of the most iconic brands in the automotive performance aftermarket and racing industries, to its family of enthusiast-focused digital magazines.

Lunati is one of the leading manufacturers of high performance engine components to complete your short block and long block assemblies, boasting a sprawling catalog of camshafts and camshaft kits, valvetrain components, pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, and even complete Chevrolet engine kits featuring the very best in rotating assembly components. The company, which has been in operation for nearly half a century, has seen a rebirth over the last decade, dubbed “the new Lunati,” as a new investment group made up of industry and racing veterans assumed ownership of the brand in 2007 to help guide it into the future.

Lunati has served racers and engine builders since the mid-1960′s when its founder, drag racer Joe Lunati, began grinding his first camshafts while working for a Memphis, Tenn. production engine builder. During his lengthy racing career, Lunati had learned the secret to making horsepower could be found in the cylinder heads, induction system, and the camshaft. In 1968, after a stint match racing a Funny Car, Lunati made the decision to open his own cam grinding shop. By 1970, he’d created his own niche in the racing marketplace with sportsman drag racers and local competitors. Along the way, Lunati expanded beyond camshafts and valvetrain components to add rotating assembly parts to its repertoire.

The Lunati brand was founded on the principle of one-on-one personal service, quality products, and expert advice — a primary focus the company still operates by today.

Lunati’s home on the web includes their complete product lineup as well as some great technical information regarding cams, rods, pistons, and valvetrains to help you understand and select the proper components for your engine. Lunati’s Facebook page also contains a wealth of content, including product information, customer rides, and a whole more. Look for upcoming technical articles, product spotlights, and project car builds with Lunati on many of Power Automedia’s network of magazines.

The Evolution team still has, if you can believe it, a factory (!) Tremec TR6060 six-speed transmission in this beast to go with a SPEC twin-disc clutch and aluminum flywheel. Using these pieces Whitlock even managed to pull the wheels on the 1-2 shift in the process. Even more incredible, the car weighs in at a portly 3,734 pounds with Whitlock in the seat. Fore Innovations provided a triple-pump return-style fuel system, and Barton‘s billet short-throw shifter allowed for the gearchanges. Dynotech Engineering supplied an aluminum driveshaft capable of handling the 1150-plus horsepower, while JRS Fabrication installed the 10-point roll cage in the car. It rolls these huge numbers on a Steeda Hardcore suspension system, and is tuned by none other than Jon Lund of Lund Racing using Sunoco E-85R race fuel.

In order to achieve the incredible performance, the team was stuffing 22.8 pounds of boost through the engine, and in conversation with Evolution’s Fred Cook, he explained, “The car was put together in the week before the event – we’re so busy with customer cars we had a last-minute thrash to put this thing together. It was only on the dyno the Thursday right before we left. This combination was never run prior to last weekend. We still need to do lots of work on the suspension, and we’re planning on taking it to Atco for a test session to spend some time tuning it in. We’ve got a Kenne Bell 4.2L supercharger to go on it shortly, and we figure it will add another 150 to 200 horsepower at that point.” Cook explained that they’ve been working with Slawko Cylinder Heads for years, and have custom-developed cylinder head and intake manifold ports for this particular combination in conjunction with Tommy Slawko. Cook says the car idles at 22 inches of vacuum, and with the installation of a cat-back exhaust (it currently has turndowns) it would be completely streetable. The car even still features a complete interior and air conditioning. With no drive time on the car, they managed to go to the semifinals at this past weekend’s Terminator Vs. GT500 shootout at the NMRA event. We’ll be interested to see what kind of numbers this car can pull off with some more time in the Evolution shop, and that new 4.2L blower under the hood.

So every feel-good story about a drag strip and racetrack fending off closure, there seems to be at least two that are shuttered for good. The St. Louis Dispatch reports that Gateway Motorsports Park (formerly Gateway International Raceway) has found a new, enthusiastic owner, even as tracks like Arizona Speedworld and Dallas Raceway are forced to shut down.

Image credit: Dallas Raceway

In 2011 Curtis Francois came to manage Gateway International Raceway with a one-year lease, with an option to buy. He knew he wanted to own the track and its 200-acre parcel of land to bring back the glory days of racing to a track just five minutes from downtown St. Louis. In addition to a ¼ mile drag strip, Gateway also has a 1.25 mile oval track and a 1.67 mile road course for competitors to race on.

Francois saved the track from certain doom, as for a while there it looked like nobody would step in to manage or buy the track, which had fallen on difficult economic times due in large part to hefty tax burdens. Located in Madison, Illinois, the track has been renamed and Francois has convinced the NHRA and NASCAR to take an interest in the tracks. It’s a major win for a young track that has seen multiple different leases in 13 years. In 2010 the company that owned the park, Dover Motorsports, planned to shut it down for good, until Francois stepped in.

It’s a rare win for drag racing enthusiasts, who have seen literally dozens of tracks close down for good in the past decade. While many of these tracks simply fell into disrepair from disinterested owners, or failed to draw the crowds, others fell victim to changes in local or state laws, or lawsuits brought on by housing developments.

For example, Arizona Speedworld was reportedly forced by state officials to either invest approximately $5 million in drag strip improvements, or shut down the facility. These improvements would have included water and sewer facilities, permanent outbuildings, and other features that would be difficult to implement in these tight economic times.

The track owners attempted to cut a deal for a temporary permit that would have allowed drag racing on 30 weekends a year, giving them the time and money to implement improvements. But that deal was shut down. So despite having been an established race track since 1961, Arizona Speedworld ultimately had to close its doors for good a couple of months ago.

Money issues also forced the closure of Dallas Raceway early last year, and in many ways is an even sadder story. Despite having been completely refurbished with a brand-new concrete drag strip, a 3,600 square-foot control tower, and a hospitality center, the Dallas Raceway faced hard economic times, and ultimately couldn’t make ends meet.

Ultimately, this is a story about too much of a good thing. There are probably still too many tracks in a country where fuel economy now trumps performance when it comes to buying a new car. As sad as it is to say, don’t be surprised to see even more tracks closing in the next few years.

Still, as long as there are guys like Curtis Francois buying up race tracks and giving them a second chance at life, motorsports will never die in America.

UPDATE:

In a reversal of last week’s news regarding the Dallas Raceway, a local business owner and longtime racer in the Crandall area, Mike Adcock, has purchased the facility and plans to keep it in operation with little interruption. Dallas Raceway will host the IHRA Pro-Am event that had previously been postponed pending a new location.

“We are very glad to hear that everything has been resolved and that Dallas Raceway will continue to be a part of the IHRA family,” said Frank Kohutek, IHRA Division 4 Director. “Dallas Raceway is a wonderful facility run by some great people and the track has developed quite a loyal following over the years. We welcome Mike back to the IHRA family. On behalf of IHRA and the racers in Division 4, we want to personally thank Mike for stepping up and saving Dallas Raceway and giving the facility an opportunity to be successful.”

Adcock, who will become the sole owner of the track with his wife of 38 years, Sharon, has been in the sport since 1975, and was involved in the construction of the track when it opened in 2009.

“We are very much looking forward to seeing our numerous friends back out at the track as well as the many new racers we are sure to meet,” Adcock said. “Hopefully this will only help grow the facility as we strive to provide one of the top racing facilities in the state.”

Starting May 14th, Mecum Auctions will be auctioning off a large collection of Grumpy Jenkins treasures spanning from iconic die cast toys to Grumpy’s personal daily driver at the 26th Original Spring Classic in Indianapolis. With over 150 personal affects from Grumpy’s estate going up for bid, there is bound to be something for every kind of drag racing fan.

Among the items most notable in the collection are dozens of trophies won over the years by the one and only Jenkins, as well as medals and plaques from his incredible achievements.

Among those plaques is even Grumpy’s 1993 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame induction plaque, a true souvenir of drag racing greatness.

Dozens of trophies from the 1960s and 1970s will be among the artifacts offered as part of Grumpy's estate collection at the 16th Original Spring Classic Mecum auction.

One of the top finds in the collection is Grumpy’s personal Snap-On tool box complete with a variety of his tools. A Jenkins’ custom made 750cfm carburetor, his aluminum restrictor plate and two Honda scooters used for traveling through the pits will also be available and potentially top sellers at the auction.

There are also framed NHRA qualifying lists, team posters, personal prints and sketches of Jenkins and his many cars, framed magazine covers and features, and even a framed portrait of the man himself from 2011.

Among the rest of the collection is attire from Grumpy’s personal closet, race gear like a jacket and helmet, as well as the drag racing legend’s vintage Goodyear jacket, 1972 NHRA Top Eliminator jacket, and his 1999 Pro Stock Truck jacket.

And let’s not forget Grumpy’s iconic straw cowboy hats that he was known to wear in his later years and his walking cane.

A vintage Mr. Gasket banner and barometer mark the earlier years represented by the  Grumpy estate pieces heading to auction, while items like Grumpy’s bright red 2004 Pontiac GTO that was used as his personal daily driver represent more modern collectors items.

All of Grumpy’s items will go up for bid starting next Tuesday with no reserve set for any of the collection.

Owning just one piece of Bill Grumpy Jenkins’ estate is an amazing honor, but to have access to such a collection of treasures that were undoubtedly held dear to Grumpy’s heart is virtually unimaginable.

Grumpy is remembered by friends as a “mechanical engineer to a fault” and an artist like no other, according to Grumpy’s friend and estate executor Dick Williams. What better way to pay homage to Grumpy’s life and his legend than owning a treasure from his very own career as a premiere drag racer and engine builder?

In order to make it to the final round there, he was the lucky recipient of a single pass in the randomly-paired class in the first round, which allowed him to take a shot at the tree. He became the top qualifier with a stout .015 reaction time after the first round, then proceeded to saw his way through the competition on Sunday, where he finally fell in the final round at the hands of longtime class competitor Pete Espeut in a hard-fought battle. Other opponents to fall by the wayside on the day were the notoriously-hard-to-beat Joe Cram, where Wendel ran an 11.998 on a .97 dial-in, and David Leichty, who took the loss in a double-breakout race.

Super Stang is one of the more difficult classes of competition in the NMRA with more than 20 cars regularly appearing, and rules that allow you to dial your own ET on Sunday prior to eliminations. That dial must stay the same throughout the day, providing an extra layer of challenge to the racers. Wendel has proven to be one of the more proficient at this challenge, but it’s still anyone’s game come race day. His choice of mount is a naturally-aspirated 2007 Mustang GT that features a full suspension from BMR and a number of other touches to achieve the ET’s. Wendel has been racing for over 25 years and started out with a Fox Body Mustang like so many of us before switching to the current ride.

For more information about Moser Engineering’s complete assortment of driveline products, log on to their website at www.moserengineering.com.

The late-model Mustang craze is not really considered “late-model” anymore, as it actually began with the 1987 Mustang GT, nearly 30 years ago. Back then there were a number of racers setting the trends that can be followed all the way to the current time period, and one of those racers was the dearly departed Racin’ Jason Betwarda. We recently came across an ad on Facebook for Jason’s legendary droptop Mustang that graced the cover of many magazines back in the day and was the first Fox Mustang into the 7-second zone. It appears as if the car is being sold with no engine, as a simple rolling chassis, but for someone who wants to own a piece of Mustang racing history, this surely qualifies at the very top of the list. Unfortunately, the car’s chassis probably doesn’t qualify for the insane speeds that Outlaw 10.5-style cars are running today, but it would be a great addition to someone’s collection. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_rZXvy_nbU

As a pioneer in turbo Mustang racing, Betwarda, along with driver Mike Ragusa, tore up dragstrips all over the country, and his match races with Gene Deputy of Texas Turbo fame catapulted the Fox Body Mustang to the forefront of drag racing notoriety back in the 1990′s. Sadly, Betwarda lost his life in a tragic crash at Lebanon Valley Dragway while testing his new car for an upcoming race on June 12, 1999. We’ve included the above video of Betwarda at a test session years ago with this then-new ride. Racin’ Jason’s memory has lived on all these years, as his influence is all over the parts and pieces we use today in organized Mustang racing. In fact, well-known racer Wild Bill Devine credits Betwarda as one of the driving influences behind his love of Mustang racing even today, and it’s a true blast from the past to see this car still in one piece (sort of). We remember the Stormin’ Norman Invitational races at the Ford Motorsport Nationals held at Maple Grove, and the Mustang Vs. Grand National races at Englishtown’s Old Bridge Raceway Park where Betwarda and Ragusa, with Kenny Duttweiler power on board and Job Spetter Sr. behind the tuning, teamed up with fellow Mustang racers Gene Deputy, Joe DaSilva, and Steve Grebeck, to put the hurtin’ on the GN contingent. Anyone remember the incredible centerfold in Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords of Racin’ Jason’s car? That famous photo graced the bedroom walls and garages of a lot of Mustang fans for a long time no doubt.

One of the parties involved in the sale says a deal to buy the car may be in the works, no details on who or what, but we’d love to see this piece of racing history making some exhibition runs, or even on display at a few events. That would be cool.

The car, which Lee had labored on for years wearing the Drag Radial-spec 360 cubic inch engine, recently underwent a few changes to move it into the 400-inch range. Lee was out testing it and managed to demolish the thrust bearing in the engine before even making it to the race. In true racer fashion, however, he repaired the engine and transmission, swapped to a different torque converter, and proceeded to set a personal-best elapsed time of 7.17 at 193.63 MPH in a semifinal matchup with Phil Hines. Unfortunately for Lee, Hines had the better elapsed time with a 7.15, but this shows him that the new combination will be more than competitive once he gets a bit more time on the laptop.

He took all weekend to sneak up on that performance, as he was nearly a tenth-and-a-half off that pace during qualifying, lighting the boards with a 7.30 to land in the third spot entering eliminations. When we spoke with him at the event, he was tight-lipped about the actual changes he made, not wanting to divulge any information, but by his performance in Sunday’s semifinal round, it looks like whatever he did made a difference. Since Sean Ashe showed the potential of the 400-inch ProCharged combination by ripping off an absolutely insane 7.03 test hit on Sunday, Lee’s got his work cut out for him before the next event.

“Engine valves exert enormous influence on engine airflow, mixture quality and the ability to run higher engine speeds,” says Zeke Urrutia of Ferrea Racing Components, which manufacturers of high-performance racing valves and valvetrain components. 

An open valve creates a flow window defined by the valve seat flow diameter and the amount of lift created by the camshaft. At most lift values a significant portion of the flow window is partially obstructed by the combustion chamber walls, making it difficult to obtain equal flow around the entire circumference of the valve.

The valves must provide a perfect seal at all engine speeds, and their size, shape and seat angles must support the best possible mixture movement through the flow window. Specific materials are also required to maintain durability in the harsh combustion environment, but valve weight is also a paramount consideration to ensure effective high speed operation. In essence, there is much more to the ordinary engine valve than fundamentally meets the eye.

While the broad science of engine airflow is surprisingly complex, this report will focus on the basic content and function of engine valves and how they contribute to engine performance. The conventional valve and valve-seat configuration has proved to be the most practical way of feeding an engine. Unfortunately, this partnership is also the single greatest restriction to engine airflow. While port shape, length and cross section are the primary considerations of engine airflow dynamics, the throat area just above the valve is the most restrictive and the most crucial element of optimum airflow and mixture quality. In fact, the area approximately ½-inch above and below the intake valve is the most influential factor of the entire inlet flow path. Maintaining good airspeed past the rapidly opening and closing valves is the engine builder’s top priority. 

Enhancing mixture quality

Multi-angle valve jobs are used to ease the flow transition from the port to the chamber on the intake side and from the chamber to the port on the exhaust side. The width, number and concentricity of these cuts influence sealing effectiveness and flow quality.

“A properly configured valve and valve seat angle can significantly improve air flow and enhance mixture quality at the same time,” stresses Urrutia. 

Steady-state airflow past an open valve (on a flow bench) is one crucial measure, but starting and stopping that column of air (and fuel droplets) many times per second is not conducive to the smooth transfer of the fuel/air medium from the induction system. And it is certainly not supportive of good mixture quality when fuel droplets are violently slammed against the back of the valve at high speed and just as quickly accelerated and flushed past the seat into the cylinder where a whole different pressure environment exists.

The valve is a simple variable-geometry device that controls the opening and closing of the specified flow window or valve curtain area as determined by the camshaft and rocker ratio. The valve curtain area is defined as the flow window created by the open valve at maximum valve lift. To calculate valve curtain area you can’t go by the valve diameter itself. You have to use the flow diameter, which is where the actual valve seat begins and that is generally about .040-inch smaller than the measured valve diameter. A generally accurate formula for the flow diameter is multiplying the valve diameter by 0.98 (see sidebar).

Maximum valve opening, rate of opening and length of time the valve is open are controlled by the camshaft, but the valve size, shape and seat angles have a profound effect on overall airflow efficiency. 

If we accept that airspeed and net mass flow are the key components of cylinder filling, it’s easy to see that moving high-velocity air past the valve and into the combustion chamber smoothly with minimal turbulence is critical to optimizing performance. Engine builders refer to this as pressure recovery or the efficient slowing of high velocity air and transforming kinetic flow energy into cylinder pressure. In the runner and past the valve, air velocity is high and the static pressure is low. Inside the cylinder, pressure is higher and airspeed is reduced due to the dramatic change in area. A gradual transition from low static pressure and high velocity past the valve to higher static pressure and low velocity in the cylinder aids cylinder filling and makes the most efficient use of a properly designed port. 

Equal airflow

“This depends greatly on the shape of the combustion chamber, but the real key is to get the airflow as equal as possible around the entire circumference of the valve,” explains Urrutia. “This is difficult to achieve because the port almost always approaches the valve from an oblique angle, and flow is kinetically biased to follow its own preferred direction — which rarely favors even flow around the valve.”

Valve angle relative to the cylinder bore influences flow characteristics. A raised port and shallower valve angle improves flow by providing a straighter flow path and reduced valve shrouding. In some cases a slightly smaller valve will perform better because it helps to overcome the effects of shrouding.

Flow dynamics are further complicated when the combustion chamber typically shrouds 30 or more percent of the valve. That’s why pocket porting and unshrouding the valve picks up power, but the valve shape and seat angles play a significant role in optimizing flow efficiency and mixture quality through effective fuel shearing across the seat.

The role of the valve is critical at all lift values, but a key proportion is the LD ratio — or the lift-to-diameter ratio — where the lift value equals one-quarter of the valve’s diameter. Regardless of valve diameter, at this point the valve curtain area is exactly equal to the valve head area. 

“Everything below this strongly influences low-lift flow,” says Urrutia, “which is an important function of overcoming fuel-mixture inertia.”

The accompanying chart indicates standard valve lengths for popular performance engines. Important dimensions include overall valve length, head diameter, margin height and tip length.

Above this point, the engine builder needs to compare the minimum port cross-sectional area (typically the throat area above the valve) to the valve curtain area. Somewhere around the mid-lift point, the valve curtain area becomes larger than the port area and the port itself becomes the restriction. This is called the saturation lift point. At every point in this equation we are stuck with the same fixed valve shape, seat angles and valve margin dimensions that influence air movement. Above the saturation point, the seat angles are still crucial to maintaining smooth transitional flow and providing a shear edge to help maintain good fuel atomization. The particulars of this are very specific to any given combustion chamber, according to its size, shape, depth, valve position, port texture approaching the valve and, to some degree, the influence of the rising piston crown.

What’s the angle?

A standard 3-angle valve job typically begins with a 60-degree cut in the port throat area to establish a transition to the 45-degree sealing angle that contacts the valve. Above that, a top cut of 15 to 35 degrees typically completes the transition into the combustion chamber. Today many performance valve jobs incorporate up to five different angles, including in some cases a 70- to 75-degree throat cut, depending on the port and its flow characteristics. Generally, inlet flow or exhaust flow does not lose velocity or become turbulent as long as the valve seat or valve angle transitions do not exceed 15 degrees.

The standard seat angle on the valve is 45 degrees. Some applications like Pro Stock drag racing use up to a 55-degree angle on the valve and the seat. This has been found to increase flow, but it is less durable and it cannot be used in supercharged or turbocharged applications because it can’t take the higher temperatures. A 30-degree back cut on the valve helps ease the transition to the seat and a sharp corner on the bottom of the intake valve margin helps resist reversion flow by interrupting its passage back into the port. For most performance applications the intake valve margin height is typically .050-inch and intake valves typically require a tight radius from the stem to the head to prevent low lift restriction.

Intake valve (left) has a 30° back cut above the seat and a thin margin with a sharp edge on the bottom to discourage inlet tract reversion. Corresponding exhaust valve has a thicker margin to resist higher temperatures and a generous radius on the bottom to encourage exit flow around the valve. Intake valves use a nail head configuration to avoid flow restriction.

Exhaust valves generally require the same angles, but use a narrower seat to help the valve cut through carbon buildup and maintain a positive seal. Valve margin should be .080-.090-inch tall to provide durability under higher temperatures and it should have a radius at the bottom to encourage exhaust gas flow around the valve.  A tulip shape is often used on exhaust valves to encourage smoother flow. 

“This works well, compared to tight radius of intake valves because exhaust gases are still under pressure and can’t wait to get out,” says Urrutia. “Intake mixtures have little relative pressure and must be coaxed into the cylinder through port dynamics.”

Tool steel retainers (left) offer light weight and exceptional wear and strength properties for most racing applications. Ferrea Pro Series Titanium retainers (right) are precision CNC machined and offer up to 40 percent more weight reduction to support extreme engine speeds.

Best valve materials

Stainless steel and titanium are the primary materials used in manufacturing performance engine valves. Stainless valves are universally suited for most high performance applications, offering good service in moderate boosted applications. With the exception of some race-specific applications, almost all aftermarket performance cylinder heads come with stainless-steel valves that are suitable for street and bracket racing requirements, including moderately boosted applications. All normally aspirated racing engines that turn high rpm should use much lighter titanium valves.

“Titanium valves offer multiple benefits, despite their higher initial cost,” says Urrutia.

Less mass inertia allows a reduction in valve-spring rates and puts less strain on the entire valve train. Titanium valves must be used with bronze valve guides. Ferrea valves have a proprietary Chrome Nitride coating (CrN) or a diamond-like coating (DLC) to provide rapid heat dissipation and wear reduction while reducing delaminating and flaking from valve flex. Titanium valves generally do not have hardened tips, so they must be used with steel lash caps to prevent damage. Typical clearance is approximately 0.0007 to 0.0009-inch.

Engine valves, particularly exhaust valves, often experience temperatures exceeding 1,600 degrees F in the combustion chamber along with exposure to intake manifold temperatures as low as -25 degrees. Inconel is an exhaust valve material often specified to resist the higher temperatures associated with turbocharged and supercharged applications. 

“The extreme temperature gradient in many boosted applications requires more exotic materials like Inconel to resist thermal fatigue,” says Urrutia.

Inconel endures temperatures up to 1,800 degrees and is a popular choice for highly boosted engines. More hostile environments with very high boost pressures or exotic fuels like nitromethane can use of various Ferrea super-alloy valves that operate comfortably in the 2000-2400 degree range with some that handle even 2,600-2,700 degrees (see chart above).

Manufacturing valves

Gun-drilled hollow stem valves are up to 20% lighter to reduce valve spring pressure requirements and improve valve train dynamics. Ferrea valves also incorporate undercut stems to further reduce weight and improve flow.

In the manufacturing process, valves are die-forged at high temperature, heat treated and stress relieved, centerless ground and CNC machined to required specs. The stems are hard chromed and then micro or swirl polished, depending on the valve series. High-heat, high-stress applications can specify a Bimetallic forging that incorporates the most appropriate alloy mix for each section of the valve. Bimetallic valves are inertia welded from two different alloys with the weld point located high enough to always remain inside the valve guide. This is the only approved method for aerospace valve applications. Bimetallic valves receive the same finish treatment as 1-piece forged valves, including very precise hard chroming on the stems. More advanced applications can select from the various alloys provided, and they can also choose hollow stem valves with gun-drilled and micro-polished hollow stem cavities. 

“Hollow-stem valves offer an average 20% weight reduction on a typical small block valve,” says Urrutia.

Custom orders can also specify hollow-stemmed, sodium-filled hollow valves to achieve weight reduction and provide better heat dissipation from critical areas.

Ferrea also offers its Super-Flo valve with an undercut or necked-down stem at the base of the valve near the head. This configuration is sometimes called a “crutch valve” because it’s useful for improving flow on older stock-type cast-iron heads with poor port designs. Super-Flo valves are made of stainless steel and they are very reliable even with the reduction in material around the flow area.

“It’s a very good modification for muscle car restoration applications with original heads,” says Urrutia. “Some modern aftermarket heads use them to raise the flow numbers of their current heads.” 

Selecting valves

Some head applications also require longer valves on the order of +.100-inch, +.200-inch or longer. Ferrea services these valve lengths as well. The accompanying chart lists typical stock valve lengths for popular domestic performance engines and builders can use the valve diagram to order specific lengths that differ from the norm.  Ferrea can also specify tip and lock modifications and the desired margin height, if the requirement differs from stock. And for naturally aspirated combinations seeking more compression ratio, Ferrea’s 5000 Series includes flat-faced valves to help reduce the volume of the combustion space.

Close-up of heavy duty exhaust valve reveals the swirl polished tulip shape which promotes good exit flow. Note the generous radius at the bottom of the margin to encourage exit flow.

Many engine shops and home engine builders rely on aftermarket performance cylinder heads that come fully assembled and ready to run. For the most part these heads offer great performance and rarely cause problems. But top engine builders will always disassemble them and check everything, including the valve-seat angles, seat depth, position and width, concentricity and contact pattern, valve-stem height, coil bind and installed valve-spring height. That’s the minimum required, and aftermarket head manufacturers usually hit it right on the money for mass produced cylinder heads. 

“It’s generally sufficient for 90% of all performance applications, but more performance is still available for those willing to sweat the details,” sums up Urrutia, “particularly when it comes to valves.” 

Cruz Pedregon has been annoyed for a long time that he has trained mechanics well, only to see his better-funded rivals pirate them. “That just chaps my rear,” he said at Indianapolis a few years ago.
 
But the two-time Funny Car champion and current points leader has found a loyal soul, one guaranteed never to leave him: the suddenly sensational Juan Mota.
 
Guaranteed? C’mon — in the world of NHRA drag racing? Juan Mota never will leave Cruz Pedregon, because . . . well, he IS Cruz Pedregon. That’s the cryptic name Pedregon gave the tuner side of himself.

The Snap-on Toyota Camry owner-driver said coyly he has a reason for choosing that name, Juan Mota, but will reveal it sometime later — maybe. But for right now, as the tour heads back to Atlanta to finish the rain-postponed Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals this Friday and Saturday, all anyone needs to know is that Juan Mota has pushed Pedregon into some historic zone.
 
Pedregon’s points lead marks the first time since 2009 that somebody other than a John Force Racing or Don Schumacher Racing driver topped the list. The last non-JFR or DSR leader was Tony Pedregon, Cruz’s younger brother and two-time champion, who led from Sept. 20 to Sept. 27 that year.
 
“There are some stats that have more meaning than others, and that one’s a pretty good one there,” Pedregon said.
 
With his Houston victory last month, Pedregon became the class’ first repeat winner and moved to within three victories of tying Don “The Snake” Prudhomme for No. 4 on the all-time Funny Car victories list. He has qualified in the top five at five of the year’s six races so far and is the only nitro-class driver this season to win at least one elimination round at every race.

 
He’s doing it all with his so-called “No-Name Crew,” making his own decisions without a crew chief.
 
“We have my guys and they’re all the crew chief,” Pedregon said. “They all have a role in how the car performs. To say that one guy is head-and-shoulders more important than the next guy, I don’t subscribe to that theory. I believe that everybody that works on the car is important, not just one guy.” Besides, he said of his [personnel, "These guys, I just have a good feeling about 'em."
 
He said his parting with his 2012 crew chief Lee Beard "had nothing to do with the budget or the financial end of it at all." He said he simply didn't need a crew chief.
 

Images courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

“Lee came in. He was a good addition. He worked for a year, and that was the end of it,” Pedregon said. “People made a bigger deal out of [Beard's dismissal] than it was. It’s like, man, did I marry this guy when I wasn’t looking? I didn’t marry the guy. I just hired him for a year.
 
“If you have two different philosophies on running the car, it’s like they say in the NFL: If you have two quarterbacks, you have none. If you have two crew chiefs, you have none. One guy needs to be at the helm, and that guy’s me,” Pedregon said. “We went back to not having any input from anybody this year, and the track record speaks for itself.”
 
While Pedregon has the skills to be his own tuner, he said a dual role isn’t what he set out to have. “When [Rahn] Tobler was here, I was perfectly fine with driving,” he said. “I drove well that year and we won a championship. But there’s only so many of those guys around. In this business, if you get hold of a good one, you’d better have the wherewithal to latch onto them or you’re going to have journeymen guys. You’re always going to be searching for ‘that guy.’
 
“My team will be strong, regardless of who they try to hire out from under me,” Pedregon said. “I don’t like turnover, but I can’t control that guy with a lot bigger budget who wants to hire certain guys. It worked out well for me. It’s a lot of work, a lot of sleepless nights. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
 
Whatever happens, he has Juan Mota’s allegiance. “I’m sure people are going to try to hire him. He said he’s going to be loyal to me, so I’m not going to worry about it.”
 
No one might know the story behind Juan Mota, but the names of the “No-Name Crew” are a matter of public record. They’re Chris “Warrior” Kullberg and (car chief), Todd Haas (assistant car chief, supercharger), Sterling Van Dusen (clutch, wheels/tires), Narciso “Nacho” Bravo (bottom end), Chris Abbott (short block), Archie Singleton (clutch, ignition), Ethan Dooling (cylinder heads), and Mike Rodriguez (fuel, parachutes).

In our Monday Race Report earlier this week, we told you about the record-breaking performances of the Street Outlaw contingent at the NMRA Ford Nationals in Maryland last weekend, where the new class — which was believed would be a couple of tenths slower than the former Super Street Outlaw category that preceded it — saw a barrage of 7-teen passes, including a 7.12 by Phil Hines in a holeshot loss final round to John Urist. But what we didn’t tell you about, because it didn’t come in official competition, but rather on an exhibition run after the finals were complete, was the monster 7.03-second, 197 mph blast that Sean Ashe unleashed that shocked everyone.

Ashe had qualified third with a 7.23 and scored an opening round win over Andy Manson with a nice 7.15 at 195.62 mph, but fell to Urist on a big holeshot in the semifinals, 7.178 to a then record setting 7.129. With excellent atmospheric conditions present and the Maryland International Raceway surface tacky as always, Ashe prepped the car for a final hit for the crowd alongside fellow Street Outlaw racer Jason Lee to see what the track — and his ATF-backed machine — had in it. As it turned out, Ashe’s Fox body, packing a 405 cubic inch small block Ford powerplant with a ProCharger F-1X supercharger running on 275 radials, had more in it than anyone outside his camp would’ve thought.

While Lee spun the tires at the hit, Ashe rolled to a 1.124 short time, a stunning 2.992 to the 330-foot clocks, a 4.552 at 157.61 mph to half track, a 5.898 1,000-foot, and a 7.039 at 197.51 mph at the 1/4-mile. From the crowd on hand to the announcer to those following on the message boards, jaws were hitting the floor collectively.

After the run, Ashe and company crossed the scales at 3,265 pounds — over their minimum weight of 3,200 pounds — just to ensure the run was fully legitimate by the Street Outlaw rules.

Said Ashe on the Yellow Bullet message forums, “The conditions were amazing 99% of the weekend, and most likely won’t be seen for the remainder of the year. I think a 6.9x pass is possible, but 6.8x would be a tremendous feat. I’m not sure you would see it out of a blower combo. Maybe the turbo combo, as I don’t know what Urist has left. What I do know is Urist is picking up 48mph in the back half and splitting 2.451. If he can get it out of the hole hard he may go 2.43-4, but you’re still looking at 4.45 or better to the 1/8. Gonna’ be real hard feat to accomplish. But that doesnt mean for one second we are not going to try and be the first to do it.”

Continued Ashe on his stunning performance: “My crew deserves 95% of the credit. I wish I could’ve got them the win.”

Now Trans Dapt bring us a bolt in version version that fits 4th-Gen GM F-bodies and Fox-body Mustangs. It’s even available for universal applications, and we have the official release for you below.

Official Release:

NHRA-Legal Driveshaft Loops Now Available for 4th-Gen Camaros, Fox Mustangs & Universal Kits

Racking up 11-second time slips used to be a nearly unattainable goal for weekend warriors, but it’s now commonplace to see street driven muscle cars pulling the front wheels and breaking the 10-second barrier thanks to modern launch controls and powerful new engine tech. Cars running this fast must meet strict NHRA safety regulations, one of which is the requirement for a driveshaft loop. Trans Dapt Performance now offers affordable and easy to install NHRA-compliant driveshaft loops for 4th-Gen Camaros, Firebirds, and Trans Ams, Fox-Body Mustangs, and a universal bolt-in application.

NHRA rules require a driveshaft loop on any vehicle that runs the quarter mile quicker than 13.99-seconds while running slicks or quicker than 11.49-seconds on street tires. The reason for this requirement is to keep the driveshaft from digging into the ground or piercing the floorpan of the vehicle in the event of a front universal joint failure, possibly causing a sudden loss of vehicle control or serious injury to the driver. To comply with these rules, Trans Dapt’s driveshaft loops are made out of two-inch wide, quarter-inch thick steel and are powder coated for corrosion resistance.

Recognizing that the 1993-2002 Camaro/Firebird and 1979-1993 Ford Mustang are some of the most popular drag cars among amateur racers, Trans Dapt made sure to have bolt-in solutions for these vehicles. The F-Body loop (Part# 4141) replaces the light duty factory crossmember, fits both automatic and 6-speed manual transmission models, and provides clearance for up to a 2.5-inch y-pipe. The Fox Body Mustang loop (Part# 9813) fits snug to the floorpan for maximum clearance and is predrilled for easy installation. For all other applications, the universal bolt-in driveshaft loop (Part# 4140) is adjustable to be compatible with just about any vehicle’s driveshaft height.

Trans Dapt driveshaft loops come with all hardware necessary for installation and meet all current (2013) NHRA regulations for safety equipment. For more information on Trans-Dapt’s driveshaft loops please call (562) 921-0404 or visit www.tdperformance.com.

Features:

• Easy bolt-on
• NHRA-Certified for sub 11-second passes
• Fits both automatic and 6-speed manual transmission models

If you’ve been following along with the recent updates on our Project BlownZ 275 Drag Radial Camaro, you know that we’ve already hit the track twice this spring, including a test outing at the local 1/8-mile track in nearby Barona, Calif., followed by the West Coast Hot Rod Association (WCHRA) season opener in Bakersfield. Despite the fact that we’re new to this whole heads-up drag racing game and we’re learning what the car wants as we go along, we made some great progress last season and gained a lot of insight on what areas we needed to focus on over the winter to come out in fighting shape for the 2013 campaign. And that meant some changes were in store — some of them we had already planned on, and others the direct result of things we learned as we hit the track and made laps.

At the end of last season, we made a few changes to the car to improve in some areas, including the addition of Chris Alston’s Chassisworks’ trick new CDS supercharger gear drive unit. This move, as we discussed in our in-depth feature on the gear drive, necessitated the removal of the radiator to accommodate the size of the gear drive in the nose of the car and so that we could run an inlet to the blower. In place of the radiator, we installed a new water tank from Chiseled Performance paired with a Rule 3700 series pump in the trunk. On the engine, we now have water lines runnig down the sides of the intake manifold that “T” off into the standard water pump inlets for the engine. There’s a manual valve that controls the flow of the water to the motor — basically a hand-controlled thermostat.

Our Project BlownZ utilizes a Lithium Pros T-series 16-volt battery.

Because the gear drive, with its optional accessory drive system incorporated into the design, also offered us the ability to run our brand new belt-driven Hex Drive fuel pump from Aeromotive directly off the crankshaft, we were able to eliminate some power draw from the battery. This meant we could, as we had planned, eliminate the cost and the weight of a second battery onboard the car. It was here that we also turned to the folks at Lithium Pros and one of their ultra-lightweight, high-output lithium batteries, which tips the scales at just nine pounds and provides plenty of juice to run everything in the race car.

Elsewhere on the car, we also switched our axles over to a set of Moser Engineering’s gun-drilled parts, along with a fresh new aluminum center section to shave some weight out of the car.

The most wholesale of changes, however, and the ones that we hope will bring us up into the same performance bracket as our competitors in the 275 Drag Radial class that are running well into the seven-second zone, were in the engine and power adder department.

The new Chassisworks CDS gear drive unit that drives our new ProCharger F1-X supercharger. With the new blower, we’re anticipating making in the area of 1,650 horsepower. This gear drive also incorporates a belt-drive for our new Aeromotive Hex Drive fuel pump, meaning we can run the pump right off the crankshaft and eliminate power draw from the battery.

From the outset of our project a year ago, we had every intention of eventually switching over to ProCharger’s then-brand new F1-X supercharger, which was taking the NMCA, NMRA, and 275 radial tire tanks by storm right out of the gate after ProCharger released them into the wild. We had built our 388-inch LSX powerplant around the ProCharger F1-R, and for our first season, we wanted to work the bugs out of that combination and see how well we could make it run before we stepped up with the bigger blower in 2013. With more consistent laps under our belt and a best of 8.24 (making BlownZ the quickest and fastest magazine drag project car in history), we were itching to go the next level in 2013, and the decision was made to move forward with the addition of the F1-X during the off season. In addition to the power adder swap, we also had our Kooks Custom Headers coated by the folks at Jet-Hot before we re-installed them onto the car.

Over the winter, we pulled the 388-inch LSX bullet and rebuilt it with a set of 9.75:1 compression pistons from JE Pistons, down from the 11.5:1 pieces we ran a year ago with the smaller F1-R blower.

Of course, we knew the extra boost from the new blower was going to require some other changes, not the least of which was our tune-up once we got to the track. Last year, we had some 11.5:1 compression pistons in the engine with the F1-R, but during the winter, we pulled the engine and performed a re-build with some of JE Pistons’ 9.75:1 pistons. This would help us exponentially as we began shoving 28+ pounds of boost into the cylinders this season. Although we don’t have any concrete numbers just yet, we’re estimating the supercharger and piston change to net us somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,650 horsepower — enough to get us into the sevens once we line out all of the gremlins that have slowed us down thus far.

This season, we’ll be utilizing Driven’s XP9 10-W40 synthetic oil that’s specifically formulated for high-horsepower racing engines. XP9 has an advanced zinc/phosphorus-based anti-wear package that protects aggressive cam profiles and has synthetic base oils that protect from high temperatures and viscosity breakdown. Friction reducing additives help fight valvetrain wear. Naturally, as a racing-minded oil, XP9 is compatible with methanol and high octane racing fuels.

Because the F1-R supercharger that we had in the car previously was more off-center and the CDS gear drive is centered, we had to put a new nose on the car with a center-cut hole to align the air inlet for the blower.

In the cosmetic department, because our F1-R was positioned at more of an offset angle and the Alston gear drive and F1-X are more centered in the car, we also had to install a new nose piece and fabricate a new air inlet.

We called upon our friends at TCI Automotive for a beefier transmission and converter combo to pair with our new F1-X combo for 2013. What we have now is one of their Pro-X Powerglide transmissions (similiar to the Pro-X we ran previously, but with a newer full-bearing bearing case and tail housing, among several other upgraded attributes. The new converter is a 9.5-inch model.

Moving to the rest of the drivetrain, we called upon our friends at COMP Cams and their TCI Automotive division to help us make some improvements and upgrade our transmission and converter combo to better handle the increased horsepower on the radial tires. What we have in the car now is TCI’s latest Pro-X Powerglide transmission similar to the Pro-X we ran last year, albeit with a newer full-bearing case and tail housing, a ringless shaft, aluminum gerotor pump, a billet servo, die-cast aluminum pan, and a ten-clutch drum setup in high gear. We’ve paired the new transmission with a new converter, also from TCI, measuring 9.5-inches with one of their own mechanical diodes installed.

Despite some hiccups in our first couple of outings, we loaded up and headed to the NMCA WEST season opener at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield earlier this month with our focus on getting that seven-second run. And while we did get close — really close as a matter fact — the magic number still eludes us.

On Friday in Bakersfield, we didn’t get to make our planned hits at the famous quarter mile strip due to some strange noises that we noticed during our initial fire-up in the pits. The crew spent the day diagnosing the problem and getting prepared for Saturday’s qualifying, where BlownZ clicked off its best run to date, an 8.058 at 152.00 mph after boss-man and driver James Lawrence clicked it off at 1,000-feet. Unfortunately, a snafu in the staging lanes with our warmup procedure left us unable to fire the car for the final qualifying session, so we had to settle with the 8-oh on the qualifying sheet.

Although we missed the seven-second run we came for, we did make our two best passes to date in Bakersfield, including an early shutoff 8.05 in qualifying and an 8.06 in the 275 Drag Radial final against Artis Houston.

Our opponent in the 275 Drag Radial class, Artis Houston, had our number all weekend, with a 7.61 in qualifying and a killer 7.41 in the final round on Sunday, but BlownZ was right in the ballpark of the qualifying numbers, running an 8.06 at 172.63 mph. It wasn’t the 7.9-second run we came for, but we’ve made steady progress and our near-term performance goal is literally right around the corner. Barring catastrophe, we hope to share with you the story of our first seven-second lap in our next Project BlownZ update. Our eventual goal for the existing 388ci LSX engine is 7.50′s. Stay tuned!

Matheson, a three-time ANDRA Top Bike champion, was on a solo run in the semifinal round of eliminations on his nitro-burning, 6.0-second motorcycle when, at the 1/4-mile finish stripe, he was yanked from the speeding bike by the forces of the wind and sent tumbling through the shutdown area.

As you can see in the video provided by ANDRA, which has been replayed on news telecasts all across Australia, Matheson was fighting the motorcycle nearly the entire run and finally got it settled down and charging smooth at the 1,000-foot mark on its way to a 229 mph (370 km/h) blast. But as soon as he released the throttle and sat up from his laid-out riding position, the wind grabbed his body and pulled his left hand free from the handlebars, creating a horrifying scene as he was was lifted away from the speeding bike, tumbling side-over-side down the pavement. To get an idea of just how fast Matheson was traveling sans his motorcycle, check out the smoke trails coming from his leathers as he slides on the ruthless tarmac.

While incidents just like this one have had far worse outcomes, Matheson miraculously survived with only a broken ankle and certainly some bumps and bruises. A veteran rider in the class, Matheson has returned from tumbles before, and we look forward to seeing him mended and back on the bike with the ANDRA series in the future.

This video was filmed by Ginter from the grandstands at the Milan Dragway last weekend as Payso Productions hosted their Detroit vs. Chicago: Motor City Mayhem outlaw street car and grudge racing event at the Michigan facility as this flamed small block nitrous Fox body took on a sharp looking Chevy Malibu. As the Mustang passed the 1/8-mile mark, the driver lost control and headed toward the centerline before the car snapped back across the lane hard into the concrete guardrail — and directly into the shooting position of a particularly brave video guy.

The blunt impact by the Mustang sends the hood flying off the car like a saucer, headed directly for the videographers head. If you look closely, you’ll see him pull a Matrix move as he leans his upper body away from the flying projectile that’s on a beeline for him. The Mustang, after striking the wall the first time, careened back across the track and hit the opposite wall still carrying quite a bit of speed.

According to Ginter, the driver of the Mustang was unconscious when safety personnel arrived and he was transported by ambulance for observation at a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, the uninjured videographer, after cleaning his shorts and checking to make sure his head and all of his limbs were still intact (okay, we made that part up), reportedly returned to duty behind the camera for the remainder of the day.

Lee Bektash in Pro Stock, Russell Mills in Top Alcohol and Graeme Morell in Top Bike all scored their first pro victories on a day where the saying “to finish first, first you must finish” was more important than ever.

Bektash defeated Scott Porter in the final of Pro Stock to finally break through for his first win in the category since he stepped up in 2008.

Ideal atmospheric conditions saw Bektash’s pre-event prediction of many teams stepping into the six second zone come true and he himself clocked a personal best 6.99 time in the first round.

The Mopar team’s achievements were all the more impressive given Bektash landed the new Dodge Avenger from the USA just weeks ago in what has proven to be a valuable move.

Images courtesy Grant Stephens/ANDRA

“This win has been a long time coming,” he said. “Thank you to Chrysler Australia and Mopar because they set up being able to buy this great car.

“This was as good as Pro Stock gets today. To top qualify, run our first six second pass and win the Nitro Champs makes this almost the perfect weekend.”

Top Alcohol saw the unheralded Russell Mills come from sixth qualifying position to take the victory in unusual circumstances.

Mills looked down for the count after his retro Ford Crown Victoria-bodied Funny Car got loose off the starting line until opponent Adam Marchant crossed the centre line, an infraction that handed the trophy to Mills.

The Sydneysider credited good luck more than good times in winning his first ever event, the first time he has ever advanced through the first round.

“It feels very odd, it’s an unusual way to win,” he said. “I was so happy to qualify for the field and I didn’t expect to get past the first round. I just do this as a hobby locally.

“I do feel bad for the Marchants, they beat me on the track but just touched the centre line and that puts an end to that.”

Graeme Morell earned the breakthrough win in Top Bike through supreme consistency aboard his small-capacity Nitro Harley, but also on a dramatic note with Chris Matheson not making the final after one of the most high speed motorcycle accidents in Australian drag racing.

Matheson had just finished a 371kmh pass when he came off the nitro-fuelled motorcycle and slid down the Sydney Dragway braking area. Medical teams were on the scene immediately and fortunately Matheson was responsive and taken to hospital to be checked out.

Taking far from his first win in Top Fuel was Darren Morgan, who defeated Damien Harris in the final and extended his points lead over Phil Lamattina.

With top qualifying honours plus low time and top speed bonus points, Morgan could not have had a more successful Nitro Champs, giving full points to crew chief Ben Patterson.

“Benny’s doing a marvellous job, I would hate to race against him,” he said. “The car has been perfect, we haven’t put a drop of oil on the race track, a blower belt is the only part I know of that we have hurt.

“I’m very fussy about how things are done and so is Benny and that’s why it works. We’re looking forward to the Winternationals now where the track and conditions are going to be bad ass.”

Mark Belleri meanwhile scored his second win in Top Doorslammer under some of the strangest circumstances seen.

Belleri had a solo run, but with engine damage from the semi finals was forced to just idle the car into the staging beams and shut down.

His opponent was to be either John Zappia or Murray O’Connor, but when both of those drivers failed to accept the start in their semi final due to staging dramas the bizarre final became a single team affair.

“It’s not a great way to win, but a win’s a win,” Belleri said. “It feels good to win regardless of how you do it, I’m not going to lie. This was our first win in Sydney and to do this for my dad after many years of racing this car was great.”

The next round for all ANDRA categories including the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship is the Fuchs Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, June 7-10.

Changing an engine can be a very frustrating process, not to mention messy and time consuming. Which is one reason many vehicles within the Power Automedia garage are equipped with Jiffy-Tite fittings.

The insides of a valved Jiffy-Tite fitting

“With Jiffy-Tite you can avoid stripping, cross threading, over-tightening, forgetting to tighten, stripping the hex or scratching the fitting,” explained Duane LaFleur of Jiffy-Tite Motorsports.

Jiffy-Tite replaces typical threaded fittings with quick-disconnect-style fittings. The Jiffy-Tite fittings are available with a valving option that minimizes fluid loss once the fitting is disconnected. However, if you have a system that needs to be quickly drained, you can order non-valved fittings that allow for a quick disconnect but will no longer seal the fluid at the connection. Either way, once they have been installed, you no longer need a line wrench as each fitting can be released by simply pulling on the quick disconnect.

Because they are so easy to install and use, we thought it would be fun to throw a list together of ten cool ways to use their fittings on a vehicle. So without further ado here are ten cool ways to use Jiffy-Tite fittings.

#1 – Replacing  The Fuel Rail On The Carburetor

One of the most frustrating jobs at the track or in the garage can be changing the carburetor. You have to disconnect the fuel-supply line from the fuel rail, which usually leads to fuel draining on the intake manifold. Many racers solve the problem by replacing the traditional fuel rail on the carburetor with Jiffy-Tite fittings.

We performed this swap in the Power Automedia garage by building a fuel rail with -8AN braided line and attaching two quick-connect plugs (part #32308) to the ends of the rail where they attach to the carburetor. We also installed a fuel pressure gauge to monitor the fuel pump operation.

We installed the fittings directly into the carburetor so we could remove the fuel rail with ease.

LaFleur says you should hear a click when the fitting makes a tight connection.

#2 – Quick Disconnects For Your Transmission

Changing a transmission can be frustrating enough, but with the help of Jiffy-Tite you can eliminate having to drain the transmission fluid or clean up the mess when disconnecting the lines to the the tranny fluid coolers. These kits come with steel braided Teflon hose lines. Since the fittings connect and disconnect in seconds and restrict the fluid release, there is no need to drain the transmission fluid before changing or dropping the transmission, and there’s less time required to wrench on the line fittings to the external coolers or filters.

#3 – External Fuel Pump Connections

For the drag and few circle-track racers who use an external fuel pump, Jiffy-Tite fittings offer an easy way to disconnect the fuel pump without worrying about fires or a huge mess.

Simply screw in the male fittings into the fuel pump and you have a leak-free system that can be disconnected without wrenches.

“Once you install that fitting you’ll never need to use tools on it again” LaFleur explained.

Most of our top ten involves using Jiffy-Tite fittings on the fuel system components because they eliminate so many potential hazardous situations. Being able to remove a carburetor or a fuel pump without having to worry about fuel spilling on a hot engine or exhaust is just a safer option all around.

#4 – Replacing The Fuel Tank Supply Line

The Biting The Bullit ’65 Mustang project car is equipped with Jiffy-Tite fittings on the fuel tank supply line. Some of you reading might wonder if this is really a time saver.  As Don Creason pointed out in the original story, this should save time if there are problems at the track: “This also comes in handy at the track should we need to replace or service our fuel pump or filter. A filled fuel tank will not be able to gravity feed raw fuel out of the lines as we try to make a change to a component in the system. This avoids a potentially dangerous fuel spill and saves us money on lost fuel.“

The beauty of these fittings is that the user can change out multiple components without having to worry about finding the right wrenches, spilling expensive fuel or liquid, and creating an all around safer way of changing the components. 

#5 – Radiator Overflow Line

The ’65 Mustang project also has Jiffy-Tite fittings on the radiator overflow line. We used two non-valved sockets (Part# 21604AE) with 90-degree fittings and two non-valved plugs (Part# 22802A). This allows quick disconnects to drain the overflow tank, when needed.

Similar to the fuel system, having a way to disconnect the radiator overflow without having to worry about spewing hot water is a much safer option.

#6 – Use Them To Create Some Bling In The Engine Compartment

The recognizable black and gold fittings of Jiffy-Tite give the engine compartment a nice, bright touch. Not only do they create a safe and quick way to disconnect lines but the black and gold also add a little bling to the engine bay.

Look at how the fittings add a nice touch to the engine compartment

#7 – Vacuum Canisters Or Catch Cans

Similar to the radiator overflow line in Tip #5, any type of fluid catch can benefit from Jiffy-Tite fittings. This allows safer, easier draining of the catch can without making a mess.

Another use that many don’t consider Jiffy-Tite fittings is for vacuum canisters. These canisters need to be air tight to properly protect and assist the power brakes. A simple hose over the fitting with a band clamp isn’t always air tight, which when loose can lead to pulsating brakes. However, these canisters also need to be easily removable when pulling the engine for repairs or a quick swap.

These hectic situations make vacuum canisters perfect candidates for Jiffy-Tite fittings.

#8 -Mechanical Fuel Pump Line

We mentioned earlier about the external electric fuel pumps, but there’s no reason why the mechanical fuel pump users can’t install Jiffy-Tite fittings. Just like the other nine tips listed, it simply takes attaching the male fitting to the fuel pump and then a female Jiffy-Tite fitting on the carburetor supply line.

Most users who replace the fuel rail with Jiffy-Tite fittings will replace them at the fuel pump as well. This way the entire fuel supply assembly can be removed without the worry spilling any fuel and starting a fire.

#9 -Any Rear-End or Transmission External Radiator

Many circle-track and off-road racers use an external cooler to keep the rear-end grease from getting too hot and burning up the rear gear. However, this setup can be annoying when changing rear gear ratio as you have to undo the entire cooling system, often resulting in leaking hot and expensive fluid.

This cooler is just another area where the Jiffy-Tite fittings can be used to not only save yourself from burns but also speed up the process of changing a rear gear.

Truthfully, just about any external rear-end or transmission radiator can be equipped with Jiffy-Tite fittings to make at the track changes a quick process.

#10 – How About The Entire Engine Compartment!

The engine compartment of the NHRA-racing Jiffy-Tite Chevy Camaro

The truth is you can use Jiffy-Tite fittings just about anywhere you would normally have a line. This is proven by the NHRA Jiffy-Tite Chevy Camaro. Besides the main rubber coolant hose,  Every line you see within this engine compartment has a Jiffy-Tite fitting. This entire engine can be pulled out of the engine compartment with minimal fluids being dropped on the ground.

Duane LaFluer’s NHRA Chevy Camaro

Power Automedia is proud to welcome to our family of sponsors Driven Racing Oil. Driven is a product born of necessity from the world of NASCAR racing, which has made it’s way to the consumer market, for high performance enthusiasts and racers.

The problem with many lubricants is that they take a one size fits all approach, the same oil sold for street engines is also sold for race engines, and vice verse. While this works in some cases, in other instances having an engine oil formulated specifically to an application can be extremely beneficial to the engine, and that’s where Driven is different.

Driven uses higher than the API standard levels of zinc (ZDDP), phosphorus, and sulfur. These chemicals add dry film protection to the oil, something critical in high performance and high rpm applications where components may for very brief periods of time have to rely only on such dry films for lubrication until oil makes it back to them. Driven also uses the required detergent package and even military grade corrosion protection in many of their products.

Driven products are not just for racing applications though, everything from high powered muscle cars, to today’s modified modern performance engines can benefit from Driven Lubricants. Driven offers engine oils specifically formulated for high performance GM LS series engines, and Ford modular engines, to help minimize wear and maximize performance, especially when these engines host a variety of modifications, or are built for high performance.

Driven has oil for both high performance street and racing engines. This dyno chart shows the difference when their LS30 oil was tested and compared to a conventional engine oil.

Driven’s product line isn’t limited to engine oils either. They also offer manual and automatic transmission fluids, a coolant additive, gear oil, assembly lubricants, cleaning chemicals, break in oil, marine engine oils, and powersports engine oils. Whatever type of high performance you’re into, it would seem that Driven has you covered.

We’ll no doubt be looking deeper into their product line in the future, for now you can find additional information on the Driven Racing Oil web site, and you can even purchase products from them there. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Driven Racing Oil to the Power Automedia family.

URIST, MITCHELL, STYMIEST GRAB NMRA WINS IN MARYLAND

John Urist outlasted a record-setting field of Street Outlaw competitors to climb atop the winners podium at the NMRA Ford Nationals at the Maryland International Raceway over the weekend. He was joined by heads-up winners Brian Mitchell, Shane Stymiest, and Matt Amrine. Read More >>

Mickey Thompson Tires DragZine Race Report

NMRA: The NMRA’s Street Outlaw category is just three races old, and already, racers in the category are busting down performance walls thought unreachable this early in the game, and the records took a beating over the weekend at the Maryland International Raceway, as many-time champ John Urist outlasted a field that lived in the 7-teens, eventually downing Phil Hines on a holeshot in the final, 7.14 to 7.12. In Renegade, reigning champ Brian Mitchell defeated Adam Arndt in the final, 8.35 to 8.62, and Shane Stymiest rocked to a 10.50 to oust Jacob Lamb in the Coyote Stock final. And in Factory Stock, Matt Amrine took down John Leslie Jr., 10.93 to 11.66. For complete coverage from MIR, log on to NMRADigital.com.

NHRA Division 5: Matt Harris went red in his D/A machine in the Competition Eliminator final at the NHRA West Central Division meet in Great Bend, Kan., handing the win to longtime racer Todd Patterson, who was .009 on the tree and would’ve been tough to beat. Patterson was joined by Super Stock champ Jason DeForrest, who won a heads-up GT/CA final, Stock winner Luke Siebert (who beat his brother, Nick, in the final), Super Comp winner Landon Stallbaumer, and Super Gas champion Kevin Moore. For complete final round results, visit NHRADiv5.com.

NHRA: For the third time in as many weeks, rain plagued the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series as the tour shifted to the Atlanta Dragway for the Southern Nationals. Friday’s professional qualifying was cancelled, and continuing showers on Saturday and an ominous forecast for the weekend led series officials to postpone the event to next Friday and Saturday, May 10-11. 

ANDRA: Darren Morgan carded a 4.74 at 300 mph to earn Top Fuel honors at the Nitro Champs in Sydney, Australia over the weekend, defeating Damien Harris in the final. Scott Bektash scored his first Pro Stock victory, defeating Scott Porter, while nn Top Alcohol, Russell Mills came out of the sixth qualifying slot to claim victory in his retro Crown Victoria Funny Car when opponent Adam Marchant crossed the centerline and was disqualified. In Top Nike, Graeme Morell claimed his breakthrough first win after his scheduled final round opponent, Chris Matheson, was pulled from his bike and crashed in dramatic fashion in the semifinals. For coverage recap from Sydney, visit ANDRA’s home on the web.

The Weekend Winner Circle

NMRA Ford Nationals – Budds Creek, Md. Heads-up champs John Urist, Brian Mitchell, Shane Stymiest, and Matt Amrine led the winners list at the NMRA Ford Nationals at the Maryland International Raceway.     EVENT WINNERS Street Outlaw: John Urist Renegade: Brian Mitchell Coyote Stock: Shane Stymiest Factory Stock: Matt Amrine Modular Muscle: Donnie Bowles Open Comp: Randy Conway Truck & Lighting: Jimmy Cantrell Super Stang: Pete Espeut Top ET: Jake Wilstead Mod ET: Brian Shaffer Street ET: George Moorfield Stick ET: Bruce Meacham GT500/Terminator: Harold Horton Click here to view more results >>

NHRA West Central Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Great Bend, Kan. Competition Eliminator champ Todd Patterson led a list of winners at the West Central Division Thunder on the Plains at the S.C.R.A Dragstrip in Kansas that included Jason DeForrest, Luke Seibert, Landon Stallbaumer, and a host of others.     EVENT WINNERS Competition Eliminator: Todd Patterson Super Stock: Jason DeForrest Stock: Luke Siebert Super Comp: Landon Stallbaumer Super Gas: Kevin Moore Super Street: Glenn Amerine Top Sportsman: Tom Donovan Top Dragster: Jeff Koron Sportsman Motorcycle: Micheal Shelton Super Comp Shootout: Mark Potts Super Gas Shootout: Rick Shepard Super Street: Dennis Padilla Click here to view more results >>

Images courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

Two sessions of qualifying for the seventh of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will take place Friday, May 10th at 2 and 4 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 11.
 
NHRA Lucas Oil Series competitors in Super Street, Super Comp, Super Stock, Super Gas, and Stock will begin racing at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 10th with one timed run and then go straight into the first round of eliminations on a random pairing. Top Dragster and Top Sportsman racers will get one qualifying session and then their fields will be set for first round eliminations.
 
All Saturday May 4th tickets will be honored on May 10th. Tickets for Friday May 3rd can be used as a voucher valid for either day of the rescheduled weekend.
 
The race will be televised on ESPN2HD with one hour of qualifying coverage on Saturday, May 11th at 10 a.m. (ET). Eliminations coverage will be presented in a three hour show starting at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 12th.
 
Fans who want to purchase tickets for next weekend can call (800) 884-NHRA or visit www.NHRATIX.com.

The COPO Camaro, or “Central Office Production Order”, is not one a buyer can run to the local dealership and roll off the lot with. Stamped with a handsome starting price of$86,000, the race ready Camaro is not street legal, has no VIN, and cannot be registered. Individuals that were selected for one of the COPO’s must make the trek to Michigan to pick up the new toy.

For those who are not familiar with the COPO, 69 units were announced for production in 2012. Why 69? In homage to the original 1969 COPO Camaro.

The pricey Camaro is built race-ready and designed to compete at NHRA events. It rolls out already equipped with a full chrome-moly roll cage, safety restraints, solid rear axle, and the list goes on. Interested buyers are selected at random from a lottery, and if selected, the interested party then has the option to purchase the car and decide on the drivetrain and color. There are five different colors that buyers can chose from when designing their new ride: Black, Summit White, Victory Red, Silver Ice Metallic and Ashen Gray Metallic. A little different from 2012, there are three engine choices and two transmission options. Engine options start with a 350-cubic-inch V8, a 396-cubic-inch V8, and a 427-cubic-inch V8. The three are rated at 325 horsepower, 375 horsepower, and 425 horsepower respectively. In addition to the Powerglide trans, another option for the current year is a four speed manual.

For the few lucky buyers that were selected for the opportunity to purchase the elite COPO Camaro, the excitement will be bubbling as the new Chevrolet begins rolling out of Michigan and into the hands of their proud new owners in the weeks to come.

Flowmaster has kicked off their Scavenger Series Elite Headers with offerings for both classic and late model musclecars from Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. We recently had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at a sampling of these new headers, and installed a set to test out the fit and finish for ourselves. Follow along and get all the details as we review the new Flowmaster Scavenger Series Elite Headers.  

Features Across The Entire Line

All of Flowmaster’s Scavenger Series Elite Headers are made of thick 16-gauge stainless steel that is finished with high-temp ceramic coating.

Flowmaster’s Scavenger Series Elite Headers are high-quality in every way. For starters, there are no “universal” applications and every set of Flowmaster headers is designed for a specific application – which translates to easier installation, and no massaging or dinging them to make them fit your car.

Each set may be made specifically for one make and model, but regardless of the application all Flowmaster headers feature the same construction. The entire line of Scavenger series headers are constructed using thick 16-gauge 409S stainless steel, which not only resists corrosion but is also better at holding in high exhaust temperatures. Every set of Flowmaster headers is also ceramic coated for temperature control, and good looks as a fortunate side-effect.

Flowmaster added features to their headers like the collector velocity cone and 3/8-inch laser cut flanges that are usually only found on high-dollar custom race headers.

All of Flowmaster’s headers also feature 3/8-inch thick flanges on both the head and collector sides. “These flanges are essentially warp-free,” says Thomas. “You would have to get a 3/8-inch flange extremely hot to warp it.”

Another feature of the Scavenger Series headers is most models have a velocity spike inside the collector. “This serves two purposes,” says Thomas. “One, it strengthens the joint where all four primaries come together at the collector, and provides more weldable surface area. Secondly, the spike directs the exhaust gasses into the collector as they come out of each primary pipe.” Directing the exhaust pulses in this manner makes it much easier for them to follow each other along the exhaust tract, and actually increases the scavenging effect of the headers.  

Flowmaster headers typically have tuned length primaries and paired cylinders for entering the collector. They have all been engineered to enhance the performance of every application, both long-tubes for early musclecars or emissions compliant short-tube for a modern car.

These beasts are for a Big-Block equipped 1st Gen Camaro (Part #814111), and feature 1-3/4-inch primaries and 3-inch ball-socket collectors.

Scavenger Series Long-Tubes

Flowmaster’s Scavenger Series Elite long-tubes are designed for musclecar owners whose main concern is maximum power. Along with the 16-gauge construction, ceramic coating, and velocity spike, the long-tubes are built using hefty 1-5/8-inch, 1-3/4-inch, or 2-inch primaries. Many models also have Flowmaster’s 3-inch gasket-less ball-socket collector flanges, and as a nice bonus Flowmaster includes the reducer side of the connector as well. That makes for at least one less part for you to chase down before you can finish your install and hit the road. All you need is to install your headers, cut your existing exhaust, and weld it up to the flanges, bolt it up and be on your way.

CARB Certified Short-Tubes

There’s no getting around it. Emissions compliance is a very important consideration for owners of modern musclecars. For those who want more power but still want to keep their new ride emissions legal, Flowmaster also offers CARB certified 50-state legal shorties for many applications. Flowmaster’s shorties are direct replacements for restrictive exhaust manifolds, and bolt directly to your stock exhaust system.

Flowmaster is also offering CARB certified 50-state legal short-tube headers like these Shorties for 5th Gen Camaros (Part #814121). They have 1-3/4-inch primaries and 3-inch outlets that bolt directly to your stock exhaust system.

To get a CARB Certification, an aftermarket header cannot physically move any of the emissions equipment on the car. That means that header manufacturers cannot change the location of the catalytic converter on the car. “The outlet of the new header design has to be in the exact same place as the stock manifold,” says Thomas. “You have to work forward of that to design a set of shorties.”

Even so, every set of Flowmaster short-tubes have the same features and construction as the long-tubes, including the velocity spike, 3/8-inch and laser cut flanges, and mandrel bent primary tubes. “We’ve seen some impressive gains from the short-tube headers,” says Thomas. “Especially when you consider that you can install them yourself in just a few hours and bolt them right up to your existing exhaust.”  

Fox Body Mustang Flowmaster Shortie Install

We installed a set of Flowmaster’s direct replacement shorties on our supercharged Fox Body Mustang (Part #814221).

We installed a set of Flowmaster’s direct-fit Scavenger Series shorties (Part #814221) on one of our resident beasts of burden – a 1992 Fox Body Mustang. The car is still equipped with it’s original 42,000 mile 5.0L, but has been upgraded with an array of bolt-ons that include a Vortec T-Trim supercharger and a full Flowmaster 2.5-inch American Thunder exhaust system. The Mustang was originally a drag car that went as quick as 10.60 in the quarter, but we’ve recently been converting for road racing, complete with a Maximum Motorsports Grip Box suspension set up and a new Tremec T-56 Magnum 6-speed trans. 

The short-tube headers dropped right in place and bolted directly to the Flowmaster American Thunder exhaust system the car already had.

The Flowmaster shorties dropped right into place in the Mustang’s tight engine compartment and easily cleared all of the factory brackets, suspension, and steering components with no problem. Unlike some other header installs, we didn’t have to modify the Flowmaster Scavenger Series shorites to make them fit.

The collector flanges mated right up to the Flowmaster American Thunder exhaust downpipes, and the included hardware and correct gaskets just made things go even smoother.

The headers cleared everything just fine, and we didn't have to make any kind of modifications to get them to fit the Mustang.

More power, less underhood heat, and looks that will last? Yeah, you could say we are happy with the new Flowmaster headers on our ‘Stang.

We know the added power from the velocity spike and larger primaries, along with the reduced underhood temps from the thick stainless and ceramic coating, will both pay dividends on the Mustang long into the future. Overall, we were pleased with the final product.

The Final Gear…

Flowmaster’s experience in the performance exhaust aftermarket is evident in the Scavenger Series Elite Headers. They aren’t cheaply built headers, but that’s the point. You’re still getting a lot for the money with these headers considering they are coated and stainless steel – along with the power adding features that are usually only found on more expensive headers. 

When we first started playing around with our Project Wild E. Coyote 2011 Mustang, it was a simple street car, and over time, it has morphed into a Vortech-supercharged 700 horsepower monster capable of low 11-second quarter mile times, while performing well in the autocross and as a daily driven car. But hard use has left its factory-installed powerplant tired, and we still have not reached our goal of running a ten-second quarter mile and pulling 1g on the skid pad.

The JPC Shortblock configuration tool can help configure, price, and order a new RGR engine.

With that in mind, we turned our attention to some of the premier cars running Coyote power out there, and found that a central theme behind many of the cars putting up impressive numbers is a powerplant from none other than Rich Groh Racing Engines outside of Chicago, Illinois. With the help of RGR  and JPC Racing, we will be building our way to a new single turbocharged Coyote mill capable of meeting our project goals.

JPC is the exclusive distributor of RGR’s engines, and they offer a complete line of bullets for all Modular and Coyote applications with a variety of options. Those options include strokers, upgraded rods, crankshafts, and different piston brands with various options.

Each short block or complete engine also includes a full complement of ARP hardware to ensure that all of your costly engine pieces stay inside the block where they’re supposed to be. Of course, it’s probably in your best interest to give JPC a call if you’re looking to purchase one of Groh’s monsters as they can walk you through all of the potential options. If you’re a web junkie and just prefer to order things on your own without any actual human contact, they’ve got a nifty short block-configuring tool on their website once you decide what you want.

We’re lucky to have the opportunity to work closely with many of the aftermarket companies on the performance map, and Groh was able to point us in the right direction to help meet our new goals of achieving 1,000 hp at the crank with our machine. Ford Racing Parts provided us with a complete Coyote long block to start off our project, and we sent it to Groh so that he could begin working his magic.

This is how our engine arrived in the beginning – just as if it were destined for a brand-new Mustang on the assembly line.

Since the Coyote is much different from your typical Ford small block, where the little parts and pieces are easy to come by (and there are less of them by engine design), our feeling was that starting with the complete engine would provide us with all of those items from the outset, making the time-consuming task of locating those parts less of an issue. Most of the additional small pieces we used throughout the build, like our Boss 302 intake manifold, valve seals, BOSS tensioners, gaskets and other bits, came from Rick Riccardi and the well-versed Ford specialists at Downs Ford Motorsport in Toms River, New Jersey.

Not All Blocks Are The Same

Something interesting to note in Coyote engine production is that the 2011-12 blocks are different from the 2013-14 block. Ford Racing is also testing a brand-new Sportsman block, so for the details, we went right to our main man Jesse Kershaw from Ford Racing to sort out the details.

“The 2011-12 block used 12mm head bolts and piston squirters, which were blocked in the BOSS engine. Then for 2013-14, the head bolt size was limited to 11mm and the squirters were deleted. These stock blocks have massive water jacket openings on the deck for great cooling under road race conditions. However, this nearly open-deck design was seen as a detriment for high horsepower street/strip applications. As a result we created the M-6010-M50R block [available soon] which revises the water jacket so that the intake side of the bore has a support strut right in the middle and the exhaust side makes the water jacket opening on the deck roughly one-third the size of the stock block so that it has more material and support for the bore. Our testing with these has shown great results so far,” explained Kershaw.

Left: JE supplied 125-gram, thick-wall piston pins specifically designed for our application, which Groh spec'd out. They also included round wire locks, an offset pin location, and double pin oilers. Center Left: Main studs came from Livernois Motorsports and are a proprietary design developed in conjunction with ARP. Center Right: Groh used the supplied ARP Moly Lube and torqued each fastener as specified in the instructions. The torque wrench is also swept in one clean pull for accuracy. Right: JE's piston rings feature a carbon steel nitrided top ring for durability and a Napier (hooked) second ring for superior oil control over other designs, helpful in the Coyote engine. Ring gaps are an RGR Engines exclusive.

As many of the factory Ford components have already been proven in 1000-plus horsepower builds, we were able to retain the factory crankshaft that was pre-installed in the engine, and Kershaw explained why. “The factory crankshaft is forged, fully counterbalanced, and performs very well at the high RPM the Coyote is capable of because we did not cross-drill it. Not that cross-drilling is bad, but at very high RPM it can cause issues with connecting rod bearings in our experience,” says Kershaw.

Custom Pistons

Our JE slugs benefit from the latest in piston technology. They feature JE's Tuff-Skirt finish, which is their trademark coating that has a lubricating, anti-friction/anti-wear component added to the piston skirt. It's designed to be extremely wear-resistant and will not wear off like other types of coatings, and has to be accounted for in the design process, as it's .0005-inch thick.

We went ahead and swapped out some of the other pieces for longevity and strength reasons. With Groh’s input, JE Pistons custom-designed a set of 369-gram forged 2618 aluminum pistons with high-strength .170 wall 9310 steel pins for us featuring a skirt coating for wear-resistance. The pistons feature a 1.175 compression height, which provide us with a compression ratio in the 9.75:1 range, which will help our boosted combination to live with the increased cylinder pressure from the JPC Racing single-turbo system we’ll be using on the car to make the big power if all the stars align.

The compression ratio is lower than the factory’s 11.0:1 slug provides, but since reliability is the main goal with this build, the lower CR will provide us with a much larger tuning window. Regarding the piston’s design, Groh remarked, “We minimized the skirt profile by pushing the ring pack down on the barrel of the piston. Doing this helps to keep the heat away from the top ring while still keeping a shorter skirt height for light weight. We retained the offset factory pin design as well. In addition, we didn’t go excessive with the valve pocket size – the Ford design is good to begin with, and the valve never comes close to it with the factory design. By keeping the full round skirt on the piston it helps to minimize movement in the bore.”

JE’s New Piston Top Finish

JE has recently come up with a new piston-top finish, and we questioned JE’s Sean Crawford about the technology. “The crown of the piston has a matte-type finish. We have a special tool that we run over the top of the piston, and it leaves the surface finish of the piston significantly smoother than without this technology. It removes any sharp edges that might be created by the machining of the valve reliefs. On a profilometer, it’s multiple times smoother than just the machined surface. This is a unique feature we just started adding and the pistons for this engine is one of the first sets to receive it,” he explained.

Strong Rods

When it came time to select connecting rods, we didn’t go with the typical H-beam found in many builds. Instead, we selected a full-zoot set of Manley Performance Pro Series Lightweight I Beam billet steel connecting rods, part number 14318-8. Manley machines each 5.933-inch connecting rod in its Lakewood, New Jersey facility to tight standards, and these rods are designed for ultimate horsepower applications, achievable in part due to the ARP2000 alloy cap screws that retain the rod caps. 

Manley Performance’s Trip Manley explained, “The rods are manufactured in-house with material from a domestic forging supplier. We’re using the very, very best 4340 aircraft quality, vacuum-degassed steel alloy when we construct these. By controlling all of the manufacturing processes in-house, that gives us a big leg up. Using Finite Element Analysis tells us where to put the material to help us build the connecting rod properly. A bigger, heavier rod is going to be a stronger rod by default. You can make up for deficiencies with cross-sectional material, but for comparison, our Coyote H-beam rod is 602 grams, and the Pro Series I-Beam rod weighs the exact same 602 grams.”

Here you can see the differences between Manley’s H-beam connecting rod (left) and our billet Pro Series I-Beam rod (right). There is more material on the big end of the billet rod, which helps to keep it round under stress.

The H-beam rod uses a standard 3/8-inch 8740 bolt, where the I-Beam rod uses a 7/16-inch ARP2000 cap screw in it. That in itself is going to give you more clamping force and have a propensity to keep the big end round under load, and will permit more RPM as a result.”We picked the connecting rods out so that we’d have the ability to turn up the power in the future if we so desire. Groh was pleased with their design for our application, explaining, “These will work well in a high-horsepower application thanks to the reinforced material on the big end of the rod, which helps to keep it round during the compression and extension cycles.”

Left: Our new Manley I-beams on the left, the factory powdered-metal rod on the right. Notice the difference in material at the big end, along with the larger 7/16-inch capscrews in the Manley pieces - this is just some of where their strength comes from. Right: The Manley/JE piston/rod assembly on the left, factory on the right. The differences in rod design are evident, along with the lower ring pack on the JE pistons to help us achieve our tuning goals more quickly and prevent heat from damaging the rings under high boost.

Durable Lubrication

Many Coyote and Modular engine owners and builders have found out that oiling is critical on these engines to ensure long life. The factory oil pump is delivered with powdered-metal oil pump gears, which perform just fine in stock or lightly-modified applications, but when you step up the performance level of the engine as we have, upgrading to a pump with billet gears is an absolute must.

To that end, our engine is utilizing a set of billet oil pump gears from Triangle Speed Shop, which install in place of the factory gears in the factory pump housing. The gears feature American-made chromoly billet steel and are heat treated to TSS specifications. This helps to create a good balance between strength and wear resistance, and when combined with the blueprinted +/- .0005 of an inch tolerances the matched sets of gears are held to, our Coyote engine will be provided with superior oiling characteristics for years to come.

These sweet billet-steel oil pump gears come from the guys at Triangle Speed Shop and have been proven in their X275 machine along with a host of other quick Modular and Coyote-powered cars. 

The factory oil pump housing simply unbolts in two pieces and the two-piece gear combination comes out easily by hand.

Groh snaps the Clevite BOSS 302 replacement rod bearings into place – these came highly recommended to us by none other than Justin Burcham, who works closely with RGR Engines to design his company’s championship-winning powerplants.

Engine bearings are another critical area of concentration, and here, we spoke with proprietor Justin Burcham of JPC Racing. The former NMRA Factory Stock and Real Street competitor has years of experience making Coyote and Modular engines go fast. Burcham has found through his testing that the OEM Ford Boss 302 engine bearings work best in the Coyote engine. These bearings are hardened and fit right into the factory main bores with no extra work. In addition, we used a set of Clevite connecting rod bearings, part number CB-1442HXK, which are coated and slightly oversized making them optimum for our application.

The team at Livernois Motorsports has done extensive testing with the Ford Coyote engine, and was in fact one of Ford’s engineering development partners on the original Coyote project. They set us up with a set of their main studs, part number LPP50MSKIT, that have been designed by ARP. Like our connecting rod cap screws, these studs are constructed with ARP2000 material and include studs, nuts, washers, and even a special adapter for the oil pickup tube. They are superior to the stock fasteners and should be considered a must-have in a high-horsepower application like ours.

This concludes our look into the construction of our Coyote short block, giving our project a solid foundation for making some four-digit horsepower. Stay tuned for our next installment where we will detail how we finished off the engine with, cylinder heads, valvetrain, balancer, oil pan, water pump, and Ford Racing BOSS 302 manifold in preparation for its installation under the pressure of a new turbo system.

From this story, you can see even though a Coyote engine can appear daunting with its use of advanced technology,  it’s still a short block like any other, made up of an engine block, crankshaft, connecting rods, and pistons. While there are some things to be wary of when constructing a killer Coyote like the one RGR Engines built for us, engine building, even at this level still boils down to fundamentals, knowledge, and the use of best practices.

Our short block is ready to go! Check back for our long block story coming soon.

Official Release:

The RJ Extreme Pro Series Slim-Line Wheelie Bar Kits are designed to save weight and fabrication time over the RJ Pro Series kits.

This kit provides extra strength with a full x-brace and 1-1/4″ .065 4130 tubing (welding required). Features 1/2″ push/pull pins and your style choice of the narrow RJ Slim-Line polyurethane wheelie wheels. Wheel housings come welded in place.

Brackets and hardware for mounting the wheelie bars to the car are not included. The Welded RJ Extreme Pro-Series Slim-Line Wheelie Bars start at $940.00.

Note: Picture of the wheelie bar tube end is an example of the knurled upgrade. Note: Picture of the wheelie bar housing is for the RJ logo option.

Features:

• Designed to save weight and fabrication time over the RJ Pro Series kits
• Provides extra strength with a full x-brace and 1-1/4″ .065 4130 tubing
• 1/2″ push/pull pins and your style choice of the narrow RJ Slim-Line polyurethane wheelie wheels

Officials from the American Drag Racing League announced today that their 2013 World Champions in Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Extreme Motorcycle and their newest class Pro Drag Radial will have an opportunity to win bonuses worth an unprecedented $1,000,000. Anyone who wins both a 2013 American Drag Racing League and a 2013 Arabian Drag Racing League World Championship in those four classes will earn a “double up” bonus of $250,000 each.

The popular ADRL Battle for the Belts will also return in 2013 as well with $500,000 in prize monies to be awarded. The event will be a standalone race contested Friday, September 6^th at Rockingham Dragway during the ADRL’s most prestigious event, Dragstock. The top eight in points in all ADRL classes at the completion of the ADRL Memphis Drags IV at Memphis International Raceway on August 3^rd and 4^th will vie for the cash and the belt. Winners in Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous and Extreme Pro Stock will earn $50,000; winners in Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Pro Mod and Pro Drag Radial will earn $20,000, while winners in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster will earn $10,000 each. The winner in Pro Junior
Dragster will pocket $2,000.

It was also announced that the nation’s premier eighth mile drag racing league will increase its 2013 event purses by $100,000. The new event purse structure will begin at the ADRL Spring Drags IV presented by Curry’s Transportation Services on May 18^th and 19^th at Cordova Dragway Park.

“There is nothing more satisfying than be able to reward our loyal racers financially,” said ADRL President Kenny Nowling. “Our work is nowhere near finished however. The ADRL team will continue to work tirelessly to increase our purses to our racers even more. Without their courage and investment, there is no ADRL. They have and always will be our first priority.”

Not to be lost in this financial windfall for ADRL racers is the addition of the new Pro Drag Radial class which will debut at the U.S. Drags VI on June 8^th and 9^th at Virginia Motorsports Park. The Pro Drag Radial rules and purse will be announced in the coming days.

“We are always looking for ways to increase the entertainment that we provide to our fans,” said ADRL Competition Director Bubba Corzine. “The drag radial cars and the racers who drive them have become extremely popular. We think Pro Drag Radial will be a perfect fit to our already tremendous show.”

A complete breakdown of the 2013 ADRL Battle for the Belts purse as well as the increased event purses will be available later today at http://www.adrl.us/purses/.

Constantly improving their products and expanding their coverage, as well as providing the highest quality products available to consumers, has been part of their mission statement. And as part of their commitment to you, their customer, they are now offering a rebate program valid from May 1st through June 30th, 2013.

This consumer rebate is not limited to just a few, easy to move, products. This rebate is on their entire line of products, from single to dual clutches, flywheels, even throwout and pivot bearings, alignment tools – any and all Centerforce products qualify for the rebate program.

To qualify for the rebate, you must purchase a new Centerforce product from either Centerforce or any valid Centerforce distributor, you can view the Official Rebate Coupon by clicking here. Ebay sales do not qualify, nor do used, remanufactured or replacement parts, and you must provide a copy of a valid sales receipt and it must be in the original packaging.

What kind of rebates can you get with this program?  Any purchase between $500.00 – $749.99 will receive a $50 rebate; $750.00 – $1249.99 will receive a $75 rebate; and purchases of $1,250.00 – up will receive a $125 rebate. The rebate is good through the end of June, 2013, and there is a limit of two rebates per household. This equates to a rebate of up to 10% of your purchase for quality products that you can count on.

To “Get A Grip”, check out Centerforce’s web site for more product information, and fill out the Official Rebate Coupon to get your rebate from Centerforce. If you have any questions about their products, or the rebate itself, you can contact them at (928) 771-8422.

If you had a 5,000 square foot shop, two full time pro fabricators, and the cell phone numbers of every engineer, marketing guy, and owner for all the aftermarket companies you’d ever heard of at your disposal, and you DIDN’T build some crazy, bad-ass race car, you would be out of your mind. Here at powerTV, we happen to have those resources at our fingertips, so it should come as no surprise that we’re putting together a no-effort-spared NMCA 275 Drag Radial Camaro right under our own roof.

Our shop dawgs Sean G. and Dean J. are in the middle of a flat-out thrash to get our 2002 F-Body aka “BlownZ” ready to hit the track this race season, and every day brings us a little bit closer to completion. We’ll be racing in the NMCA West 275 class, but will also venture into Outlaw 8.5 and possibly some LSX Shootout races. We’re documenting everything in detail for full tech articles on each aspect of this build, but we want to keep you up to date on some of the important milestones we’re passing every week. Bookmark this page – we’ll be updating as we go along, and putting in links to all the detailed stories.

Where do we begin? When our “new” Z28 rolled into the shop, it was a running, albeit not completely sorted, race car. But since our motto here is “never leave anything untouched,” we dove right in and began reworking the car into our own vision of what we wanted.

Project Build Diary:

May 3, 2012: BlownZ 388 LSX Rebuilds Adds Boost, Lowers Compression Ratio

In our debut season with BlownZ last year, our primary goal was more or less to get our feet wet and learn the race car. This was our first endeavor with a race car with this much power on this kind of tire, and so while we certainly had every intention of going rounds, our primary focus was making good, clean runs to gather data and knowledge from. As we looked forward to 2013, however, we were ready to take the gloves off, and that meant that during the off season, our 388-inch bullet had to come out and go under the knife, so to speak.

Our goal in the horsepower department was 1,500, and to do so, we needed to step up to a larger ProCharger supercharger, which in itself, prompted the need for not only a winter refresh, but a lowered compression ratio and other new components to support the increased boost levels.

The off season adventure got underway by removing the LSX engine and sending to L&R Engines in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. for disassembly and inspection. Once everything checked out fine, it was time to begin tackling our list of changes and upgrades.

The Lunati Pro Series crank was mic’d and the measurements compared to dial-bore readings of the mains to ensure a .0028-inch clearance. After the crankshaft was positioned in the block, the mains were lubricated and torqued down: 60 ft-lbs on the inside bolts, 50 ft-lbs on the outside and 25 ft-lbs on the side bolts.

(Left) The Trick Flow heads were cleaned and the Ferrea valves lapped in place. New Comp 1.625-inch dual springs were tested (350 pounds on the seat, 950 pounds open) and installed at 1.950-inches using Manley titanium retainers and locks. The SCE Titan gasket was copper coated and positioned before the ARP 1/2-inch head studs were threaded in place. The heads were positioned and the main bolts torqued down to 95 ft-lbs, with the smaller bolts in the lifter valley and inside of the head tightened to 35 ft-lbs. (Right) The long block was dropped into the Camaro, then topped off with the Wilson-modified Holley ram intake manifold, FAST 160-pound injectors, Holley fuel rails, MSD ignition and Fragola plumbing. Also installed were the Jet-Hot-coated Kooks headers and Petersen dry-sump tank. Blown Z does not have a radiator; instead, cooling is through a Chiseled Performance water tank, which also feeds the air-to-water intercooler.

The rebuild was fairly routine, as we had the block hot-tanked, checked, and honed to fit our new JE Pistons and Total Seal rings. We also installed Clevite bearings for the Lunati Pro Series crank and GRP rods, while the Comp Cams camshaft was placed back into the block with its original roller bearings.

Of course, at the heart of our new combination is the awesome new ProCharger F-1X blower, with a 72,000 rpm maximum impeller speed (up from 68,000), a half-inch larger outlet diameter, and a full inch larger inlet diameter from the F-1R that we ran last season. In a conversation with engine builder Steve Morris, who specializes in ProCharger engine applications, he told us that the F-1X is good for about 300-400 more horsepower over the F-1R, and will deliver up to 38 psi of boost from its self-contained design that relies on a 5.4:1 step-up ratio.

Here’s a comparison of the Procharger F-1R on the left and the upgraded F-1X. The outlet diameter on the F-1X is a half-inch larger than the F-1R. On the other side, the inlet diameter is a full inch larger. The photo was taken with the F-1X right out of the box. The orientation of the internal 1:5.4 step-up gear drive (shown on the right) was later adjusted to match the F-1R’s position for installation in the car. The maximum impeller speed increases from 68,000 to 72,000 rpm on the F-1X.

We’ve only got so much space here in this project update that only scratches the surface of our detailed tech feature highlighting the rebuild of BlownZ’s LSX 388, so do yourself a favor and click on over and read the complete story and see tons of high quality images from L&R Engines at the link below.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE COMPLETE ARTICLE

April 3, 2012: BlownZ Upgrades In 2013; Testing And Troubles…

We had a fairly successful first year of racing with our Project BlownZ Camaro, running a best of 8.24 at 168 MPH that, while a little short of our expectations, was quick enough to earn the title of the quickest and fastest magazine project vehicle in history. But we’re not content with running in the eights, and so the car underwent some wholesale changes in the off season in an effort to improve upon our performance and, hopefully, crack into the seven-second zone early on in the 2013 season.

The first big change, which was part of our plan from the very beginning, was a switch over to ProCharger’s killer new F1-X supercharger that’s taken the X275 world by storm over the last year since it’s release. We made just over 1,100 RWHP with our F1-R bolted to the 388-inch LSX bullet, but we knew the X would get us over the performance hump and into the same realm as our competition in the 275 Drag Radial class.

There were some changes made in the latter part of last season, including the addition of Chris Alston’s Chassisworks’ new CDS gear drive system for the blower, but the bulk of it all came during the winter (if you can call it that in California) as we went all-in for an even better sophomore season.

Our changes included:

• ProCharger F1X Supercharger
• Re-build the 388 with JE 9.5:1 compression pistons
• Aeromotive Belt-Driven Fuel Pump
• New TCI Transmission w/TCI 6-bolt Convertor
• Moser Gun-Drilled Axles, Aluminum Center Section
• Remove the Radiator for a Chiseled Water Tank/Rule Pump

ProCharger’s New F1X got the call for BlownZ. X to the Z?

Once everything was buttoned up, we headed out to our local 1/8-mile strip in Barona, Calif. in February for some shakedown runs, but the outing didn’t go quite as planned, as we discovered a few gremlins that only track-time can truly expose. We made three passes, and all of them were busts. Out main issues revolved around a soft tune, a converter that we determined to be a little too tight for our combination, and a “phantom” rev-limiter that wasn’t allowing the engine to exceed 7,700 rpm, causing the car to leave and run like a snail.

Left: We attempted to get ahead of the “curve” with BlownZ by testing twice in 2013 prior to the first NMCA race. It didn’t work out all that well. Right: We broke something in the drivetrain on the second pass in Bakersfield at about 80 feet out. There simply wasn’t enough data to figure anything out other than we were still far too rich with our tune up. Back to the drawing board to get ready for NMCA Bakersfield. Such is the life of a race car team! Some minor repairs, a new crank trigger system, and we’ll be ready.

With a few weeks to work on things, we then towed up to Bakersfield and Auto Club Famoso Raceway for the WCHRA season opener to make some laps and compete in the True 10.5 class. We had a new converter in the car and hoped that our rev-limiter issue was solved, but as we quickly found out, the problem was still present. To add to that, our tune-up was pretty fat. We did record a best of 5.50 at 130 MPH, but that’s certainly not where we want to be. Hey, no one said this drag racing thing was easy.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE UPDATE ON OUR CHANGES AND EARLY SEASON TESTING

March 12, 2013: BlownZ’s Fuel System And New Lithium Pros Battery

So we’ve dug into our valvetrain combination and then our exhaust system in our two latest project updates; now we’ve got to work on feeding this bad boy.

Our newest tech feature regarding Project BlownZ dives into our new Aeromotive fuel system that we’ve selected to fuel our supercharged engine, along with he components from Fragola Performance Systems that we’ve picked up to complete the setup.

Our pump, an Aeromotive EFI Pro Series unit, is designed for and can easily handle as much as 1,700 horsepower in a forced induction EFI engine and a staggering 2,600 horsepower in a naturally aspirated, carbureted motor. With almost double the flow capabilities of Aeromotive’s famous A1000 pump, this thing is killer and more than enough to accommodate our needs. In addition to the pump, we’re utilizing Aeromotive’s EFI Pro Series Fuel Pressure Regulator and EFI Pro Series fuel filters. The VP Racing Fuels C16 fuel is fed through Fragola’s 3000 Series race hose and fittings from a custom-built two gallon fuel cell to Holley LS fuel rails for our Hi-Ram intake outfitted with FAST 160-pound fuel injectors.

No inadequate fuel pressure or volume problems with this beast. The Aeromotive Pro Series EFI fuel pump can easily flow enough fuel to meet our 4-digit power goals, and even leave some room to grow.

We plumbed in a Pro Series Fuel Filter on each side of the fuel pump - one immediately after the fuel leaves the cell, and another before it goes on to the FPR. You might be thinking that the first filter is too close to the oil cooler, and will heat up the fuel. If his were a street car, we would agree. But the fuel will have plenty of time to cool down between rounds, so we aren't too worried about it, and it made the packaging much simpler up front.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE DETAILED FEATURE AND INSTALL OF THE FUEL SYSTEM

Elsewhere, we’ve also made a change in the battery department on BlownZ in the name of saving precious weight, opting for one of Lithium Pros‘ ultra light lithium batteries. Within our fuell-length tech review, we’ve dug deeper into the technology of lithium ion batteries and its advantages, but oen of the big selling points for drag racers is that these batteries are 60-80% lighter than a comparable lead acid battery. The battery seen here that we installed in BlownZ weighs just nine pounds, which is 26-1/2 pounds lighter than a same-size lead acid battery for the car. Of course, with an impressive depth of discharge of 80 percent and quick charging, there are obvious pluses beyond just weight.

Left: This lead acid battery of the same size as the Lithium Pros battery we use in BlownZ weighs 35 pounds, 14 ounces. Center: The Lithium Pros battery used in BlownZ weighs just nine pounds, six ounces. That's a weight savings of 26-1/2 pounds. Far Right: This is the Lithium Pros battery out of BlownZ. It is nearly impossible to hold a comparable lead acid battery like this.

You might recall in our recent feature on the Chassisworks gear drive unit that we’ve intentionally changed our combination around to run the fuel pump directly off the crank as an accessory drive so that we could cut down from two batteries to one, and this is a part of that process.

READ MORE ABOUT THE LITHIUM PROS BATTERY IN BLOWNZ

March 12, 2013: Exhaust System Tech: BlownZ Gets Its Pipes

In our last update, we took a closer look at the engine build of our LSX powerplant, and in specific, our cylinder heads and valvetrain combination. As any gearhead knows though,once that air makes its way past the exhaust valve, it takes a well designed set of headers to make the entire package work well, and that’s the subject of our latest BlownZ tech article, as we take a glance at the new headers that the folks at Kooks Custom Headers have ‘Kook’d’ up for us.

Based on our engine combination, power output, power adder, and other attributes that all come together int a header-building formula, the team at Kooks fabricated us a set of 304 stainless long-tube headers, featuring two-inch primaries and a 3.5-inch collector. Kooks developed these headers, which weigh in at 35 pounds with all the hardware attached, specifically for LS-powered, fourth-generation GM F-bodies like our Camaro.

At many drag strips, and particularly those here in California, we can’t simply run open exhaust, so we’ve got to make ourselves legal, and for that, we turned to Vibrant Performance and their four-inch Race Mufflers. We’ve also picked up two four-inch oval stainless steel tubing sections, two oval-to-round four-inch OD transition adapters, and stainless V-band flange assemblies to complete our exhaust setup.

Here are the 304 stainless steel Kooks long-tubes spec’ing in with 2-inch primaries and 3.5-inch collectors (PN 6501-2R-MC). You’ll also note in this photo the patented scavenger spikes.

Left: Here, shop dawg Sean welds the O2 sensor bung for the F.A.S.T EFI into place on the Kooks headers. Thankfully, we have a full line of Lincoln Electric welding products to complete the job at hand! Right: Our completed exhaust system simply looks awesome under our Camaro, and we're more than happy with the components we've selected. We admit it would be a bit much for a street car, so you may want to consider that if you're looking to mimic this setup.

In this update, we offer a glance at the components we’ll be utilizing before getting our hands dirty, welding the O2 sensor bungs to the header and piecing the entire system together out in the shop.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE TECH ARTICLE ON OUR EXHAUST SYSTEM

March 12, 2013: New Video From The Track

Last week, our video crew churned out an awesome new highlight video filmed last season at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona during one of our first outings with BlownZ, showing our shutoff 9.57 pass followed by a our much improved 5.62 to the 1/8-mile in eliminations. Hit the video below and have a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l-hQ9lT5zs

February 1, 2013: 388 LSX Race Engine – Trick Flow/TEA Cylinder Heads

We’ve already covered the short block build of our 388-inch bullet in-depth here on Dragzine, and with that complete, it’s time to move on to the rest of the engine build. Naturally, as we work our way upward, that brings us to the cylinder heads, for which we’ve called upon Trick Flow Specialties/Total Engine Airflow.

As any novice engine builder can attest, cylinder heads are one of the primary ingredients for making peak horsepower, so we knew we had to select the proper head (that also fit within the rules) to flow the kind of numbers we had in mind. Our good friend Shawn Miller at Virginia Speed, who performed the engine build, determined with the folks at Trick Flow that a set of their TFS 265cc LSX-R heads were just the answer. Once in Miller’s hands, Total Engine Airflow in Tallmadge, Ohio port the head for maximum flow.

Filling out the drivetrain, Ferrea supplied us with a set of their titanium intake valves stainless steel exhaust valves, all from their 6000 series Competition lineup. For valve springs, we turned to COMP Cams, who hooked us up with their Elite drag race dual 1.500-inch diameter valve springs to handle the valves while under operation at more than 9,000 RPM with a big lift cam and high cylinder pressures, because a set of wimpy just don’t do in those conditions. Last, but certainly not least, we turned to Jesel to supply us with their very trick shaft rocker setup and a set of keyed lifters, topped with some of their drop dead sexy billet aluminum valve covers.

We put a lot of thought into the cylinder head choice for the ProCharged 388ci LSX for Project BlownZ, and in the end we went with a set of Trick Flow’s LSX-R 265 heads and let the guys at Total Engine Airflow work their magic on them.

Shawn Miller from Virginia Speed installs the Ferrea Valves in the Trick Flow LSX-R 265 heads.

This article covers every step of the cylinder prep process, and even dives into the flow numbers and the specific details of the port work performed by Total Airflow, so if you’re curious to know more about our setup or just want to glean some knowledge for own engine build, you’ll want to check out the story in its entirety.

Left: We finished off BlownZ's TFS LSX-R 265 heads with Jesel's trick long-slot rocker arms. Right: High rpm and lots of boost means you’ve gotta run a lot of spring, and we handled that with Comp Cams’ Elite Drag Race dual springs with 350 pounds on the seat and a whopping 950 open.

READ THE COMPLETE UPDATE ON OUR CYLINDER HEAD SELECTION AND INSTALL

January 15, 2013 – Keepin’ It Slick: BlownZ’s Dry Sump Oil System

If the absolute end goal of your racing program is to make horsepower (by not giving up horsepower) at all costs, there’s simply no other choice in the oiling department but a dry sump system. And in the vast majority of heads-up race cars where power wins and a lack of horsepower misses the qualifying field, dry sumps are a virtual requirement. There are of course other benefits — and cons — to a dry sump, which are hit on in detail in this latest update on BlownZ.

Getting down to the nitty gritty details, most of the hard parts of our dry sump puzzle come courtesy of our friends at Peterson Fluid Systems, including their lightweight, five-stage R4 dry sump pump, pre-filter, a seven-inch drag racing reservoir tank, oil tank heater, inline temperature sender housing, and their remote oil filter mount with a system primer. For the oil pan, we went with an ARE piece designed for the LS engine, and Fragola 3000 Series hoses and fittings completed the dry sump system loop for us in great fashion.

Naturally, even more important than how you circulate oil through the intricate system that is a race motor is WHAT you circulate through it. An engine is a sizable investment, and good oil is like a insurance policy on your investment. So, we got hooked up with Royal Purple, who turned us on to their XPR (Extreme Performance Racing) 10-W40 oil designed specifically for the demands of a high-horse race engine.

Left: A dry sump oil system makes perfect sense in a dedicated drag car like BlownZ. We want to keep the windage and parasitic power losses to a minimum - and that's just what a dry sump will do for us. Right: The Peterson -12AN pan mount and 90-degree pre-filters were a perfect match for our ARE dry sump oil pan.

Left: We used Fragola's Series 3000 Braided Stainless Race Hose for all of BlownZ's cooling, fueling, and oiling plumbing. We matched the hose with Fragola's Series 3000 billet swivel hose ends. Right: After all this hard work, there's no way we're trusting our engine to just any old off-the-shelf oil. For us, Royal Purple's XPR 10w-40 Race Oil was just what we were looking for to keep our engine healthy and not cost us power.

In this update, we take an in-depth look at each part of the dry sump system on BlownZ’s LSX bullet, providing a break-down of each of the components needed to make it operational.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

January 14, 2013 – Chassisworks CDS Gear Drive On BlownZ

Hardcore supercharged racing applications like our Project BlownZ have for years been shifting away from the more standard use of supercharger belts in favor of a gear drive system that takes the stress and load off the snout of the crankshaft, while also alleviating the problems that belts inherently have in all-out race use. With BlownZ in the shop for the winter for upgrades for the coming 2013 season, we took the opportunity to upgrade our drive system with Chris Alston’s Chassisworks’ new Component Gear Drive system that brings to the table not only a gear drive setup for single and dual superchargers, but some really trick accessory drives on the single blower units that can drive your alternator, fuel pumps, water pump, steering pump, and distributor, should you so choose.

Chassisworks has developed these units for a number of different engine combinations, and we had the opportunity to bolt on one of the first pieces designed for the LSX powerplant to mate up with our ProCharger F-1R blower (and eventually the F-1X). We also opted for a lone accessory drive for our new fuel pump from Aeromotive that we’ve gone to. The fuel pump, Aeromotive’s Billet Hex Drive, was a necessary addition to fulfill our goal of downgrading our power draw, as we’re not running an alternator and recently went from two 16-volt batteries to one.

From this angle, you can see the direct connection of the ATI damper to the flange of the gear drive.

Another part of this update on BlownZ, and one that comes as part of the move to the gear drive, is our new ATI Super Damper balancer that ATI Performance Products whipped up for us to our specifications. What we received was a lightweight damper that actually encompasses seven different part numbers, with a dual-keyway hub (a must when running a blower), a thinner physique, and a face with three extra bolts to bolt to the face of the six-puck hub of the gear drive.

Here's an up close and personal look at our finished product ready for a crack at the dyno. We'll be bringing you additional updates on our experiences with the gear drive after we get some testing hits on the new combo.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

January 10, 2013 – Installing A Chiseled Water Tank And Intercooler

If a supercharger is going to make the optimum power — and that’s pretty well the reason why we drag racers do what we do — then cooling that air being forced into the engine at an incredible rate is key. To keep our 388-inch LSX bullet fed with cool flowing air from our ProCharger F1-R blower, we set out to install a brand new intercooler and water tank system inside the confines of our Camaro.

The new setup consists of a water tank and intercooler from Chiseled Performance, a Rule in-tank pump, 3.5-inch intercooler piping and VanJen clamps from Vibrant Performance, and water lines and fittings from Fragola.

The new intercooler comes out-of-the-box with the tank already mounted inside, however, the end-user is required to perform a little welding work to install the mounting brackets for installation. After all, not every car is the same.

We began assembly by starting from the engine bay and working our way back. The green tape you see was applied prior to installation, as to prevent any kind of unnecessary scratching to our brand new intercooler tubing while other work was being performed on our 388.

The completed Chiseled intercooler and water tank, ready for installation into BlownZ. At this point, we weren’t sure if we wanted to actually install them, or just stare at them for a while. They really are that pretty.

Left: Dean routes our Vibrant ducting from the engine through the firewall, to the intercooler. Right: This is what our air charge system looks like inside the cockpit. You can forget about taking a passenger down the 'strip with us because it's just not happening.

When all was said and done and testing was complete on the dyno to see how the new intercooler and water tank setup performed, we recorded a maximum blower air temperature of 385 degrees at 6.250 RPM, with an intake temperature of 85 degrees at 3,500 RPM. Plus, our water temperature never peaked over 168 degrees — much lower than a car typically runs at.

CONTINUE READING BY CLICKING HERE

October 25, 2012 – Our New Holley Hi-Ram Intake From Wilson Manifolds

Those of you familiar with our 2002 Camaro BlownZ will know about our desire to run 7s with our ProCharger F1R equipped 388 LSX engine. As part of our mission, we equipped the engine with TFS 265cc cathedral port heads and the new Holley Hi-Ram intake manifold. The Holley Hi-Ram (see our article here) is an outstanding intake manifold that is a tunnel ram-type intake for the LSX engine. However, because the Hi-Ram is built for everything from hot street applications (500 hp) to entry-level race engines, it simply can’t be all things to all people. After we go the engine running down the race track and on the dyno, we discovered that for our power levels of 1,300-plus horsepower, the Hi-Ram simply didn’t have the plenum volume that our engine needed in order to produce maximum horsepower with optimal efficiency.

Step one in the Holley Hi-Ram Wilson project was removing the Holley plenum. Using a mill, Wilson’s fabricators cut out the stock runners from the original Holley plenum.

(Left) The Holley-Hi Ram runners were welded to the Wilson sheet metal base. To make it look good, Wilson polished all of the welds flush and then bead blasted the intake. This helps make the lower look uniform and aesthetically pleasing. (Center) Welding together the upper sheet metal intake. Everything Wilson touches that is aluminum is rig-welded by experts with years and years of welding experience. A fine touch is needed for welds that look awesome. (Right) During initial mock up, Wilson test fits the Hi-Ram with the new sheet metal plenum. Those vertical aluminum spacers are welded into the upper plenum area to keep the manifold from distorting and getting tweaked during the welding process. Wilson also shortened the Holley runners about 3/4-inch because of the 8,500 rpm range of our LSX intake.

The completed Wilson Hi-Ram intake.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

October 15, 2012 – Moroso’s LS Valley Plate And Our Cooling Setup Swap

Despite the best-laid plans when piecing a race car together, there are certain things that you simply can’t determine without taking the car out to the track, putting some laps on it in a true racing environment, and evaluating all of its functions and operations.

For the cooling setup on BlownZ, we chose one of AFCO’s premier doorslammer radiators (Part No. 80104N), which features an all-aluminum, tig-welded construction, and paired it with a single 8-inch fan. Because we were going to run a Meziere radiator-mount water pump rather than an engine-driven pump, we had to do some modifications. We began by replacing the large inlet at the top of the radiator with a pair of -16 AN bungs and fittings, one of which was drilled and welded on the side of the radiator. The crew at AFCO then assisted in modifying the water pump and bracket so that it could be mounted on the radiator. In lieu of the water pump mounted on the motor, we installed an adapter with four AN fittings — two of which fed to the inlet and the other two to the water pump.

This cooling setup peformed admirably, but if you’ve ever been to California, Nevada, or Arizona in the summer time, it’s hot, and with some of the delays that are common at the track, like waiting for officials to check the track or for a car to clear the top end, we were running a little on the warm side. So we turned to our friends at AFCO, who set us up with a larger 10-inch fan and a shroud to bring those temperatures in check and allow us to run the car for a longer period of time without concern.

Here’s the AFCO radiator with the larger 10-inch fan and shroud that AFCO supplied us to deliver some cooler temperatures to the motor.

Shown here is our AFCO aluminum radiator, which was recently retrofitted with a 10-inch fan and a shroud for improved cooling, along with a view of our radiator-mounted Meziere water pump that's routed to the block via AN bungs and fitting that we've plumbed into the block and radiator.

Elsewhere, another recent addition to the project is one of Moroso’s LS Lifter Valley Plates. These plates, which cover the lifter valley’s atop factor and aftermarket GM LS Series engines, replaces the OEM GM plate and lacks the two provisions for knock sensors that generally aren’t used in racing applications, as open headers, slid lifter cams, and stiff suspensions can false trigger the sensors. Aside from the more streamlined functionality that’s more appropriate for racing purposes, this plate is made of aluminum and simply looks great on our LSX powerplant.

It's not easy to see with the top of the engine assembled, but this is Moroso's aluminum LS Lifter Valley Plate that replaces the stock GM piece. The primary benefit is the lack of provisions for knock sensors found on the OEM plate, but it also looks great.

September 20, 2012 – Dropping Weight With Five Star Bodies Windows

In our latest project update, we’ve highlighted the replacement of BlownZ’s front windshield with an aftermarket, race-intended windshield from Five Star Bodies. Now, make no mistake, there’s a lot of weight to be lost by swapping the heavy factory glass for plexiglass or polycarbonate windows, but beyond that, the added level of safety gained by eliminating the actual glass from a 180 mph race car is immeasurable.

Five Star Bodies manufactures windshields for the 1993-2002 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird using a “top secret” process that delivers incredible strength and durability, in thicknesses that include 1/8, 1/4, and 3/16-inch. Rear windows are offered in 1/8 and 3/16-inch. 

With the OEM windshield removed and all of the sealer cleared away, the direct-fit windshield drops into place. From there, without over-tightening, we simply begin at the corners and work out way around the windshield installing the allen head screws. The result here? A lighter — and more importantly — a safer race car.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY ON OUR WINDOW INSTALLATION

September 10, 2012 – BlownZ’s Front Suspension

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TECH ARTICLE COVERING BLOWNZ’S FRONT SUSPENSION INSTALL

Getting a high-powered, heavy race car down the drag strip on a set of 275 Drag Radials using stock-style suspension is no easy task, but it’s the task that we’ve accepted. In order to give ourselves the best ride possible and all of the tuning adjustments we need to dial the nose of the car in to the power and the race track, we’ve commissioned a new K-Member, Control Arms, and a Pinto Steering Rack for the front suspension department. In addition, we’ve also obtained a set of AFCO’s double-adjustable front coilover shocks that will allow us to independently set our compression and rebound to tune for the race track.

Tying it all together is PA Racing’s lightweight chromoly drop spindles that will allow us to drop the ride height two-inches and utilize a longer shock, but even moreso, drop sound 60 pounds off the car over the stock OEM spindles.

(Left) The biggest advantage to PA Racing's F-body Drop Spindles is that they helped us drop weight off the front of BlownZ. (Right) Here's the basis of our front suspension - the Spohn Performance tubular K-member, chromoly control arms, and Pinto manual steering rack with bumpsteer corrected tie-rods.

September 10, 2012 – Plumbing With Fragola Performance

When building and operating a race car, you really want the fluids to remain in the race car, because nothing good can come from errant oil, water, power steering fluids, and the like. In effect, hoses and fitting aren’t something that you want to skimp on, and we haven’t.

For BlownZ, we’ve called upon Fragola Performance to hook us up with their braided hoses, fittings, and fittings ends from their Series 3000 Race line of products for the fuel and cooling systems on our supercharged Camaro. The 3000 Race hoses can withstand pressures of 1500 psi with their two woven layers of stainless steel that’s compatible with alcohol and any natural or synthetic-based lubricants from -40 to over 300 degrees.

(Left) Using Stainless Braides Hoses and Race Hose Ends from their Series 3000 line, Fragola Performance Systems supplied the parts necessary to help deliver fuel & oil to this supercharged 388 cubic inch LSX beast we call Project BlownZ. (Right) The Fragola fuel lines and fittings plumbed on BlownZ.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

September 5, 2012 – AEM’s 4-Channel Wideband UEGO

One of the most recent additions and certainly one of the most useful tools on our BlownZ Camaro is our new dual 4-Channel Wideband UEGO controllers from our friends at AEM Electronics. This setup is state-of-the-art, with a single oxygen sensor for each hole rather than one sensor for each bank that averages the results.

By being able to monitor and control each cylinder separate of the other with our accompanying XFI 2.0 engine management system, this offers us unparalleled tuning insight.

From the get-go with our chassis dyno testing, we had to work to line out our tune-up, and we were able to take the data gathered from the sensor in each hole to pinpoint where the cylinders were blowing out and get ourselves on the right path as we headed to the track.

The unique heat-sink design of the oxygen sensor bungs allows them to be placed in the perfect position to monitor each cylinder closely.

 READ THE DETAILED TECH FEATURE ON OUR AEM WIDEBAND HERE

August 30, 2012 – The Jesel Valvetrain Setup In Our LSX 388 Mill

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE JESEL VALVETRAIN COMBO IN OUR LSX BULLET

As one of the most extensive projects we’ve undertaken to date, a lot of components have played into the construction of BlownZ, with the assistance of a long list of partners in the industry. The folks at Jesel Valvetrain, along with COMP Cams and Trick Flow Specialties, were a part of our most recent tech piece centered around BlownZ, in which we take a look at the trick valvetrain setup that’s been devised for the 388-inch powerplant.

Here's the recipe for our serious LSX valvetrain - first you start with a Jesel belt drive for easy degree changes and dampening, then mix in some Jesel keyway lifters for ultra-high RPM durability. Finally, we topped everything off with a set of Jesel's long-arc rockers, and their trick valve covers for the needed clearance.

Here’s one of the TFS heads with all the Jesel gear installed, and the custom valve cover that is required with the Jesel LS conversion. Said Virginia Speed’s Shawn Miller, “It’s the best thing out there for the LS engine. It takes a while to do the conversion and it’s expensive, but it’s worth it. And the Jesel billet valve cover, while pricey, is beautiful.”

August 21, 2012 – BlownZ’s NMCA West Debut In Pomona

For months, our goal had been to complete BlownZ in time to debut it at the NMCA West coast Shootout in Pomona, and although we only had a couple of test hits on the car to this point, we were off to Pomona. We arrived at the Auto Club Raceway still in test mode, but with every intention of making a showing, and we’d like to think we did just that. BlownZ qualified No. 4 in the five-car field at 5.86 at 117 mph, and although we dropped out first round match with eventual 275 Drag Radial winner Kevin Young, we did card a much-improved 5.62 with a 1.34 short time and our first full 1/8-mile pass with the car. This run would equate to a high eight-second lap at around a buck-sixty in the quarter. We’re getting there. Baby steps…

 For months, our goal had been to complete BlownZ in time to debut it at the NMCA West Coast Shootout in Bakersfield. This was the first NMCA race of the year. We didn’t make it. We reset our sight on the PSCA Fontana race, and Fontana got shut down. Just our luck. We quickly eyeballed Pomona – the legendary Pomona raceway that hadn’t seen a fast street car in over 10 years – and although we only had a couple of test hits on the car to this point, we were off to smog city. Driver James Lawrence, Crew Chief Sean Goude, and Crew Member Dean Jigamian finished the last minute thrash and loaded up the trailer.

We arrived at the Auto Club Raceway still in test mode, but with every intention of making a showing, and we’d like to think we did just that. We competed in the NMCA West 275 class, which features mid 7 second runs, and some very competitive racers including the Young Brothers (Jeff and Kevin). The Young’s consistently run in the 7.50s and 7.60s with ProCharger F2 small block Chevys.

Our goal for the weekend was to get some seat time in the car and learn the chassis and setup, and work on the tuneup. High 8s would be fine, we weren’t trying to really win – but we wanted that sweet nectar called progress. During Friday’s first test and tune session, we were going to start out with a 1/8 mile hit to get a baseline. Buckled into the car, it was hot, hot, hot – almost 100 degrees. We left our setup the same from Barona, a very conservative timing and air fuel ratio, and almost 5 degrees of timing pulled out at launch. After a spirited burnout, we pulled to the line and put BlownZ on the trans brake. We dialed in 3,800 rpm for the launch, and the ProCharger F1R was just started to get work done with 6 psi when we let go off the button. A 1.38 60′ foot was promising, but the car began to the pull to the right soon after launch. Our driver pedaled the car at 300′ before getting back into it, and lifted right around 500′ well before the 1/8 mile mark. We carded a 5.90 at 121 mph in the 1/8, and a 9.57 at only 117 mph in the quarter mile.

For the first round of qualifying, we made some tweaks, but ran into a similar challenge. The car drifted right. We lifted and ran 9.56. BlownZ was practically a bracket car, but not for the right reasons. For a long time, we have been battling an issue with fouled spark plugs. They reared their head again in the second round of qualifying, and the car shut off on the line. We were unable to test our sway bar adjustments. Without a third round of qualifying, that left us with one-shot, one-kill for the first round of eliminations. Good thing we were lining up with the class champion.

BlownZ qualified No. 4 in the five-car field at 5.86 at 117 mph, and although we dropped out first round match with eventual 275 Drag Radial winner Kevin Young, we did card a much-improved 5.62 at 128 mph, with a 1.36 short time and our first full 1/8-mile pass with the car. This run would equate to a 8.70 at around a buck-sixty in the quarter. We’re getting there. This was still on a very conservative setup – think less than 18 degrees of timing and 10.8:1 air/fuel ratio. We’re going to work on fixing a few things, and will get BlownZ back to the track soon in pursuit of the 7-second zone soon.

Pomona TnT Run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVLOgd8dzaM

Pomona Qualifying Run #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Lg597BttI

August 21, 2012 – Testing At Barona And Oiling With Royal Purple

After more than a year in the making, from a complete engine buildup with Virginia Speed to a virtual nose-to-tail overhaul of the Camaro, the day of reckoning finally dawned as BlownZ took her maiden voyage at the nearby Barona 1/8-Mile Drags in Barona, Calif. We knew we'd have to crawl before we could walk, and after a mad thrash all week to get the car ready, this debut was intended to get some data and a little experience behind the wheel for our driver -- not to set the world on fire. We made two runs at Barona: the first netted an early lifting 6.54 at 86 mph, with a 3,000 RPM launch RPM, 10 degrees of timing pulled at launch, and a 6500 RPM shift. On our second run later that evening, BlownZ broke into the fives, despite lifting at 3.2 seconds onto the run. On this pass, our launch RPM was at 3,000 and timing retard at 5 degrees over 1.5 seconds, netting a nice 1.34 short time and a 5.99 at 90 mph. As noted in a prior project update, we utilized VP Racing Fuels C16 for our high compression, supercharged engine. We learned a lot and didn't break anything, and that's a winner in our book.

Bakersfield First Shakedown Run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCTs-FDr1LI

Testing at Barona

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln1Pj5GWxbg

You’ve heard us say countless times that quality, well-maintained oiling is priority number one, and it’s a point we preach and one we live by. Our friends at Royal Purple shipped us some of their XPR 10W-40 extreme performance synthetic racing oil to run through BlownZ’s LSX 388 mill. the XPR combines the highest quality synthetic base oil with Royal Purple’s proprietary additives and other enhancers to create a lubricant that delivers more horsepower and torque, along with more protection against heat and wear.

Here you can see the crew out in the shop filling the dry sump reservoir on BlownZ with the Royal Purple XPR.

Before heading to the track, BlownZ gets an injection of VP’s C16 racing fuel. C16 is designed with turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous-aided engines in mind, and with compression ratios of up to 17:1. This blend is considered by many racers as their fuel of choice, and is in fact the No. 1 selling racing fuel for high-boost engines.

June 20, 2012 – Finishing Little Pieces

In this installment we wire up BlownZ’s XFI engine management system and ignition, cut our light weight windows, and fire up the ProCharged 388 LSX for some base line dyno tuning. When it came time to tune BlownZ, we went to one of the best in the business. Brian Macy from Horsepower Connection. Brian is one of the most talented XFI tuners in the country and he also is the lead XFI instruction for FAST XFI for EFI University. We have a full story coming soon on the dyno results and our tribulations on BlownZ. While we aren’t telling you the full story yet, rest assured it’s an interesting one!

We highly recommend Macy and Horsepower Connection for XFI tuning. If you need help with XFI, or need to purchase a full system, con sider him and their team. Brian can be reached at brian@horsepowerconnection.com.

So now that we’ve got the engine, transmission, suspension, and rear end ready to go, we just need to get BlownZ wired up. Sounds easier than it looks, but wiring isn’t anything to be intimidated by as long as you take your time and follow the instructions. We selected MSD’s PowerGrid with the MSD ARC control and XFI 2.0. We will also be doing a piece on Davis Traction control.

Since we’re using a distributor to light the fire on our LSX (more on that in a minute), we picked up an MSD Power Grid Ignition to provide plenty of steady spark. Best of all, its got some very cool tuning features we’ll be putting to use. This is a CAN-driven system where we can add additional accessories to the Grid. We have the MSD “ARC” Module which stands for Advanced RPM Control – which will help us dial in our timing retards.

The FAST XFI 2.0 is going to be the brains of this operation, controlling the injectors, spark timing, and giving us all the tuning ablities we really need to get the most out of the 388 LSX. We are working with one of the leading XFI Tuners in the country, Brian Macy from Horsepower Connection.

Electric water pump, electric fans, electric oil warmer, electronic fuel injection – all this stuff takes a lot of power to run, but we don’t want to be hauling around more dead weight than we have to. So we picked up two XS Power 16V light-weight batteries and mounted them in the trunk where the extra weight might do us a little bit of good.

Back in the engine bay, we started fabbing up some brackets for the MSD coil near where the front mount distributor would finally make its home.

The FAST XFI will be controlling BlownZ’s spark, but the MSD Power Grid does have some cool features like timing retards and timing decay that we will be using at the racetrack to plant the 275 Drag Radials.

We used the wiring system from the aptly named Spaghetti Menders to delegate electricity where it needs to go.

After several hours of soldering, crimping, and testing, things were finally starting to come together. Here you can see the FAST XFI, the MSD Power Grid, and the Spaghetti Menders block roughly where they will stay in BlownZ.

We also wired up our Racepak V300SD Data Recorder, and installed one of the most valuable sensors for a car like BlownZ – the driveshaft sensor. The driveshaft sensor can tell us if there was a loss of traction, bumps in the track, torque convertor slippage, and where there convertor lock up occured (slip ratio) in high gear.

Some racers might still be afraid of using EFI and Data Logging to tune their racecar, but we plan to exploid modern technology for all its worth.

One area where we actually decided to use old-school technology was the ignition. We’re running a front mounted Jesel Extreme Distributor Belt drive which used a MSD cap and Hall Effect sensor to supply spark to all 8 cylinders. Why? That’s a good question, and a topic that is hotly debated among racers. However, in the end we went with the distributor because it has proven over yeaers and years of use to be reliable in high RPM applications. Considering that we plan to spin the 388 LSX to almost 8,500 RPM, we need that kind of reliability.

Switching gears, we took the time to test fit our new light-weight polycarbonate windows from Five Star bodies.

The poly windows from Five Star required trimming for our specific application. We worked slowly.

On a car like BlownZ, every ounce counts, and polycarbonate windows are 75% lighter than the stock glass in addition to offering the same clarity.

Now things are really starting to happen…We checked everything over, bolted up the Mickey Thompson wheels and tires, rolled it up on the dyno, and filled the fuel cell with VP C16 race gas. VP C16 is our fuel of choice for our higher compression (11.5:1) F1R ProCharger SuperCharged race engine.

It’s dyno time – and that means breaking in the engine, and getting a baseline tune up. We have a long, long story about how this all went down, and we will tell it to you in the next update.

When it came time to tune BlownZ, we went to one of the best in the business. Brian Macy from Horsepower Connection. Brian is one of the most talented XFI tuners in the country and he also is the lead XFI instruction for FAST XFI for EFI University. We have a full story coming soon on the dyno results and our tribulations on BlownZ.

BlownZ Breaking Up On The Dyno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUA8O1-EXS4

May 22, 2012

With the engine finally in the car, we needed to start pulling together all of the extra parts it needs to actually run. We got our throttle cable and one of Lokar’s Anchor-Tight flexible transmission dipsticks.

The Lokar Anchor-Tight trans dipstick is actually really easy to install, and a pretty trick part. It’s designed to do just what its name implies; anchor tight into the transmission and not leak.

Of course, you have to have the transmission pan out to be able to install the new Anchor-Tight trans dipstick. Here’ a look at the inner workings of our TCI Pro-X Powerglide trans.

Sean just snaked the end flexible stainless braided dipstick tube up into the engine compartment…

…popped the threaded snout down into the dip stick hole on our Pro-X…

…and threaded on the nut for a tight seal that won’t leak.

The Lokar Anchor-Tight trans dipsticks use a locking mechanism to make sure the dipstick stays in the tube no matter how much pressure builds up in the transmission. It’s a perfect fit for a car like BlownZ.

The nice thing about a flexible dipstick hose is that you can mount it where it’s most convenient for you.We bolted ours to the firewall right underneath where the intercooler piping will enter the cabin.

May 17th, 2009

With the cross brace and cowl box both finally finished up, it was finally time to get the engine installed for what we hoped would be the final time.

BlownZ will be using a dry sump oiling system from Peterson Fluid Systems. Look for a full tech article on the oil system in the near future.

One nice thing about all the cowl work we did is that we could drop the 388 LSX and TCI Pro-X Powerglide into the engine bay from the top rather than up from the bottom like in a stock 4th Gen.

But even with all the extra room we made in the cowl area, it still too a bit of finesse to keep from slamming the engine into our new cowl box. Luckly by now we were getting pretty good at getting the engine in and out of the car.

The 388 LSX in its rightful place…

When we got the engine where we wanted it and the engine plate secured to the mounts, we could start putting the Afco radiator and Aeromotive fuel system back in the car. We were using a custom made Afco radiator with integrated Meziere water pump; Fragola hoses and fittings, an an Aeromotive EFI Pro Series pump.

It might be hard to believe, but that one simple Afco electric fan provides all the cooling BlownZ needs in the staging lanes and after a run. Hey, it’s not like we’ll be sitting in rush hour traffic in a dedicated drag car.

The Holley Hi-Ram Intake manifold is just the icing on the cake. We’re using their new cathedral port version for early style LS heads, and aimed it right at the cowl box.

Now that we’ve got BlownZ’s heart in place, it’s time to get some blood and other vital fluids pumping through the veins. We once again went with Fragola FPS 3000 hose and fittings for the plumbing we had left to do.

Good thing these Fragola hose ends are easy to work with…

…because we have a LOT of plumbing to get done. Here you can see that we’ve got our feed and return lines ran to the fuel rails, as well as the coolant and oil lines to the block. At this point we really started looking forward to the first time we would get to hear this beast roar to life.

In order to contain all of the fuel system lines in an NHRA legal fashion, Sean G. is building a front cross brace and frame for the fuel pump, filters and lines. This will protect the front end components in case of accident.

Moroso’s breathers got the call for BlownZ. These are really nice sheet metal oil breathers – and we hid them behind the front head lights. They also have a nice petcock in case we need to drain them.

You can see how we had to arrange and carefully design the Aeromotive Pro Series pump with a vertical orientation – using a careful selection of Fragola 90-degree and 45-degree -12 fittings.

This is the fuel system layout we’re running on our front fuel-cell equipped F-body. -12 from the cell, Fragola -12 stainless line, Aeromotive Pro Series fuel pump and filters. We’ll need to build a frame around the fuel lines and filter of 1-1/8-inch moly tubing to comply with NHRA rules.

We removed the tape and body protective wrap for a video shoot today. BlownZ looks good.

Moser’s M9 for F_body ready to go back into the car. We filmed a video for Moser on their new drag brake setup we’re running – that’s why it’s back out.

A little elbow grease on the VA Speed 388ci.

We cleaned up the VA Speed built 388ci bullet. Trick Flow 265cc cathedral port heads, Jesel Belt Drive, and an LSX block get the magic done.

This is BlownZ on March 20th. The engine is coming in and out of this car more than you can believe. We’ve got the cowl box finished and waiting for the Five Star Bodies poly windows. You can see our Afco radiator and 2 gallon fuel cell.

Fragola “FPS Series” 3000 Race Hose is what we chose for the plumbing. Manufactured to the highest aerospace-quality standards for years of trouble-free service even in the most demanding circumstances, we were pretty comfortable with it.

Fragola “FPS” 3000 “billet” swivel hose ends got the call for our series race application. With tire shake being common for fast drag radial cars, we wanted some serious hose ends.

Afco’s micro-custom radiator mounted at a 50-degree angle so that we can fit a large 8-10″ inlet tube to the front of the ProCharger F1 series blower. Check out our integrated Meziere water pump.

Completed cowl box.

Removable driveshaft loop.

In order to get our torque arm to clear the floor under suspension compression, we had to slightly clearance the floor.

Today was welding – specifically the Vibrant intercooler tubing. Shop Dawg Sean Goude got down and dirty welding our Vibrant aluminum tubing with our kick ass Lincoln Electric 275 Precision TIG welder. And let me tell you – one look at this welder and you’ll know – that’s a serious piece of hardware. Offensive lineman weigh less than this bad boy. We can’t wait to show off the welds we laid, but you’ll need to wait a few more days.

One of the first things we wanted to address was traction, and in order to make the most of our small-tire car, we turned to Moser Engineering for their M9 Ford 9-inch rearend, harnessed to their torque arm suspension. The Moser M9 is a fabricated 9-inch, and it’s combined with 3.89 gears and Moser’s 40-spline axles. We also went big with the new Moser Drag brake kit.

Here’s a closer look at that rear swaybar – it’s a double-tube unit from Wolfe Race Craft that can handle the massive torque loads our blown 388 will be delivering, while still offering a progressive response and far more adjustablity than a single bar. Wolfe recommends the double bar for cars quicker than 8.50.

Under the hatch, a pair of battery trays from Chris Alston’s Chassisworks are test-fit. The location will put the weight of our dual batteries where it’s most advantageous.

Up front, we’re using a Spohn Performance drag K-member, Spohn chrome-moly control arms, Spohn’s Pinto-style manual rack, Spohn bump steer kit, Afco double adjustable shocks, Strange front brakes, and a  PA racing 2-inch drop spindle. Since we’re using motor plates, we elected for the no motor mount option.

We turned to Fragola Performance Systems for our cooling, trans, and fuel system plumbing – Making sure the fire stays fed is critical to the success of our project, so no corners are being cut here… We’ll go into a lot more detail on the Fragola hardware in an upcoming story.

BlownZ’s air-to-water intercooler comes courtesy of Chiseled Performance is a 2,000 HP air-to-water design with 4-inch V-band clamps and Chiseled’s special high-boost 1-piece end tank design.

Our intake tubing comes to us courtesy of Vibrant Performance, as well as mandrel bends, Vanjet clamps, and other critical fittings. We elected for 3.5-inch tubing for the supercharger to intercooler. Vibrant has an amazing selection of stuff, we were especially impressed by the quality of the tubing bends. There was literally zero deflection in the tubing.

With the VA Speed 388ci engine in place and the motor plate more or less in its final position, it was time to start mocking up all the tubing from our ProCharger to the intercooler and back to the engine. We’re running a ProCharger F1R and a Dan Schoneck-designed reverse belt-drive.

Here is the Chiseled Intercooler mounted with the Vibrant hardware and proprietary Vanjet band clamp.

Our 388-cubic-inch LSX built by Virginia Speed arrived, and the challenge became shoehorning it beneath our Camaro’s cowl. This was no small task.

In the interior of the car, we mocked up the Vibrant tubing, and Dean began playing the game of musical tubing… We were planning the entire time to build a removable panel inside the cowl so we could access the throttle body. Compared to a Mustang, the cowl area of an F-body is a complete mess for a supercharged or forced induction application.

We worked very hard on the ride height of BlownZ. This shows our lowered ride height, plus our new M/T wheels. Pretty sweet looking. We had some concerns about the fender to tire clearance but it turned out that under virtually any scenario there was no problem with clearance.

Wolfe’s double sway bar and the Afco double-adjustable shocks installed. Due to the lowered ride height, we did need to use an Afco shock that was one-inch shorter than the factory extension length. However, Afco does make an F-body shock in the shorter configuration.

Our interior – and yes – it looks messy. When we bought the car, it had a factory column in it, and our short-ass driver couldn’t reach anything – the pedals, steering, wheel etc. Building a removable race-style column was the easiest solution.

There just isn’t as much room in an F-body engine bay as in a Fox body or late model Mustang, never mind a classic muscle car. Since our 388ci VA Speed LSX engine required a dry-sump, we needed to think pretty hard about where to put it. There is a lot going on in the front of the car – reverse blower drive, radiator, our fuel cell and pump, and the dry sump. We elected to trim out the inner fender and found a cozy spot ahead of the front wheel.

Probably the toughest part of this project has been the cowl area. Our LSX engine is within 1/2-inch of the factory location, yet you can see what a mess the lower cowl is. Remember in a factory LSX the engine sits part way under the cowl. Try to run a normal reverse-intake blower setup is just a disaster. This shows you how much cowl trimming is needed to get the engine in the car. We’re building a very clean cowl plate and setup here, once it’s done it will look almost factory.

Another shot of how difficult it is to build an F-body blower car without liberal use of the plasma cutter.

Kooks gorgeous 2-inch headers with AEM 4-channel wide bang 02 bungs. We’ll be running 8 02 sensors on the car. These are stainless Kooks headers and they are a work of art.

We modified the Kooks headers to install a 4.5-inch collector. The merge collectors on the headers were amazing, but probably not optimized for a 1,300+ horsepower boosted engine. We wanted to get the exhaust gas out as efficiently as possible. Our header collectors weren’t nearly as pretty as the factory Kooks merge collectors, but at 1.5-inches larger in diameter, they’ll let more exhaust gases out more quickly.

Moser M9, Wolfe double sway bar, and Afco double-adj rear shocks all installed in the car. You’ll notice we did quite a bit of work strengthening up the pan hard bar area and getting the geometry right.

Final mock up of the steering rack. This shows you our entire front suspension setup. We needed to move the steering rack from the way Spohn did it originally due to the dry sump pump. We added some a billet steering rack bracket from Chris Alston Chassisworks to help make the job simple and quick.

Ever since the 2001 Daytona 500, when we witnessed the tragic death of legendary Dale Earnhardt, Sr. from a basilar skull fracture, head and neck restraint (HNR) systems have been commonplace in racing. Sure they were around before, but the loss of one of NASCAR’s all-time greats forced many sanctioning bodies to mandate the HANS (Head and Neck Support) device rule.

In the dozen years since that horrific February, we have seen many new safety innovations within motorsports. We’ve seen drivers survive crashes that would have easily killed them, 15 to 20 years ago. Full containment seats are now the norm. Today, the majority of drivers won’t step inside any race car without an HNR device. Many believe driver fatalities are on the decline, as a result. However, a study by the Charlotte Observer might surprise a lot of readers, and race fans.

While driver injuries and fatalities are on the decline within the top three NASCAR series, the Charlotte Observer released a study that took a look at accident related deaths within motorsports during the 10 years prior to Dale Earnhardt’s death, and the 10 years following. What they claim to have found is a surprising increase in deaths after Earnhardt’s death. The study not only measured circle track, but also drag racing. The results showed that 211 drivers died in the 10 years before that tragic day at Daytona. Yet unexpectedly, this number grew to 235 driver deaths in the same time period following.

Many look at Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death as the awakening of the safety age, but a study by the Charlotte Observer has pointed to the fact that since Sr.’s death there actually has been more driver deaths in motorsports.

So where is the discrepancy with this study? Many have called the death of Earnhardt Sr. – the awakening of the safety age - within motorsports. Drivers across the nation started to realize that if something this tragic could happen to Earnhardt, then it could happen to anyone. With new safety measures in place, the real question is why haven’t we seen a dramatic decrease in motorsports fatalities?

Expanding on the Charlotte Observer’s study, we turned to Jim Downing, President of HANS Performance Products, which were recently acquired by safety leader Simpson Performance Products. Downing shed some light on the increase in fatalities, “This increase in fatalities escapes many people involved in motor racing, because they mistakenly believe all the safety improvements from the major series have trickled down to the sportsman competitors who race on weekends. That is not the case.”

In 2001, NASCAR required the use of HANS devices in all of its touring series. Since that time, they have not had a single death behind the wheel. If you consider some of the accidents we’ve seen over the past 10 years, this is a very impressive feat! However, many short tracks and drag strips still do not require an HNR device in order to drive on their track.

42 MPH Is All It Takes To Kill You

Downing explained that a lot can be learned from studying Dale Earnhardt’s death, “In its detailed two-volume study of Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash at Daytona, NASCAR consultants determined his car hit the wall at 160 mph and was suddenly slowed by 42 -44 mph in just 80 milliseconds. The 42-44 mph difference from when he first hit the wall and the ensuing sudden deceleration is known as the Delta V.”

Downing then related that 42 mph decline to drivers at the local short track and drag racing levels. “A short track driver can quickly go from 90 mph to 48 mph in a split second if he’s turned into the wall, causing a Delta V of 42 mph and enough to cause a fatal head and neck injury. If a drag racer hits the wall and drops from 120 mph to 78 mph in a split second, that’s enough to cause a fatal head and neck injury; again, a Delta V of 42 mph.”

Based on the information they gathered from Earnhardt’s death, it’s a wonder we didn’t see more deaths in the years prior to the HANS era. The research from Downing proves that it isn’t necessarily the speed you are carrying that you should be concerned with, but rather protecting yourself from the sudden stop.

Notice the difference between a driver using an HNR, and a driver without during a Delta V collision

In December 2012, Downing worked with the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), based out of Indianapolis, to determine how much safer it really is for drivers to wear a head and neck restraint device. Through numerous crash tests they determined that without an HANS device, the head and neck will experience 40-gs of acceleration, resulting in 5800 newtons (N), or derived units of force in neck tension. These test results exceeded the standard for a fatal accident by45%.

When the same tests were conducted after attaching the HANS device to the same crash dummy’s helmet, CAPE found that the neck tension was reduced by over 90%.

When the first HNR device made its way on the race circuit, drivers complained about not having the range of motion, or side views that they had before using them. Since becoming compulsory for many race car drivers in 2001, the early design has undergone many new developments. And, many new manufacturers have developed HNR and HANS devices to correct the movement and visibility problems, while providing drivers with critical life-saving technology. 

The HANS Improvements

The first HANS device was developed and patented by Dr. Robert Hubbard (HANS Performance Products) in the early 1980s, and included a tether system that driver’s felt limited the visibility of their side viewpoints. The device had a left and right side tether that attached the HNR device directly to both sides of the helmet. Drivers, especially in the dirt markets, were quick to complain that they couldn’t turn their head very far right like they were used to. This led a lot of drivers to disregard the HNR, letting them sit idle in their trailers unused. A scary thought when you consider that no dirt track in America has safe barriers. Some tracks still use tractor tires that have been concreted into the ground.

What companies like HANS Performance Products eventually did to solve this problem was use a solid tether, connecting both sides of the helmet to the HNR device with one tether that floats. Now when the driver turns his head to the right, the tether will shorten on the right and lengthen on the left, without compromising his safety.

Since acquiring the HANS line, Simpson Performance Products has debuted three new styles of HANS devices to accommodate even the pickiest of drivers. Simpson introduced a new design that allows the angle of the restraint to be adjusted to one of six different positions, adjusting to the seat angle changes between cars. “The adjustable HANS features five different adjustments in 5-degree increments. This is a range of 10 to 40 degrees to fit all cars and seat designs for the ultimate in driver comfort,” Debbie Bishop of Simpson Performance Products explained to us.

The Hybrid Pro HNR Device available by Simpson offers a low profile design for drivers to get in and out of their rides quickly.

The other big complaint drivers have had about HNR devices is the cost. A typical setup will cost you anywhere between $500 and $900. The folks at Necksgen now offer a certified SFI 38.1 HNR device in three sizes for $599. While Simpson’s HANS line starts at $645, the high-end HNRs are also more affordable now, at $795. 

Simpson also offers drivers a hybrid line of HNR devices. The Hybrid line is an extremely low profile device that is SFI 38.1 certified, as well. Many dirt drivers that have extremely tight spaces to get in and out of their cars prefer this option to the standard HANS device design. Drivers like Scott Bloomquist, and Joey Saldana both utilize the Hybrid.

Conclusion

The fact that there still are fatalities and injuries within racing, speaks to how dangerous our beloved sport still is. The time is long gone to just assume that you, or your driver, are safe within the confines of the cockpit. Drivers aren’t invincible. Don’t let the greats in our sport, who tragically passed away doing what they loved, have done so in vain.

Ultimately, with all the innovations and advancements in the HNR line of products over the past three decades, there is just no good reason not to wear an HNR device, regardless of your race venue. Protect the ones you love, while they enjoy the sport they love.

Mickey Thompson’s ET Street Radial and the newer ET Street Radial II are a couple of the prime choices of street and strip enthusiasts in search of a drivable, yet well-performing tire for their powerful daily drivers or weekend warriors. While each option offers exceptional performance on the road and the strip, these two tires have a design catered to a more specific use and driving style.

To illustrate the differences, we recently bolted on a set of both of these tires to our 11-second, supercharged 2011 Ford Mustang GT Wild E. Coyote and put them to the test in a side-by-side comparison to determine how they perform. In our test, we were looking not just at which performed better on the track, but how they handled out on the highway and in traffic. The truth is, you can’t go wrong with either tire…it all comes down to what your end goal is and what you need in a tire. But if you want to know how they stack up, you’ll want to continue reading.

Left: Our test bed, shown with the 295/55/15 ET Street Radial tires on a set of Weld Racing RT wheels. Right: the 15-inch ET Street Radial and the 18-inch ET Street Radial II in a 265/40/18.

ET Street Radial

The first tire we tested, the venerable ET Street Radial (295/55/15), is one of the most popular tires in use on street and strip vehicles like our 600 horsepower Mustang, and for good reason: it’s a DOT-approved street legal radial design that delivers a great ride on the street with a soft compound designed more for traction on the track. The Street Radial was also the tire to beat in Outlaw Drag Radial and 275 Drag Radial racing. Since then, M/T has produced a more hardcore, and not street recommended, 275 Street Radial Pro that took 275 Radial Racing to the next level.

The 15-inch ET Street Radial, which requires the added cost of an aftermarket wheel.

“We developed this tire a couple of years ago as a direct replacement for the old Chevelles and such, and it spilled over into the Mustang market because it’s a true 28 x 10.5, 15-inch tire. It’s a got a taller sidewall that works very well on the drag strip. There’s just no better way to sum it up than by saying it’s just an excellent-working tire,” said Mickey Thompson’s Tom Kundrik.

The ET Street Radial is, however, more of what you’d call a dedicated drag racing setup inside and out. It’s got a beefier sidewall construction for launching on the strip, and low-void directional tread that handles well on dry pavement, but isn’t recommended for rain or snow driving. Mickey Thompson makes clear distinction that this is a drag racing tire for dry use only, so don’t say you weren’t warned.

One thing we discovered on our Mustang, and which is common on a lot of later-model vehicles, is that you may have to make provisions in the suspension system (the sway bar location) to fit the 15-inch wheel, or perhaps go with the 17 to 20-inch Street Radial II entirely due to fitment issues.

ET Street Radial II

The ET Street Radial II (we’re testing the 265/40/18), unlike the 15-inch Street Radial, is intended for a more all-around use. It’s no slouch at the track, but that isn’t it’s forte by design. This second-generation tire is likewise a soft compound, radial tire that’s completely DOT street legal, but inside, has a polyester ply, steel belted construction like a more typical OEM street tire for strength and long-term durability on the road. Another focus of this tire — and its 18-inch size — is to accommodate some of the large aftermarket brakes that are common on many of today’s souped-up street performers.

The 265/40/18 ET Street Radial II tire. We drove this tire for 5,000 to 7,000 miles in all type of driving conditions without a hitch.

“The ET Street Radial II is meant to be the best traction tire on the market for high horsepower Corvettes, Mustangs, and other performance vehicles. You can drive it on the street with a thousand horsepower and it will hook up. It’s far better than any original street car tire out there, and you can drive it to the race track and have a superior-performing tire there, too. You don’t have to switch back and forth between a slick and your radial to drive home,” explained Kundrik.

The 18-inch tire, as you can imagine, is going to handle better because it has a shorter aspect ratio for sidewall and thus a stiffer sidewall for less flex. It’s not an autocross tire, but it will drive and handle well.

The Differences

Both the ET Street Radial and the Street Radial II use the very same compound in their construction, and in all reality, they aren’t vastly different tires, but there are some tradeoffs to one over the other. What sets them apart more than anything is their sidewall construction, which brings about differences in how they perform out of the gate at the track.

You can see the differences in the tread of the two tires in this detailed side-by-side shot. Mickey Thompson spread out the tread blocks more like that of an OEM street tire on the 18-inch ET Street Radial II to give it better driveability on the street.

Shown here are the ET Street Radial and ET Street Radial II side-by-side.

As we’ve pointed out, the 15-inch ET Street Radial is more of a drag racing-esque tire with a focus on on-track performance, and that’s where it shines. And much of this is owed to its larger sidewall depth, allowing it to squat and wrinkle when the power is applied at the starting line.

“The 15-inch ET Street Radial is going to be more forgiving at the race track, because it has more sidewall,” says Kundrik.

“The larger sidewall really lets the 295/55/15 tire wrinkle up. Most people don’t think that a radial tires wrinkles, but if you watch some of the really high horsepower cars in Outlaw Drag Radial and such, it will have wrinkles all the way around almost like a slick. But by the sixty-foot mark, it’s already back to round. Radials stay round and they’re very stable.”

Another area where these two tires differ is in their contact patch and tread pattern. The 15-inch Street Radial is roughly 1-1/3-inches wider (10.9 inches versus 9.6 inches in tread width) than the Street Radial II, providing extra real estate on the pavement for traction. It’s tread design, however, doesn’t lend itself as well to road driving, particularly in less-than-clear weather conditions.

“The first-generation tire has a more aggressive contact patch that isn’t meant to dissipate a lot of water,” says Kundrik. “It’s meant for straight-line traction and performance. The ET Street Radial II, on the other hand, is designed more for every-day use at maximum performance.”

The Street Radial II will get the job done on everything from daily drivers-turned-dragstrip warriors to show cars and weekend cruisers. If you need to drive your car and don’t want to carry around and swap a set of tires, this tire fits the bill.

“It’s going to be better if you get caught in a little bit of rain or anything, but with it’s shorter aspect-ratio sidewall, it isn’t going to be as forgiving on the drag strip. We knew the 16, 17, and 18-inch size tires were going to be used more on weekend street-driven cars, so we wanted to make it handle better in the rain. But we definitely wanted it to perform and drive well, so we broke up the tread squares more as well,” said Kundrik.

To sum it up, “if your car is a daily driver or a weekend warrior, the 18-inch tire would be perfect. If you’re going to the race track all the time, you definitely would want to run the 15-inch tire because it’s going to be better for higher horsepower cars,” added Kundrik.

Our Findings

As we alluded to in our introduction, we tested both the Street Radial and Street Radial II on the street and on the track. Not surprisingly, we found the two tires to be fairly close on the dragstrip in terms of their pure sixty-foot and elapsed time potential, but there were some distinct differences in their overall consistency. After all, one is designed for the track, while the track is only a component of the other.

Testing the 18-inch ET Street Radial II at the track on the stock 2011 Mustang GT wheels.

Throughout our passes, the 15-inch Street Radial was the more consistent tire. This is particularly of emphasis if you have a stick-shift car like our Mustang, because radials aren’t generally a dump-the-clutch type of tire. Discovering and maintaining just the right amount of slip and hitting that “sweet spot” on each pass is key to making the 18-inch tire consistent, so the 15-inch gave us a little more margin for error. As it should, the 15-inch tire had noticeably more squat on the launch.

Another point to keep in mind is that the two tires are 1.3-inch difference in diameter, which will effect your gear ratio and change how the car performs down low and going down the race track. It will also, naturally, change your shift points on a clutch car.

We made four runs in total at the nearby Irwindale Dragstrip and again at Bakerfield, making one run in each lane on both tire.

We made four runs in total on two different dragstrips, two on each tire and alternated between the left and right lane. The best performance, which we expected, came from Bakersfield better-prepped quarter mile track. Our best run came on the 15-inch Street Radial (and was also our first run of the day), as we netted a quarter mile elapsed time of 11.37 at 120.54 mph, with a 1.79 sixty-foot time, which was also the best of the four runs.

On our second pass, over in the right lane, we slowed to an 11.51 and lost a tenth in the short time. We then bolted on the 18-inch ET Street Radial II’s and made a pass in the left lane, carding our slowest run of the four, an 11.546 at 121.66 mph with a respectable 1.85 sixty. Later that afternoon, we made one final run in the right lane. A 1.79 short time, just a tick off our best pass on the 15-inch tires, translated into our second-best quarter-mile numbers of the day, as the scoreboards lit up with an 11.48 at 118.33 mph.

On the left are the two passes recorded with the 18-inch ET Street Radial II tires, while the two passes on the 15-inch Street Radial (including our best run of 11.37) are shown on the right.

Naturally, comparing how the two tires drive on the street isn’t calculable like a time slip is, but rather, it’s all a seat-of-your-pants opinion. We were able to log plenty of miles on both tires, and found the stiffer sidewall of the 18-inch tire to perform similar to an OEM street tire, with the ability to not only handle well in the rain, but in a pinch in an accident-avoidance situation. The tire reacted well to the drivers motions, whereas the sidewall flex of the 15-inch tire was noticeably slower to react.

 In Summary

You’ve read about the two tires and you’ve seen our results. Now, which is the right pick? Well, there really isn’t a right pick. It’s all up to you. The main thing to keep in mind is the cost-to-benefit ratio and how it plays into your needs. On some newer vehicles like S197 Mustangs, you can’t install a 15-inch wheel because of the location of the sway bar. This means there are steps (particularly, sway bar relocation) that will cost you a little money and some time in order to bolt up the 15-inch tire if that’s what you choose to go with. Of course, you also have to buy 15-inch wheels. If you’ve got the money, the 15-inch tire is going to be more consistent, no question.

To get the smaller 15-inch wheel to fit, we had to relocate the sway bar on our late model Mustang. The kit we purchased from Steeda is less than $50 and takes around an hour or two to install. This is a step that you may have to undertake on your vehicle, depending on the sway bar location.

If, on the other hand, you’ve got a daily driver or just want to the cruise the street and hit occasional test and tune nights at the track, the 18-inch ET Street Radial II can be fitted to your stock wheels, and you can drive it every day. We drove on the 18-inch tire on our stock Mustang wheels for an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 miles at 75-80 mph — even in the rain — without any issues whatsoever.

At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong. Pick a tire and have fun with it.

This is how the Firebird looked when it arrived in 2007.

Message forums can be a place for many things. They’re a place for technical insight, an online corral somewhere to sell your “lightly used” cars or parts, and even a place to meet car guys and girls just like you. A common trend with automotive message forums these days are build threads.

A “build thread” is when an forum member takes a on a new or existing project car, and documents the the entire transformation process over the course of a few weeks, a few months, or in some cases like the one you’re about to learn about, a few years.

One board member, known as “y2k_ta” on the LS1Tech.com message forum is just such a person who falls in the third category. But before you’re too harsh on him, you should know that he didn’t start out with a pristine, mint condition F-body, but rather, a beat to death ’95 V6 Firebird. 

From LT1-era 6-shooter to LS1 Trans Am. Too cool...

After having fun with his stock-ish 2000 Trans Am, y2k_ta decided he wanted to build an all-out drag car and this derelict Firebird fit the bill perfectly. In fact, we couldn’t have found a better candidate ourselves. It was a salvage-titled car with 157,000 miles on it, and it was used as, get this, a maid’s service vehicle. 

Over the course of these last six years, he has swapped the body panels from an LS1 Trans Am to give the Firebird an updated and more aggressive look. He’s done such an excellent job putting this car together, that it looks like a legit ’98-02 Trans Am.

Probably one of the most badass boosted 4.8L engine builds we've seen.

From the front to the back, this former maid’s chariot of choice has gone from three wheels in the junkyard to an almost complete, ready-to-do-battle LSX race car. He’s relying on a boosted 4.8L LS yanked from a 2004 Silverado to handle the dirty work. 

He’s documented each step of the build quite well with plenty of photos and information, although the project is currently on hold as he’s planning his wedding at the moment. But if you want to follow along with the endeavor, check out the build thread over on LS1Tech.com 

When we say any race, we do mean any race. Like, say, a Pro Nitrous doorslammer lined up alongside a supercharged Top Dragster…heads-up. Indeed, it happened.

Our buddy Steve Jackson, better known in the racing community as “Stevie Fast,” has been on a tear this season since he sold his famous small-tire Fox body Mustang and assumed the controls of one of Al-Anabi Racing’s formidable ’68 Camaro Pro Nitrous entries. Jackson, one of the biggest names in the grudge world and certainly one of its most successful, grabbed some hardware over the winter in the Camaro with the Arabian Drag Racing League in Qatar and then returned stateside and won in his ADRL debut in Rockingham.

But of course, just because Stevie isn’t driving a grudge-specific race car doesn’t mean he can’t return to his roots and have a little fun. And so, over the weekend, he locked in a race at the House of Hook, the Carolina Dragway, against the supercharged Top Dragster entry owned and driven by Eddie Careccia and backed for this race by another grudge racing standout, Tony Bynes and tthe Primetime Racing team.

According to reports, the pair pulled their race cars right off the trailer without so much as a shakedown lap, lined them up, and made this side-by-side hit. While there have been some message board reports of Careccia putting the “gap” on Jackson, we hear the margin at the stripe was more in the neighborhood of a couple of feet that Jackson trailed by. Careccia’s dragster has been in the 3.80′s (at least) and Jackson has gone 3.70′s in his doorslammer, so no doubt this was one of the quickest — and greatest — grudge races we might see all year.

(Credit to Jason Green for the video)

The next race during the inaugural 2013 season in the X-treme Drag Racing League (X-DRL) will have an enticing added bonus that will pay off in a major way for drivers in three different classes. The X-DRL officially announced on Wednesday the “X-treme Shootout” for the Pro X-treme, Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous and X-treme Pro Stock classes. This shootout will award each class $25,000 ($75,000 overall) and will be contested at the X-DRL’s Thunder In The Heartland on Sept. 20-21 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Images courtesy of X-DRL Communications

To qualify for the eight-car “X-Treme Shootout,” drivers in PX, PN and XPS must be a top eight points earner at the upcoming X-DRL Bash On The Bayou (not cumulative point standings), which takes place May 17-18 at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La. Winners of the “X-treme Shootout” in all three classes will earn $10,000 in addition to the regular purse at the event. If a driver wins both the “X-treme Shootout” and the Thunder In The Heartland event in their respective class, the X-DRL also announced it will award that driver an additional $5,000 double-up bonus. In all, a driver in PX, PN, XPS could win $21,000 should they win both the eight-car shootout and event. The incentive gets even bigger, too, as a number of X-DRL sponsors will award additional payout bonuses to the shootout winners and runner-up. Those sponsor bonuses will be officially announced later this week.

“One of our top priorities since forming the X-DRL was to give competitors every opportunity to showcase their talents with something big on the line. The ‘X-treme Shootout’ is one of those chances and we’re extremely excited to offer this to drivers in Pro X-treme, Pro Nitrous and X-treme Pro Stock,” X-DRL Co-Owner Jeff Mitchell said. “Indianapolis is the perfect location to have an 8-car shootout like this, and I know No Problem Raceway is just as excited to host the qualifying for our ‘X-treme Shootout.’”

The runner-up of the “X-treme Shootout” will earn $5,000 in each class, while semifinalists and first-round losers will take home $2,500 and $1,250, respectively. “It’s going to be incredible to have a number of outstanding sponsors step up and add even more incentive to this exciting shootout,” X-DRL Account Executive Keith Goolsby said. “It’s going to make our debut at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis even more memorable, and it’s also going to add a huge thrill to our upcoming debut at No Problem Raceway. I know our drivers will be doing everything possible at No Problem to try to get into the shootout, and that’s going to make for some amazing racing.”

Gas Motorsports was started back in 1994 by Joe Signorelli, and the shop specializes in all things Toyota 2JZ and has since its inception. The first creation from the team was a Toyota Camry that toured the sport compact racing venues. That particular car went a blazing 6.88@207 and set a pile of records along the way. The shop also built a stopping Supra that made over 1,000 horsepower to the wheels and won its share of awards as well. The shop eventually got their hands on Titan Motorsports’ old Celica and kept the domination going by running down in the low 6’s with big mile per hour on each pass.

So what could possibly be better than a wicked-fast, Toyota-powered 2JZ race car? How about a six-second 2JZ powered BMW?  That’s right. Gas Motorsports started with a killer chassis and wrapped the pure sexy lines of the E46 M3 around it to make a killer ride. The car was then fitted with one of Gas’s specially prepared 2JZ motors, which uses a dry sump system to keep the oil flowing, and a custom air-to-water intercooler keeps the giant turbo fed with cool air. The car puts all the power to the ground through the race proven Liberty five speed transmission. Check out the video from Fast Performance Videos showing this M3 making a 6.52-second hit at over 228 MPH.

(Video credit: FPV.NET.AU)

Official Release:

Team Moroso Joins the 14 Teams Already Qualified for Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Finals

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow is a nonprofit organization built upon a passion for motorsports and dedicated to instilling that passion in today’s youth. Its main purpose is to encourage youth to enter the automotive field and the main medium through which this is accomplished is their coveted Engine Challenge Program. In the Engine Challenges, contested across the country, high school teams compete against the clock in a total engine rebuild. At the end of the year, in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow hosts the Engine Challenge Finals. To qualify for this prestigious event, teams must complete a total engine rebuild in less than 35 minutes. Already in 2013, 14 teams have qualified for the Finals.

At the recent Painless Performance Open, held April 6th in Fort Worth, Tx. six teams competed for a coveted spot in the finals. Team Moroso of Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center came in at an incredible time of 20:11 to qualify for the Engine Challenge Finals as the fastest qualifying team of the season.

The winning team, led by instructor Jim LaFevers consisted of students Callie Hunter, Nic Brown, Connor Hixenbaugh, Ryan Jackson, Alex Versteeg and Connor Carrizales.

“This is a great opportunity for the students to get a jumpstart in their careers in the automotive field,” LaFevers said of the Engine Challenge. “They are all gearheads. They look for every avenue to get into the industry and Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has given them the opportunity they were looking for.”

LaFevers said the team utilized film, understudy training and a total-engine approach to prepare for the Challenge.

“We do intense training for three or four weeks,” he explained. “It’s all about teamwork and communication. While each student trains for their position, all of them understand the way the complete engine works, so that if anyone needed to jump into another position they are ready.

“The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge is a great program for building enrollment and getting students excited about a career in the automotive industry. Already I have kids signing up for Automotive next year simply for the opportunity to compete in the Challenge.”

Rodney Bingham, who heads up the Hot Rodders Program is thankful for its success in investing in students and furthering the automotive industry. “We are excited to be able to change so many students’ lives,” he stated, “but could not do so without the help of our sponsors and volunteers who make this program possible”.

Follow all results from Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenges at hotroddersoftomorrow.com. Like Hot Rodders of Tomorrow on Facebook.

When you first visit the site, check the home page banner for the latest promotions, contests, and upcoming events. From there, you can take the time to browse around the Products or Vehicle Packages sections, or get right to what you’re looking for by using the Search By Vehicle function, which uses a smart drill-down to get to your vehicle description.

If you’re looking for a custom or private label quote, or want Kooks to consider sponsoring your ride, select the Custom/Sponsorship App. Fill out the simple online forms for your quote, or download the Sponsorship Application, which contains all of the information you need to request sponsorship, and provides instruction on what you’ll need to put your application on top.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN1RqXKVSXM

In the Media Center, you’ll find their photo gallery; a video gallery full of product features, informational videos, and performance clips; Kooks News and Press Releases; and links to Media Mentions.

You know you’ll be going back to the site often, so be sure to set up an account, where you can save your shipping and billing information, create a wishlist, write product reviews, subscribe to the Kooks newsletter and more.

Overall, you’ll find that Kooks Headers and Exhaust has put together an easy-to-navigate, feature-rich website that you’ll want to spend some quality time with. And if you get caught up in the videos and sidetracked from your bill paying or Facebook stalking, just tell yourself that you’re doing ‘product research’ for your next car project and you’ll be just fine.

However we can confidently throw those terms around with regard to ProCharger’s latest innovation, the i-1 supercharger system. More than just a new design for late model applications, the i-1 completely changes the way the market will be looking at centrifugal superchargers forever, from a company that has brought many firsts to their market segement

The production version of the i-1 supports up to 900 hp, and in testing has boosted stock Coyote powered Mustangs by 200 hp to the rear tires.

Transmission

The central piece behind the i-1 that is getting the most attention is it’s variable boost control system. For the first time drivers can vary and control the boost output of their supercharger in 500 RPM increments, something not possible before. In fact, until the i-1 came along if more boost was desired, enthusiasts had to break out the wrenches and swap at least one pulley in a supercharger’s belt drive system. While a pulley swap is a fairly straight-forward, bolt-on affair, some swaps may not yield the desired increase in boost until the upper RPM range, a problem that has plagued centrifugal systems for years.  The i-1 changes that with it’s dry hybrid-drive transmission system which varies the supercharger drive ratio, thus affecting boost output via a programmable interface.

The i-1 uses a dry hybrid-drive transmission to vary the supercharger ratio, maximizing the potential boost available based on user input.

Driver’s Seat Control

Now with the i-1, owners can control how much boost the engine is getting and when, from the driver’s seat. There are three main settings for the system, Competition, Sport, and Touring, all set from the factory. The competition mode is obviously the most aggressive, with sport being more for street driving, and touring for those long hauls where driver’s might want a little more fuel economy in lieu maximum output.

Owners can change the boost profile via a selector switch, or upgrade to touchscreen control for an additional cost.

The system comes standard with a three position analog switch, but can be upgraded for an additional cost to full touch screen control. The touch screen allows owners to program in additional modes, as well as monitor a variety of supercharger functions.

Compressor

Procharger did not simply build a variable transmission system and then connect it to one of their existing supercharger compressors. The i-1 is the payoff from four years of research and development work, which included developing a new high efficiency compressor. This unique compressor is solely for the i-1. Procharger’s Ken Jones tells us “With a programmable design you can focus the compressor design on peak efficiency, whereas with a fixed ratio compressor you are focusing on a combination of the best efficiency and best boost curve.” The i-1 eliminates the boost curve factor, allowing users to taylor that curve for their application, meaning there is no one size fits all approach to this supercharger. Jones also says that the i-1 compressor is currently the most efficient compressor in the industry.

Power Production

The i-1 shines on both the street and at the track. Jones tells us they’ve handed the keys to some test vehicles over to several distributors and had them drive cars equipped with the i-1. “We had one dealer, who drove a test 2010 Camaro with an i-1 and compared it to Camaros he’d driven with a positive displacement supercharger on them,” that dealer told Jones, “unlike the positive-displacement blower, this thing keeps pulling, the difference is unreal,” the same dealer went on to say “tire companies are going to love you guys”, and that he thought the i-1 was worth every penny of the additional $2,000 cost above a P-1SC-1. Jones reports that racers are seeing an improvement of 2-3 mph in their quarter mile times, an impressive number indeed.

During our conversation Jones also told us that in testing with just 7.5 psi of boost, on a stock 5.0 Coyote powered Mustang, the dyno numbers show an increase of 200 hp to the rear wheels. That’s better than a fifty-percent power output increase over stock. The production system is capable of supporting up to 900 hp.

Availability

ProCharger is targeting the late model performance market with the new i-1 system. These systems are scheduled to begin shipping in late May of 2013, with what is expected to be two of the hottest sellers going out first, the systems for the Camaro SS and the Mustang 5.0 Coyote. In July the LS3 Corvette and 6.2L Ford Raptor systems will begin shipping, followed by systems for the GM V8 trucks in September. Hemi owners will have to wait until November. For those with older platforms right now ProCharger has no plans of going back a large number of model years for i-1 systems. “We already offer a wide selection of great products for the older vehicles out there, so we’re focussing the i-1 more on the late models,” says Jones. With refreshes or brand new models slated to hit for the big three muscle cars in the next few years, as well as the new LT1 equipped Corvette Stingray getting ready to hit showrooms, the ProCharger team will have their hands full with new product development for quite some time.

“The performance efficiency of the i-1 combined with air-to-air intercooling, and programmable control from the cockpit really is an amazing package” says Jones. We’ll be very interested to see the system perform on the street and strip in the coming months, hopefully getting our hands on one to install and test ourselves at some point.

This week, longtime Ford racer Robert Patrick unveiled his brand spanking new Ford Mustang that he’ll pilot in Pro Nitrous competition in his return to racing following a harrowing incident in September of last year that left him on the sidelines with a leg injury, unable to complete what, to that point had been a exceptional season in the eight-mile racing wars for the veteran NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock racer.

Photos credit: Paint by Jeff Hoskins on Facebook

While competing at the ADRL’s Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags in Norwalk, Patrick’s blue and white Purvis Ford Drag Team machine darted across the centerline near the finish stripe, taking a virtually head-on hit with the concrete guardrail. The car shot back across the track and struck the opposing wall before coming to a stop. He was transported to a local hospital, where it was determined that he had sustained a broken bone in his foot in the impact, along with some injuries to his knees and ribs.

Naturally, Patrick hated to have his season end that way, but from there, it was time to begin preparing for the 2013 season with a new race car from the Jerry Bickel shop in Missouri. This week, we got our first look at the new Purvis Ford machine, which features the familiar red and white-stiped scheme that Patrick had utilized on previous Ford Mustangs out of his racing stable. Paint-slinger Jeff Hoskins, who has been behind many of today’s hottest-looking race cars, applied the candy red paint. Hoskins and the team at Jerry Bickel gave the car a unique touch in its construction, with the fabrication of a modified, one-off Super Snake hood and front end that mimics the production GT500 Super Snake.

Look for the Fredericksburg, Va. Ford dealer back on the ADRL and X-DRL trail in the near future.

Certainly, a lot can be gathered and learned from utilizing computer-aided engineering software and dyno testing products to better understand their operations and limitations, but there is no greater avenue to put parts to the real test than placing them on a vehicle on the field and using them, just like the customer would. Of course, a testbed vehicle is also an exceptional opportunity to showcase those components to the racing community, as well.

While our friends at Peterson Fluid Systems have components on race cars of all walks all across the globe delivering feedback through their words and their wallets, the value of having an in-house test bed is still vitally important. And so, as part of an ongoing project, the Peterson team is working to prepare a 1965 Chevrolet Nova that will utilize the company’s components for the drag racing market.

The Nova, which belongs to one of Peterson’s employees, is in the midst of being revamped by Max Innovation in Denver, where all of the tin work has been installed in the car, along with new wheel tubs and a host of driveline and suspension changes. This includes the addition of a new Fab9 rear end housing, a four-link suspension setup, wishbone, and anti-roll bar. Once the work is complete at Max Innovation the car will head to powdercoat and then the paint shop for a whole new look.

The car will feature power from a naturally aspirated 555 cubic inch big block Chevrolet, and will sport one of Peterson’s complete drag racing WetVac oil pumps.

Peterson has created a gallery on their Facebook page to document the build.  The company has promised to post additional photos as the build progresses, and certainly we hope to see the car on the track in the near future.

Your standard Nissan FJ20 motor is a two-liter straight four cylinder engine. The motor uses a dual overhead cam design and was used in several production cars like the Silvia, Gazelle, and Sakura. A more performance based model that was 2.4 liters was used in Nissan’s rally car and was produced in a naturally aspirated version as well as a boosted one.

Ben Diggles and his Badger Racing team have been turning some heads in the Turbosmart Street Compact class. The team uses a M&W chassis to house the potent FJ20 engine and its turbo power adder. A Link ECU is used to help control the motor and keep things running right. The computer is tuned by crew chief Jeff Watson, who is no stranger to the FJ20 motor. His famous 500 HP Austin Sprite was running 8’s back in the 90’s. Ben and Jeff have been able to put their heads together and set some records, as the Badger Racing dragster is the quickest and fastest FJ20 dragster in the world, running a 7.02 at 190 MPH, and all using an engine that is 30 years old! Check out this video from Fullboost that shows the car doing work.

In a thread on Camaro5 we learned that the outing was originally slated to be just a test session at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio. In spite of the cold weather, driver Bob Williams quickly brought out the best in the gray 5^th Gen, and a string of high-8 second passes made the record look more attainable.

After three runs to work out the bugs, Williams pushed the Camaro to 8.68 at 165 MPH on the 4^th pass of the day, and broke the current record belonging to American Racing Headers/Farks Supercars who’s IRS 5^th Gen ran an 8.72 at 156 MPH at last year’s LSX Shootout. But the IPS team knew there was even more left in their car, and on their fifth pass the Camaro ran 8.56 at 166 MPH. Why stop there? So on the sixth and final pass the current record was finalized with an 8.47 at 168 MPH.  

The motivation for those stellar time slips comes from an IPS built twin-turbo 427ci LSX with cylinder heads and the intake manifold from All Pro. An Aeromotive Pro Series fuel system keeps the boosted LSX happy, and the power gets transferred through a Turbo 400 transmission built by RPM on its way to a DSS Ford 9-inch center section that still uses the stock IRS configuration. Traction is provided by a set of 15-inch Weld wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson Drag Radials.

Who says the IRS is only good for turning corners?

J.C. Beattie Jr. of ATI Performance took delivery of unit #008 last year and started prepping the car for SS/AAA racing. While this meant the car wasn’t going into the garage to appreciate as a collectible, Beattie knew the value of keeping the numbers-matching, supercharged 327ci engine in mint condition in the event he restores the car to factory-fresh condition.

The new NHRA-legal COPO engine pulled more than 1,100 horsepower on the Katech dyno.

“We wanted to get a second motor built that would turn more rpm and also live,” says Beattie Jr., 

Kevin Pranger at Katech Engines was handed the task of building a NHRA-legal 327ci V8 liter from the ground up, starting with an LSX iron block, LS7 heads and a Whipple 4.0-liter twin-screw supercharger.

“It’s basically a carbon copy of what GM produced,” says Pranger. “It has all the required part numbers, although we actually used the newer model LSX block with the closed deck and put studs in place of the bolts.”

After the block was prepped and the cylinders finished honed to 4.065-inch bore, Pranger installed a Callies 4340 forged-steel crankshaft (3.150-inch stroke), Callies 4340 H-beam Ultra rods (6.350-inch long), Clevite H-series bearings and Mahle 2618 forged aluminum pistons with graphal coating and Mahle .043/.043/3mm piston rings. Static compression ratio can be no more than 10:1, and the piston-rod assembly must weigh at least 1,298 grams. Of course, there’s an ATI Super Damper mounted over the double-keyway crankshaft.

Aggressive approach

“In the beginning I tried a more aggressive valve train and didn’t seem to get more power, yet we had trouble with durability on the dyno,” explains Pranger. “In the end we ran the factory grind to make it more durable.”

That meant falling back on a Comp Cams billet-steel hydraulic roller cam with 246/254 @ .050, 117-degree lobe separation and .630-inch valve lift with 1.8:1 rocker arms.

More views of the COPO engine at Katech.

The NHRA also recently approved a 6-bolt LS7-LSX cylinder head that can be used in place of the COPO’s original 4-bolt LS7 head. The updated heads feature a proprietary CNC-machined COPO port program with max intake port volume of 295cc and a minimum 66cc combustion chamber. The heads also have thicker decks than a stock LS7. They’re fitted with 2.205-inch titanium intake valves, but Katech did replace the hollow-stem steel exhaust valves with 1.615-inch titanium exhaust valves, which is legal since the weight is the same. All valves ride inside PSI beehive valve springs. The LS7 roller rockers received upgraded trunnion bearings before the heads were bolted on top of Fel-Pro MLS head gaskets. Lubricating the engine is charged to a stock pump and 6-quart fabricated aluminum pan from Moroso. 

There were three engines offered in the 2012 COPO Camaro: 427 naturally aspirated, 327 with 2.9-liter blower and 327 with a 4.0-liter blower. Camaro #008 comes with the bigger supercharger and 172mm throttle body. Providing fuel is an Aeromotive pump rated at 800 lb/hr and 105 lb/hr high-impedance fuel injectors. Controlling the fuel system is an AEM Infinity ECU.

Katech swapped the stock GM ECU for a new Infinity engine-management system from AEM Electronics.

“That’s a very nice race ECU,” adds Pranger. “We got a good calibration down. It’s something JC can put in the car and make a lot of passes.”

With 22 pounds of boost and VP C16 fuel, the engine hit 1,110 horsepower with about 850 lb-ft peak torque. 

“We ran as high as 25 pounds but started getting into trouble,” sums up Pranger. “The original scope was to build a second engine so they can keep the numbers-matching on the shelf. We made it legal and took advantage of some tuning leeways, and we made it durable. Now we can get it down the track a few times, then worry about screwing in a few more horsepower.”

The COPO Camaro was first introduced at the 2011 SEMA Show.

Our great sport can often be one of great divide between new racers and seasoned racers, young racers and old. We seem to be inept at accepting change, and egos and elitist attitudes prevail, cutting a chasm between those entering the sport and those that have been around the block.

In an era where participation and spectator interest are at perhaps their lowest at any time in history, and a sour public opinion and negative press are around every corner, we find ourselves at a point where solidarity rather than division is the only way to continue to drive drag racing into the future with new racers and new fans. And there are perhaps no greater illustrative examples of this very divide than in the growing sport compact scene and in a once-popular, drag racing-centered television show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMN76luMYf8

Rich Christensen, the controversial former host of PINKS and PINKS: All Out on the SPEED Channel, was recently thrust back into the spotlight with the launch of his new drag racing-themed show, known as Won & Done, that will soon begin airing on MAVTV. The trailer for the new show quickly made the rounds in the drag racing community, and the story was in fact one of the most-read of the year thus far here on Dragzine.

But it was clear — and expected — that much of the attention Christensen and his new show were receiving wasn’t out of positive viewer interest and support, but of insults and criticism of the new program and its host. The negativity was expected because it followed six seasons of public berating by the drag racing establishment during the run of the two former drag racing programs continues to this day. Racers and race fans that consider themselves “legitimate” simply did not (and still do not) want to accept and embrace the show for what it was: a grass roots yet high-profile avenue capable of bringing new followers to our sport.

Where else in drag racing, at any point in history, could you find a national event caliber facility filled to capacity with rabid, excited, ticket-buying fans to watch nothing but double-digit elapsed time bracket cars driven by unknown weekend warrior racers. The answer? Nowhere.

Contrary to the sour and often childish opinions of the elitist “real” racers out there, Christensen and his PINKS programs were anything but detrimental to drag racing. They were in fact exactly what drag racing needs more of.

In 2009, I had the opportunity to attend a taping of the show and observe the clientele firsthand, and I can tell you that the demographic that these events reached were exactly what the NHRA and every other drag racing organization wishes it had, and it was exactly what sponsors, particularly those in the automotive enthusiast market, would like to see more of.

PINKS reached a mainstream audience of automotive and motorcycle enthusiasts that wouldn’t typically have an interest in organized drag racing. These were people who knew little to nothing about drag racing, and thanks to these television programs that broke the sport down into an exciting, easy-to-understand, yet still legitimate and safe format, legions of folks were introduced to drag racing.

We’re talking folks who may have never thought to turn on an ESPN2 broadcast of an NHRA national event, but thanks to this entertaining avenue that captured their attention, they became fans. I can attest that it worked through people that I know personally. Programs like PINKS, PINKS: All Out, and even Passtime were a virtual goldmine of publicity for our sport any way you look at it. And while the detractors out there on their high horses hope and pray that Won & Done falls flat on its face, for the sake of our sport, it needs to succeed.

Import Drag Racing

This same prevailing attitude of resistance to change has crept in over the last decade or so as well with the rise of the import and sport compact segment of our sport. Because the cars are different from what so many are accustomed to, grew up with, and believe to embody drag racing, there’s no embracing or acceptance of their participation in organized racing. The common theme is that if it isn’t a GM, Chrysler, or Ford product with a growling, red, white, and blue, eat-your-heart-out V8 powerplant in it, it doesn’t belong. And that’s simply pure arrogance.

Nevermind the perhaps more important fact that these kids need to be at the track so they aren’t endangering anyone on the street, but these young people are as much a part of the future of our sport as the teenager that’s been handed to the keys to his father’s footbrake Dodge Dart or Chevelle, whether you like it or not.

So what if these kids prefer to do it differently than the previous generation? At least they’re interested in cars and want to participate, which is a stark contrast from their classmates who can’t get their noses out of their iPhones and XBox controllers.

Much like Christensen’s PINKS programs, drag racing folk got their jollies for years poking fun at the struggles and ultimate failures of organized sport compact racing series. The commentary was brutal and sometimes even confrontational, and one thing is for sure: it accomplished nothing.

Can you just imagine the thought process of someone in their Honda when they go to the track for the first time, and can hear the jeers and snickering about themselves and their car in the pits and the staging lanes? Or the blank stares and laughs they can see from the track personnel and fans along the fence when they make a rookie mistake? Why in the world would they ever want to come back when they’ve been treated this way? Perhaps if they’d been accepted as part of the drag racing fraternity rather than looked upon like the stranger that walked into the wrong bar, they could learn a thing or two from the veterans so they don’t look like rookies out there. They’re one of us, regardless of what they drive. The sooner people can understand this, the better off we are as a whole. Get ready for electric and hybrid cars soon!

There’s simply no reason for the egos, the attitudes, and the resistance to things you don’t like or understand. Unless, of course, you don’t care to see drag racing carry on for future generations.

If you’ve ever built a racecar, you’ve no doubt had to put together a hose or two using a set of AN fittings. And ever since, we’ve all cursed those wonderful Army engineers who designed the fittings and hose system that helped to power our country to the Moon, but in reality, they are a great innovation that’s helped to standardize fluid transfer systems for the racecar builder and hobbyist alike.

Gone are the days of using hard aluminum lines combined with rubber line at the terminus – instead, we have the ability to use either stainless braided hose or fabric-covered hose in conjunction with a variety of fitting designs to meet our needs. But putting those hoses together has often brought the strongest man to his knees – all of that high-quality fluid transfer comes at a price, and it’s often bloodied fingertips and the ability to learn curse words that have never existed.  

Thankfully, there are innovations in the marketplace from companies who have heard your cries, and one of them is this neat set of aluminum Soft Jaws that fit right into your bench vise and add that third hand that’s so often needed during AN hose assembly. Perma-Cool, a company that has been in the fluid transfer and vehicle cooling business since the 1970′s, has produced that helping hand you need. The jaws are magnetized, meaning they won’t fall out of the vise when you loosen it up, and the aluminum construction means that your expensive fittings won’t be damaged during assembly – which is definitely not the case when you’re trying to wrestle three wrenches between your knees without pinching your hand between them. They also permit you to wrench from the top, side, or bottom, depending on what works for your hose assembly. Made in the USA and at a cool low price of only $27.16 – you’d be silly not to invest in a pair after spending hundreds of dollars on fittings and hose.

Many racers worked closely with sponsor companies like Centerforce, mixing and matching clutch components that may have never been sold together before, and might never be again to find the perfect performance balance. These were not typical street driven clutch setups at all.

One of the best racers, and a long-time staple of the Pure Street class was Gene Hindman. Centerforce has a video on their YouTube channel of Hindman rowing gears behind the wheel of his Pure Street Machine. The split screen view allows you to see the spectacular launch, Hindman banging gears, and ultimately getting the win against his competitor in the other lane.

Hindman’s car used a combination of Centerforce parts, including a lightweight aluminum flywheel, Light Metal pressure plate and a Centerforce clutch disc. It is doubtful that anyone else has ever used this exact combination of the same part numbers.

Stick-shift racers are notorious for mix and matching parts. From left to right Hindman's car used a Centerforce aluminum flywheel, part number 900232, Light Metal pressure plate, part number LM360048, and CF clutch disc, part number 384611

This video takes us back to those days of high RPM naturally aspirated, small displacement Fords. You can hear the car, and see the shifts from a ride along perspective. It makes us wonder what kind of crazy combinations are being put together for some of the stick-shift racers out there competing today.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a company with more options for adding nitrous to an LS engine than Nitrous Express, or simply NX as it’s known to their fans. Founded in 1996, and still owned and operated by Mike Wood, the company takes great pride in the quality, engineering, safety, and power of their systems – as a matter of fact, Wood makes a point of calling them that, rather than “kits”, because a “system” is something that you install and use as it was designed, rather than hardware that has to be tinkered with.

That philosophy is clearly visible when you look at their offerings for LS applications, and to take us through all the possibilities, we enlisted the help of NX’s Ryan Lewis. What follows is your guide to successfully bottle-feeding your LS, from a mild 35-shot up to a monster multi-stage setup.

In on the Ground Floor

For simplicity, easy installation, and low initial cost, the NX Proton and Proton Plus are the way to go for those new to nitrous oxide, or just looking for a reasonable boost in power to an otherwise stock engine. While the Proton is the clear price leader in the NX lineup with a list price of under $400 for the complete system, per Lewis, “The Proton Plus is what we normally recommend. It has the full throttle switch and the high-flow bottle valve. You can jet that to 150, where the regular Proton only goes to 75.” The Proton systems integrate both fuel and nitrous solenoids into a single compact housing that makes installation easy, and utilize the company’s Piranha and Shark nozzles, respectively.

Proton Series Nitrous System PN 20420-10

• Includes jetting for 35, 50 and 75 horsepower
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with standard bottle valve
• Single Piranha nozzle
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

The Piranha nozzle (left) offers a very small profile exposed to the airstream inside the intake tract, while the Shark has a higher ultimate flow capability.

Proton Plus Nitrous System PN 20422-10

• Includes jetting for 35, 50, 75, 100, 125, and 150 horsepower
• Can flow up to 250 horsepower with the optional SHO jet kit
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Single Shark nozzle
• TPS Autolearn wide open throttle module
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

While the Proton family of systems offers the advantages of compact design and ultimate ease of installation, stepping up to what you might call a “traditional” single nozzle system for your LS opens up more possibilities. Per Lewis, “We have another single nozzle system that would be the next level up that has the ability to go up to 250, and includes billet aluminum and carbon fiber solenoids. That lets you make more horsepower on the same amount of nitrous due to the improved flow pattern through the solenoids.”

While you’ll often see orifice size mentioned in solenoid specs, the flow path is also important – fewer changes in direction mean more volume and less turbulence.

NX Stage 1 EFI nitrous system PN 20920-10

• Includes jetting for 35HP, 50HP, 75HP, 100HP, 125HP and 150HP
• Can flow up to 250HP with the optional SHO jet kit
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Single Shark nozzle
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

Speaking of solenoids, Lewis points out that not all are created equal.  “Ours are aluminum, so they’re lighter-weight. Other companies will do CNC to their stainless steel bodies to try to cut down weight, but ours still weigh less,” he explains. Beyond materials used, solenoid design also plays a role in how well the system performs.

“A lot of people have bottom-exit solenoids now, but our flow path is just one 90 degree turn instead of having to make a lot of twists before it exits out the bottom,” Lewis continues. “We’re also unique in that we make our own nitrous solenoids, where some other companies use the same kind of solenoid you’d find delivering CO₂ in a Pepsi machine. You won’t see a Nitrous Express billet aluminum and carbon fiber solenoid anywhere but on a Nitrous Express system.”

Lightweight yet strong carbon fiber and billet aluminum construction makes NX’s solenoids stand out.

Single nozzle systems also give a great deal of flexibility in installation – basically, the nozzle can go anywhere in the intake tract before it splits into the individual runners for each cylinder, though Lewis advises that there are a few good rules of thumb to follow.  “The further away you can get it from the intake valve, the better the atomization process,” he explains. “18-24 inches away from the throttle body will be your best-performing placement.” That distance allows for the nitrous oxide and fuel to thoroughly mingle with each other, and the incoming atmosphere. Better distribution between cylinders, and an increased charge-cooling effect are the results.

Blue Black Plate Special

Right now, the current trend in nitrous systems for EFI applications are plate systems that introduce N₂O and fuel through a “spacer” inserted between the throttle body and the intake manifold inlet. While plates have been around since forever for carbed engines, today’s EFI plates generally dispense with the spraybar typical of those older systems in favor of some sort of perimeter orifice design that leaves the intake tract unobstructed. “90mm plates are number one – we sell more of them than anything else,” Lewis claims.

NX’s plate-style systems introduce fuel and nitrous oxide through machined passages in a plate that sandwiches between the throttle body and the intake manifold.

He adds, “Plates are great for ease of installation, and they’re easy to hide, especially if you have an engine cover on top of them. You can flow more through a plate than you can a single nozzle – our [single nozzle] systems come with a Shark nozzle, which will flow up to 250, and our LS1 plates flow up to 350, while the LS2 and LS3 plate will flow 400. There aren’t a whole lot of people who are doing it, but it can be done. I know some of our dealers are spraying that much through a plate on their shop cars.”

NX LS 3-Bolt Plate System PN 20935-10

• Fits 1997-2004 Corvette, 1998-02 V8 Camaro/Firebird, 2004 GTO, as well as 1999-06 GM Trucks with 4.8L, 5.3L & 6.0L engines
• 78mm billet plate
• Includes jetting for 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 horsepower
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

NX LS 90mm Plate System PN 20934-10

• 90mm billet plate fits all stock-diameter 4-bolt LS intake manifolds
• Includes jetting for 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 horsepower
• Upgrade to a dual stage system by adding PN NX933D
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

NX LS 102mm Plate System PN 20933-10

• 102mm billet plate fits all stock-diameter 4-bolt LS intake manifolds
• Includes jetting for 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 horsepower
• Upgrade to a dual stage system by adding PN NX933D
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

There are pros and cons to plates versus a single nozzle system; Lewis admits, “Everybody wants nitrous plates behind the throttle body – that’s the new thing, and the reason we make them. But 9 times out of 10, you will see more horsepower out of a single nozzle system in front of the throttle body than with a plate, for a given jet combo.” But on the up-side, “The plates kind of act like a throttle body spacer as well, because they sit between the throttle blades and the intake manifold, and that might give you a slight increase in bottom end power because of the effective increase in plenum volume.”

The NX 90 and 102mm four-bolt plates have built-in two stage capability, and when combined with a third direct port stage, make for a very potent way to deliver a lot of nitrous oxide in precisely measured doses.

One indisputable advantage to NX’s four-bolt plate systems is how dead-simple they make adding a second stage. “The LS2/3 102mm plate is actually dual-stage, so you can run two stages through the plate, and a third via direct port,” says Lewis. “We have one of our sponsored guys who does that. And we have a lot of customers who will run a small stage off the plate to get them off the line, 150 horsepower, and then bring their main stage on with a direct port system.”

Another Way to Spray

For those looking for straightforward installation, NX has another good option in the form of their MAF systems. Like the plates, these setups don’t obstruct the intake tract, and offer some of the same advantages of a single nozzle system when it comes to placement. “The MAF systems work really good,” Lewis claims. “They’re a bit more expensive than the plates, but they work by kind of the same principle, and like the single nozzle, the further you can get them away from the combustion chamber, the better they work in atomizing the fuel and nitrous.”

NX 1-Piece MAF System PN 20110-10

• For LS1 and LS2 engines with a one-piece MAF housing
• Solenoid mounts are integrated into the housing
• Includes jetting for 35-200 horsepower
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

NX 2-Piece MAF System PN 20109-10

• Replaces the factory MAF sensor housings on LT-1 and LS1 with two-piece MAF housing
• Includes jetting for 35-150 horsepower
• Optional 2-stage capability
• Each stage can support up to 250 horsepower with additional jetting
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

Eight Times the Fun

At the top of the nitrous food chain are direct port systems; as the name implies, they use an individual nozzle for each cylinder, placed close to the intake port. While they’re the most difficult to install, they offer advantages not found in other designs. “Especially in higher horsepower applications, that’s where direct port really shines,” says Lewis. “Over 300 horsepower on nitrous and above is where I’d recommend it.”

For drag racers in classes that don’t allow multiple stages, or progressive nitrous control, direct port offers what might be a race-winning advantage – per Lewis, “A direct port system will come on softer, so you can leave the line without shaking the tires so bad.” Direct port also allows a high level of control, with Lewis adding, “You can tune each individual cylinder if you need to. You don’t have to rely on the intake to distribute things evenly. If you have a lean cylinder – like on an LS1, the #7 cylinder often goes lean in turbo applications – you can tune for that with a direct port system, where you can’t with a single nozzle or a plate.”

NX LS1 Pro Piranha Direct Port System PN 80010-10

• Eight Piranha nozzles
• Adjustable from 50-300 horsepower
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 5- and 15-pound capacity bottles

NX NXL Integrated Rail Technology with Piranha Nozzles PN 20220

• Eight Piranha nozzles
• Entire nitrous system is self-contained in the high-flow fuel rail
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve

NX 8 Cylinder Vortech Direct Port System PN 80016-10

• Eight stainless steel Vortech nozzles
• Four Lightning Series solenoids
• Jetting from 200-500 horsepower
• 10-pound capacity nitrous bottle with a high flow billet aluminum Lightning 45 bottle valve
• Also available with 15-pound capacity bottle

Knowing Your Limits

When supplied by a properly-engineered system, correctly installed on a mechanically healthy engine, nitrous oxide is a safe and economical way to add horsepower. But like anything else in life, you have to know your limits. “Nitrous is pretty easy to install and use,” says Lewis. “Everything has its horsepower limit, but nitrous isn’t pumping heat into the intake like a turbo or supercharger – it’s usually taking heat out of the intake. It comes out of the nozzle at -128F, and that’s making denser air by cooling the charge going into the engine, as well as bringing the horsepower coming from the nitrous system.”

Serious nitrous racers will, of course, put on their big boy pants when it comes to making sure that their engine is up to a regular diet of 300+ horsepower worth of nitrous. But what about the rest of us? Lewis advises, “We’re pretty clear in our instructions – anything over 100 horsepower on an otherwise factory vehicle, we recommend upgrading the fuel pump. And this applies to any way you’re making that power – if you have a cam and bolt-ons, for example. On an LS car, you can normally only add about 100 horsepower before you start dropping fuel pressure, whether that’s through nitrous, polished heads, or whatever.”

Besides the fuel supply, once you get past that magic 100-horse mark, ignition timing needs to be addressed as well. “If you’re on a stock vehicle with good fuel, you can run up to 100 horsepower on the stock timing map,” Lewis adds. “Once you get over that, we normally recommend the Lingenfelter retard box or a custom tuning solution.”

Of course, there’s a limit to how much information we can provide in an article like this, but fortunately techs at NX are standing by to answer your questions. As Lewis concludes, “I’d rather have people call 100 times to get the right information than be scared to call.”

Two years ago, we all watched as the magical Pro Street six-second barrier was broken, and the records haven’t stopped falling since. Over the weekend, the motorcycle drag racing contingent converged on the always-quick Maryland International Raceway for the second of nine stops on the 2013 MIRock Superbike Series schedule, where another all-time record fell by the wayside in exciting fashion at the hands of Townsend, Del. racer Joey Gladstone.

During the second of eliminations at the Fast by Gast Spring Nationals, Gladstone, the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Street aboard his turbocharged 2012 Suzuki Hayabusa with a 7.012 at a stout 209.20 mph, carded a 7.009 at a booming 213.84 mph, which topped his own series speed record of 212.33 mph set just a week ago in Rockingham and solidified his distinction as the fastest street bike in the world, depending upon your definition of the term street bike. That run also gave him the round win over Greg Wallace, setting Gladstone up with the opportunity to turn around and better his performance in the next round. And that he did, running a nearly identical 7.008 at an even faster 213.87 mph. As you can tell by the video of these relatively short wheelbase, wheelie bar-less rockets, consistency like that isn’t easy to come by.

Gladstone didn’t quite match his performance from the previous rounds in the final, but his 7.033 at 208.84 mph was enough to outrun the 7.40 posted by his final round foe, Rodney Williford.

Bob Vandergriff won his third Top Fuel race Sunday, but Hector Arana Jr. won his third straight. They joined two other two-time series champions — Funny Car’s Cruz Pedregon and Pro Stock’s Jason Line — in the winners circle at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway at Baytown, Texas, near Houston.
 LIVING LARGE IN TEXAS – Top Fuel winner Bob Vandergriff had a simple strategy. “We kept letting everybody beat themselves,” Vandergriff said. Meanwhile, he said, “We kept pecking away at it and pecking away at it. They gave us enough chances to get it straightened out, and we made a really good run in the final for the conditions.” It was his first victory this season and third overall. “We made enough changes to get the car to the finish line under power,” he said after using a 3.904-second, 316.38-mph blast in the C&J Energy Services Dragster to easily defeat tire-smoking Shawn Langdon.

“They’d have had to make a real good run to beat us, and they didn’t. Either way, it was going to be a tough round for ‘em.” The Vandergriff stable expanded to three cars this past weekend, adding JR Todd to the mix with he and Clay Millican, and the team owner-driver said the extra hands came in especially handy with the NHRA and ESPN2 committing to a live broadcast. He said even the part-time crew members “have got more Wallys on their mantels than I have, from other teams they’ve worked with. All those guys know their way around the race car. We very rarely have any issues regarding maintenance.” Vandergriff continued his tradition of winning, then jumping from the car and running back up the track on foot to meet his crew.
 
CRUZ SWEEPS – Cruz Pedregon’s 32nd Funny Car trophy was his third from Houston but his first at this spring event in 21 years. He earned it in dominating fashion, as No. 1 qualifier with quickest time and speed for the weekend (4.086 seconds, 310.41 mph Friday). He became the class’ first repeat winner this season as he recorded his third victory in the past seven races (dating back to the final 2012 event). “I love live TV. I’m glad NHRA is doing it, but it made for some tense moments,” he said, referring to the abbreviated turnaround time and the trouble he discovered when warming up his Snap-on Toyota Camry for the final round against Tim Wilkerson.

“We had a spark plug wire that wouldn’t go onto the plug,” he said. Pedregon added he was shocked to reach the starting line and see Wilkerson (who had worried about his rather young crew keeping up the accelerated pace) ready to roll. And he said he was glad NHRA officials gave him a little extra time to get into place. “The track was challenging. We were doing things I hadn’t done ever with this car,” he said. “Wilkerson was a formidable opponent. It was pretty much anybody’s ballgame there.” Pedregon won with a 4.246, 296.96 to Wilkerson’s 6.914, 102.08.
 
 LUCKY LINE GETS 30TH WALLY – In his first Pro Stock final this season, Jason Line scored his first 2013 victory. Luckily for the KB/Summit Racing Equipment Camaro driver, he launched first on opponent Shane Gray with a nearly perfect .007 reaction time and won although the two registered identical 6.589 elapsed times and 211-mph speeds. The march to his 30th victory began with a close call, as he defeated Matt Hartford by a mere .0002 of a second (two-10,000th-of a second) in the first round.

The Pro Stock cars were affected significantly by the condition of the track after heavy rain Saturday. Line said, “It was especially tough for us, because we’ve been a little lost lately. But today, it worked out. I’m not sure how. I’ll have to go back and look at everything to try to understand how it all worked out the way it did, but we’re happy.” He called his team “a work in progress” and said getting down the racetrack every time out “is something we haven’t done all year. It has been a fight. After awhile, you start to wonder if you’ll ever get to the winners circle again, so this feels really good.”

 
ARANA JR. RULER NOW – Less than a year ago, Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Hector Arana Jr. was calling himself a “peasant” who had to defer to the Harley-Davidson kings of the class, Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines. Since the NHRA instated rules aimed at performance parity, Arana is on the other side of the fence — and he’s enjoying it with his third consecutive victory this year. So three of his six total triumphs have come in this season’s three bike-class appearances on the schedule. He beat Sovereign Star Racing Buell racer Scotty Pollacheck, his closest rival in the standings and in the starting lineup Sunday, in the final round (6.912 seconds at 194.74 mph to 6.985, 188.54 on the Baytown, Texas, quarter-mile).

Arana was top qualifier and had low elapsed time and top speed of the meet (6.876, 195.39 in qualifying). He became the first since Matt Hines in 1998 to win at least the first three races of a season. The late Dave Schultz won the first four races of the 1991 season. “It was very exciting to seal the deal,” Arana Jr. said after his second straight final-round appearance at Houston. “This is the most nervous I’ve been, I guess trying to keep up that reputation and all the pressure. I’m handling it well. I’ve got to thank my crew. They’re doing an awesome job. Our bike hasn’t been the fastest every run on Sunday, but we’ve been the most consistent. That’s what wins races. Myself, as a rider, I feel like I’ve been pretty consistent, too. That combination right there, that’s lethal. We’ve been able to keep doing it.”
 
RAIN CUTS QUALIFYING IN HALF – For the second straight weekend, both nitro classes lost a full day to rain. Doug Kalitta led the Top Fuel field, and Cruz Pedregon was No. 1 in Funny Car for the second time in four races this year. It also was the second time this season Pedregon won from the top spot. While some adapted better to the conditions than others, 2012 Top Fuel event winner Morgan Lucas said,  “It was an emotional roller coaster for everybody. We lost two runs Saturday due to all the weather, and it was frustrating to sit around. When you do your burnout and you notice the rain has literally washed 60 percent of the rubber off the racetrack, it opens your eyes. And your mind switches from reaction-time mode to get ready to pedal it and catch it right. A race like this is all about survival.”

LANGDON, AL-ANABI SHOW WELL – Shawn Langdon’s second straight and third overall final-round appearance of the season marked the third time in four years the Al-Anabi/Toyota team ran for the trophy at Houston. In 2010, Larry Dixon won for the Alan Johnson-managed team, and in 2011, Del Worsham beat teammate Dixon to win. “We just basically overpowered the race track, but we’ve learned from it. We’ve raced in the last two final rounds, and if we keep doing that, we’ll win one of them soon,” Langdon, the Winternationals winner, said. “Having that 55-minute turn-around for the live broadcast was pretty hard on the Al-Anabi crew guys. But 35 minutes after the semifinal, they had the car disassembled, put back together, warmed up, and ready to go to the final round.”

 
NO DSR – For the first time in 41 events, since the July 10, 2011 Joliet, Ill., race, Don Schumacher Racing had no cars in either the Top Fuel or Funny Car final.
 
EDWARDS STREAK OVER – Jeg Coughlin stopped Mike Edwards’ Pro Stock No. 1 qualifying streak at five races.

PERFECT LIGHT NOT ENOUGH – Hector Arana Sr. recorded the first perfect reaction time of his career in the first round against red-lighting Steve Johnson, but he wasn’t as quick at the Christmas tree against his next opponent, his own son, Hector Jr. His son got the jump on him and won on a holeshot (with a slower E.T.).

“I don’t think I ever had a .000 light [before]. The closest that I ever had was a .001 against Eddie [Krawiec],” Arana Sr. said. “That just shows you that don’t count me out yet. They’re thinking, ‘His kids are out here. The old man’s getting old. It’s probably time to retire.’ I still have it. I’ve just got to stay focused. That’s the hardest thing for me right now.” He said he’s eager to race Hector Jr.: “Right now for me, he’s the guy I want to race. He’s No. 1. He’s the best guy out there, so I need to race against the best so I can be the best.”
 
MAKING PROGRESS – Improving Alexis DeJoria posted her second semifinals finish in three events in the Tequila Patron Toyota Camry to climb back into the top 10 at No. 9 — in her adopted home state of Texas. “They’re knocking on the door,” Cruz Pedregon said.

 A MONTH OFF – The Pro Stock Motorcycle class will be idle until May 31-June 2 at the Toyota Summernationals at Englishtown, N.J. The tour heads to Atlanta Dragway at Commerce, Ga., for the May 3-5 Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals. 

Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta doesn’t open his mouth a lot at the National Hot Rod Association racetracks.
 
But he has five words he wants everybody to understand clearly: I’m not planning on retiring.
 
The Mac Tools Dragster driver for uncle Connie Kalitta’s drag-racing operation was caught earlier this year “thinking out loud” about staying closer to home, the 48-year-old Ann Arbor, Mich., resident said. After all, he owns two airlines that cover passenger, cargo, and air-ambulance needs — and he and wife Josie have all the activities of son Mitch, 12, and daughter Avery, 9, to keep straight.
 

Image courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster

But all the commotion that ensued, all the chitchat about the notion of retirement that came his way, was about as heartwarming to him as one of his Kalitta Charter Boeing 727 engines sucking in a Canada goose.
 
However, one thing he definitely is aiming to do is earn his first Top Fuel series championship to match his 1994 USAC National Sprint Car title.
 
“The Mac Tools hot rod has been among the best all year so far,” Kalitta said, owning No. 1 qualifying positions (from Phoenix and Gainesville) and a semifinal finish in the first five races as evidence.
 
 He’s seeking his first victory of the season — and his first since the July 2010 Denver race — but he said he has faith in his team that has Jim Oberhofer and assistant crew chief Troy Fasching in charge.
 
“I’m really proud of my guys. Jim O and Troy and all my guys are doing a great job,” Kalitta said. “When you have such great people around you, good things are bound to happen, and they will.

“We’ve had some quirky things go on a couple times that have cost us,” he said, “but all that will balance out and we’ll be on the lucky side of that soon. We’re showing a good sign that we’re going to have a good year. We’ve just got to start making that happen on Sundays. We’ve got a great effort going on.”
 
Kalitta doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. He already has established himself among the best Top Fuel racers in class history — in NHRA professional-class history.
 
With 32 victories, he’s third among active Top Fuel drivers and seventh overall if one adds in such legends as Joe Amato, Kenny Bernstein and “Big Daddy” Don Garlits.  One of only six current Top Fuel drivers to have a better-than-.500 elimination record.

Only Funny Car’s John Force has more consecutive top-10 points finishes among current racers. Kalitta has 15, which ties him with Antron Brown’s combined performances in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Top Fuel. Force has 28.

 
His career-best numbers are among the best ever in the sport. His 3.733-second run this February at Phoenix is among the 10 best in Top Fuel, and his 331.45-mph speed from last October at Reading, Pa., is the sport’s third-fastest.

When you have such great people around you, good things are bound to happen, and they will.

 At one point, from the 2000 Phoenix race to the 2007 spring Las Vegas race, Kalitta qualified for 164 consecutive events.
 
Gnawing at him is an equally glaring streak.

“We didn’t win last year,” Kalitta said. “You go without winning, it’s definitely a kick in the butt — for us, anyway. We’re really motivated to do some good out here. We’ve got all the resources and everything that we need. So we should be able to pull it off.”

Image courtesy of Kalitta Motorsports

Oberhofer said he doesn’t think the team has experienced a performance dip. He said he’s certain “the performance of the car is still there. We need everything to line up. It’s getting a little frustrating for us on our end. We want to win — we want a win bad.”
 
At Phoenix, Spencer Massey had a slightly better reaction time. At Gainesville, the tires lost traction at 2.6 seconds into the semifinal run. At Las Vegas, what could have been a possible 3.79-second Friday-night qualifying time ended with a broken barrel-valve joint that led to a supercharger explosion. (Oberhofer said he had no explanation why the Mac Tools car smoked the tires in that first round, “other than Brittany Force was destined to win her first elimination round against Doug Kalitta.”)

And the early rain at Charlotte, he said, caused some racetrack-prep issues that triggered his own incorrect tuning call. Still, the car started race day — Kalitta’s 350th — with a 3.78-second pass, then in Round 2 a 3.85 that was especially respectable with a cylinder out in the first second.

“When the drag-racing gods decide it’s time for Doug Kalitta to win another Wally, it’ll happen,” Oberhofer said. “Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”
 
Kalitta referred to his next victory as “the payoff the Mac Tools team deserves.”
 
Preseason testing pointed to a strong start, which has held true with Kalitta just two points shy of a top-five placing in the standings as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour headed to Houston.

Actually, Kalitta Motorsports’ “testing” — what got Doug Kalitta into championship-contention range — dates back to the early part of the 2012 season. Oberhofer said the Mac Tools Dragster finally began to comply after the Atlanta race last May. New cylinder heads have made a significant difference, as well.

Image courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster

“We tested cylinder heads for Alan Johnson after Norwalk and then when the time was right we actually had some of those going into the Brainerd race. But we chose not to run ‘em there,” Oberhofer said. The second weekend of Indy we tried ‘em and said, ‘Whoa – This thing’s way different.’ So we shelved them but put them back on for Charlotte [last September] and said, ‘We’re going to make these things work.’ It was a little bit of a learning curve, but the car just makes power so much easier now and the parts look so much nicer now than they’ve ever looked.
 
“It took us awhile to understand — because everybody out here has a tune-up program, and we have our own — and just getting to understand the factor numbers that we needed to run to be successful,” he said. “So going into West Palm [Florida, for preseason testing] we had a plan. We weren’t going to go in there and make changes. We were going to try to build off what we had. Most of the time when we went to West Palm Beach, we were having to alter things — the starting line’s funny there. We were always having to crunch the car all the time to get it off the starting line.

“We went there [this time] and said, ‘We’re not changing anything.’ And we didn’t, and the car ran good. We made nine runs in the 3.70′s zone and never hurt a part.”
 
That, he said, was unprecedented: “It’s like insane, what we did. We were really encouraged, because everything we did, the car responded. And it was just really nice to do that. We just felt really good about testing when we left there.”
 
Does he have that vibe that this could be his year?
 
“Yeah, I do,” the modest Kalitta said. “Hopefully it will happen.”
 
Pro Stock’s Kurt Johnson, along with Funny Car’s Ron Capps and Top Fuel’s Cory McClenathan, have to answer the question about when they’re going to get off the list of most successful drivers with no series championship to show for it. But Kalitta is fourth on that list.

 
“I would put him up against any great driver past or present. He’s a very good driver, and he deserves to win. I hope that between me and my guys that we can help him win a championship,” Oberhofer said.
 
“He’s paid his dues,” Connie Kalitta said.

When he gets a chance to cash in, Doug Kalitta said he’ll dedicate the championship to his cousin, Connie’s son, Scott Kalitta. A two-time Top Fuel champion, Scott Kalitta was killed in a 2008 Funny Car qualifying accident. And Doug said he always will remember him.

Image courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster

 ”He was a big part of the airline and our racing effort,” he said. “We all miss him, and it would be wonderful to be able to dedicate a championship to him. That would certainly be the guy that I would if given the opportunity.”
 
Doug Kalitta came tantalizingly close to doing it in 2006, the year Tony Schumacher stole his thunder on the final run of the final race. Kalitta came up 14 points short. But he received an extended standing ovation at the award ceremony the next day.
 
That ranks right up there with retirement talk, as far as Kalitta is concerned.

Image courtesy of Kalitta Motorsports

“Congratulations for being second,” Kalitta said, adding that the ovation “was very nice and very much appreciated,” something he regards as acknowledgement of “a good effort put forward by me and my guys.”
 
But he said he would rather downplay that moment, however lovely or humbling it might have been, because “at the end of the day, he [Schumacher] got what I wanted.”

If anyone — even Doug Kalitta — tries to make you believe the Mac Tools Dragster driver is “a non-communicator . . . a quiet guy,” content that “that’s the role I’ll have to sit back and take,” don’t believe it for a second.
 
“I’m not an attention-seeker or want to be like John Force. It’s my personality. Just want to go run good and support my guys and do a good job for them,” Kalitta will say. “And I enjoy doing it. That’s the reason I’m still out there doing it.”
 
He might have that poker face working for him, but a determined set of his jaw and a steely look in his eye leave no doubt.
 
He’s ready to make some noise.

In testing just recently at his home track, Holly Springs Dragstrip, Kolivas turned off the timers in his Southern Speed-built ’95 Mustang Cobra to the tune of a 4.34 at 172.28 MPH – a stunning number, especially when Marty Stinnett just broke Kolivas’ 4.39 record with a 4.38 a few weeks ago. Kolivas, who wears out the track surface at Holly Springs on a regular basis, credits a Precision Turbo-motivated twin-turbo Bennett Racing pushrod engine controlled by NLR Systems‘ AMS2000 boost controller as the main motivators behind his program. He’s also brought Mark Menscer of Menscer Motorsports onboard recently to assist with shock tuning, and we’d have to say his upgrades have been worth it.

We caught up with John on Monday morning to talk about his incredible accomplishment, and he explained, “We got onto a decent track and were able to make a good hit. I think we might have a little something more in it, especially if the conditions are perfect, but there’s no doubt about it – that’s a pretty strong pass. Saturday night we were on one that would have been even quicker but I had to get out of it at about half-track. When you’re trying to run this quick with a setup like this everything has to be right.” If you’re a fan of converting eighth-mile numbers to quarter-mile numbers, this converts to an easy 6.60′s pass, or maybe even quicker….on a 275-wide radial tire. Simply unreal.

We got our first up close and personal look at Tom Kempf’s stunning Drag Radial Pontiac Trans Am more than two years ago when he debuted the state-of-the-art machine at the LSX Shootout in St. Louis in 2010, and we’ve kept ourselves tuned to Kempf’s progress with the car in the months and years since. Last May, the turbocharged entry had an unfortunate excursion with the Milan Dragway guardrail, causing extensive damage to the rear of the car that sent it to Skinny Kid Race Cars for repairs to bring it back to life and better than ever.

The first images of the freshly rebuilt Trans Am surfaced in August of last year from the Skinny Kid shop, and just two months later in September, Kempf broke the news that he was going in a new direction with his racing efforts, as he’d bolted a set of 33 x10.5W tires under the rear fenders to go Outlaw 10.5 racing.

“The rear end took a direct hit to the wall that completely destroyed both rear frame rails,” explained Kempf. “So the next logical step was to just take the plunge and go 10.5 racing. With an already potent Billy Briggs LS powerplant it only made sense to give a call to one of the nations best race car builders — Skinny Kid Race Cars. Keith [Engling] took on the job of not only rebuilding a wrecked Drag Radial chassis but finishing a complete roller.”

Over the winter, Kempf had the car painted and lettered in the colors of his primary sponsor, the the LaFontaine Automotive Group and the LaFontaine Performance Center, in preparation for a new season and a new category of competition. Over the weekend, he and his team headed out to Milan for testing with the 454 cubic inch, turbocharged LSX-powered machine and laid down some impressive numbers that, according to the folks at LaFontaine, are just a glimpse of the potential the combination has in it. On one of Kempf’s full eight-mile laps (shown in the video above), he carded a nice 1.08 short time and parlayed it into a 4.42-second blast at the stripe.

No doubt you’ll be seeing and hearing more about Kempf and his LaFontaine Performance Center Trans Am as the racing season gets rolling in the northern states, but until then, click over to the LaFontaine Performance Center website and learn more about the largest GM Performance Parts Center in the state of Michigan, stocking all of the popular GM engines and parts, along with performance parts from a number of automotive aftermarket manufacturers.

Official Release:

1979-2004 Mustang Elite 8.8 Housing

For this we have basically taken all the same brackets from our Elite series housings and re-engineered them to fit the factory 8.8. So that means you get a 90 Deg Double Hole Lower Control Arm Bracket along with adjustable Coil Over mounts all on an 8.8. The housing also has a wishbone mount integrated into it. With this mount the wishbone is designed to mount off the bottom of the housing and run forward to the factory frame rails.

Features:

• Elite LCA BRKTS
• Coil Over BRKT
• Shock MNTS
• Wishbone MNT
• ARB Tabs
• Integrated Cross Tube
• Axel Vent
• Grade 8 Hardware

8.8 Rear End Brace Kit

Our Brace Kit is designed to tie the cast center section to the axle tubes. This keeps the rear end from flexing under hard launches which in the long run saves you from having a bent housing. We send a 18’’ piece of tube un-welded to the tube adapts that way you can make it however long as necessary to clear any bracket’s you may have on your housing.

This kit uses left and right hand tube adapters and rod ends, with the left hand tube adapter having a hex on it. This makes for an easy way to put a 1/4 turn of pre-load on the axle tubes. It comes with all the hardware to bolt it to the cast center section as well as the tabs that get welded to the axle tubes. 

Features:

• JM Series Left Right Rod Ends w/ Jam Nuts
• 1/2’’ Grade 8 Nuts and Bolts
• 2 Left Hand Tube Adapters w/ Hex
• 2 Right Hand Tube Adapters
• 4 3/16’’ Axel Tube Tabs
• 18’’ of 1 1/4’’ .083 4130 Tube

1979-2004 Mustang 8.8 Elite Housing Bracket Kit

This bracket kit is the same brackets we use on our 8.8 Elite Housing (PN # 210500). The kit is designed for the Lower Control Arm Bracket OD width to be 36 ½’’. Coil Over Brackets can be placed at a 24’’ or 26’’ CL. All brackets come welded together for the ease of installation. 

Features:

• Elite LCA BRKTS
• Coil Over BRKTS
• Shock MNTS
• ARB Tabs
• Integrated Cross Tube
• Grade 8 Hardware

WINS BY VANDERGRIFF, PEDREGON HEADLINE SOGGY SPRINGNATIONALS

Cruz Pedregon became the first two-time winner in Funny Car this season and Bob Vandergriff Jr. broke out his running shoes once again as the two racers headlined the winners podium at a soggy SpringNationals in Houston over the weekend. Read More >>

Mickey Thompson Tires DragZine Race Report

NHRA: Race Recap from Houston. Cruz Pedregon became the first two-time winner in Funny Car this season after he downed Tim Wilkerson on live television Sunday afternoon in Houston. With the win, Pedregon took over the points lead in Funny Car. Bob Vandergriff Jr., now famous for his jogs back to the starting line after a victory, took the third stroll of his career when he downed a tire-smoking Shawn Langdon in the Top Fuel final with a 3.90. In Pro Stock, Jason Line returned to victory lane for the first time since last fall when a strong-of-late Shane Gray rattled the tires and slowed. Hector Arana Jr., undefeated in Pro Stock Motorcycle this season, remained that way with his third win on the year, edging out Scotty Pollacheck, 6.91 to 6.98. And in Pro Modified, relative newcomer Clint Satterfield drove his turbocharged entry to his first victory, defeating Kenny Lang with a nice 6.01. For complete results from Houston, visit NHRA.com, or log on to Competition Plus for additional news and notes.

IHRA: Bruce Litton downed Kyle Wurtzel in the Top Fuel final at the IHRA’s Palm Beach Nitro Jam on Sunday, running a 5.08 to the tire-smoking 15-second lap posted by Wurtzel. In Prostalgia Funny Car, Peter Gallen ran a pair of 5.7-second passes, including a 5.79 in the final to defeat Mike Halstead. Kyle Hough took an easy win in Nostalgia Fuel Altered when opponent Ron Hope was unable to make the call, and Jay Turner rocked his way to low ET of the race in the Nitro Harley final, a 6.49, for the win. For more from Palm Beach International Raceway, visit Drag Race Central.

NHRA Division 6: Kris Krabill won in Nostalgia Funny Car at the NAPA Auto Parts Ignitor at the Firebird Raceway in Idaho, part of the NHRA Northwest division series opener. Krabill carded a 5.85 in the final to defeat a red-lighting Dan Horan. In Sportsman action, Adam Bowdish used a killer .006 light and a great -0.617 run to score the Competition Eliminator title, defeating Jeff Lane in a heads-up B/SMA final. In Super Stock, Les Norton overcame a much better reaction time by final round opponent Brad Rounds to score a double-breakout win, and Jody Lang took down Jim Mantle for Stock honors. For complete final round results from Firebird, log on to NHRADiv6.com.

IHRA Division 2: Wesley Washington Jr. took an easy win in Top Dragster at the Division 2 Pro-Am opener at the Richmond Dragway in Virginia when opponent Brett Nesbitt broke at the starting line. Washington was joined in victory circle by Top Sportsman winner Mark Payne, who put together an incredible .009 package in the final that opponent Don Rudd, who red-lit, would’ve hard a hard time overcoming. The second day of racing at Richmond was washed away after three rounds of competition. The remainder of the event is scheduled for completion in Maryland in July. For more from Richmond, log on to Drag Race Central.

X-DRL: The X-DRL’s Thunder Valley Madness at the Bristol Dragway fell victim to the rains that plagued racing events all across the country over the weekend, forcing the cancellation of the event. Competitors were able to complete qualifying on Saturday, with Frankie Taylor leading the Pro Extreme field in his Corvette with a great 3.64 and Jim Laurita pacing the Pro Nitrous field with a nice 3.78. For more from Bristol, visit X-DRL on the web.

The Weekend Winner Circle

O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals – Houston, Tex. Although heavy rains and thunderstorms washed away the Lucas Oil sportsman action in Houston, the live television coverage of the NHRA Mello Yello Series went off without a hitch, as Bob Vandergriff Jr., Cruz Pedregon, Jason Line, and Hector Arana Jr. scored professional victories.     EVENT WINNERS Top Fuel: Bob Vandergriff Jr. Funny Car: Cruz Pedregon Pro Stock: Jason Line Pro Stock Motorcycle: Hector Arana Jr. Pro Modified: Clint Satterfield Top Alcohol Dragster: Randy Meyer Top Alcohol Funny Car: Tony Bartone Click here to view more results >>

IHRA Palm Beach Nitro Jam – Jupiter, Fla. The IHRA Nitro Jam returned to the Palm Beach International Raceway over the weekend for the Palm Beach Nitro Jam, where Bruce Litton headlined the show with his victory in Top Fuel.     EVENT WINNERS Top Fuel: Bruce Litton Prostalgia Funny Car: Peter Gallen Nostalgia Fuel Altered: Kyle Hough Nitro Harley: Jay Turner Click here to view more results >>

 Pedregon, who serves as the driver and crew chief for his team, covered the distance in 4.246 seconds at 296.96 mph to defeat Wilkerson’s trailing Levi Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang, which lost traction in the finals and ran 6.914 at 102.28. With the win, Pedregon moves into the series points lead, 37 in front of Matt Hagan.
 
“Today was a challenging day, dealing with the track conditions,” Pedregon said. “We thought we had it pulled back enough for the first round, but we didn’t [in his 5.36 to 6.04 pedaling win against Terry Haddcok]. After that, we got the car straightened out and it ran good [with times of 4.18 4.24, and 4.24].”

 This is the second career victory at Royal Purple Raceway (also 1992) and he knows that the success they are having this season wouldn’t be possible without a full team effort.
 

Images courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster

“I had to whack my crew chief just once because he went over-center a bit on the tune-up for the first round, but after that everything was good,” said a smiling Pedregon, who beat Terry Haddock, Bob Tasca and Alexis DeJoria in earlier rounds. “It takes a totally different mindset to run a 4.18 and a pair of 4.20s like we did today, and we did some things to the car that we’ve never done before. It was a great weekend all around.”
 

In Top Fuel, Vandergriff earned his third career victory by holding off Shawn Langdon in the final
round. Vandergriff posted a winning run of 3.904 seconds at 316.38 mph in his C&J Energy Services dragster to defeat Langdon, whose Al-Anabi Racing dragster lost traction at the start. After taking the win light in the final round, Vandergriff continued his tradition of jogging from the finish line to join his crew near the starting line.
 
“After qualifying, winning this race was the farthest thing from my mind,” said Vandergriff, who outran defending world champ Antron Brown, Larry Dixon and Morgan Lucas to advance to his 16th career final round. “We just started picking away and got to the point where we made a great run in the final. We had 700 people here with our sponsor, C&J Energy Services, and they were all cheering us on. We couldn’t have written a better script for this. It was a total team effort. I have a lot of faith in my crew chiefs, Rob Flynn, Kurt Elliott, and Mike Guger; we have great leadership here.”
 
Points leader Tony Schumacher suffered a rare first round loss, but retains the points lead and Langdon moves to third in points on the strength of his runner-up finish.

 
In Pro Stock, Line raced his Summit Racing Chevy Camaro to his second win at Royal Purple Raceway and his first of the year with a holeshot victory over Shane Gray. Both drivers covered the distance at 6.589 seconds, but the .007 reaction time of Line gave him an advantage over the .055 reaction time of Gray, who drove his Gray Motorsports Camaro.
 
“We’ve been trying to win a race since Pomona, but until now, we haven’t been able to do it, so this was a good win,” Line said. “It was very difficult to win with today’s conditions, especially because we’ve been lost [with our tune-up]. Even in the first round today, which was my fastest run [a 6.576], it was a disaster.”
 
This is his 30th win of his career and was his first win of the season and the first since the second Charlotte race in 2012. He defeated Matt Hartford, local favorite Erica Enders-Stevens and Jeg Coughlin in the first three rounds. With the win he moves to fifth in points.   
 
“The big difference this weekend is that we made six good runs in a row, and the car responded well to the changes in our tune-up,” Line said. “That’s the first time we’ve been able to do that in a while.”
 
Arana Jr. recorded his third straight win of the year in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a final round performance of 6.912 at 194.74 on his Lucas Oil Buell to defeat  Scotty Pollacheck, who was in his first final round and ran 6.985 at 188.54 on his Sovereign Star Buell. Arana Jr. becomes just the third racer in Pro Stock Motorcycle history to win the first three events of the season, joining Matt Hines and Dave Schultz as the only drivers to accomplish the feat.
 
“This feels great,” said Arana Jr., who raced past Shawn Gann, Hector Arana Sr., and John Hall in earlier rounds. “Of the three wins, this was the most nervous I’ve been because I know how hard it is to keep going. There are so many excellent riders out here. After I beat my dad, he just said. ‘Good job’. My bike has not been the fastest but we’ve been the most consistent. As a rider, I’ve also been very consistent and that’s a lethal combination. We just want to keep going.”

Clint Satterfield raced to his first career NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series victory Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway.

 
Satterfield in his BAC Enterprises ’68 Camaro faced Kenny Lang and his Summit Racing ’63 Camaro and marked the first time the two had faced in eliminations. Lang fouled at the start, giving the win to Satterfield, who posted a 6.015 second pass at 246.75 mph.
 
In earlier rounds, Satterfield defeated Mike Knowles, Rickie Smith and Mike Castellana.
 
Lang moves to the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series points lead from third and Satterfield catapults from 10th to third on the strength of his win.

Sunday’s final results from the 26th annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway. The race is the sixth of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:
 
Top Fuel — Bob Vandergriff, 3.904 seconds, 316.38 mph  def. Shawn Langdon, 8.485 seconds, 74.90 mph.
 
Funny Car — Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.246, 296.96  def. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 6.914, 102.08.
 
Pro Stock — Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.589, 211.99  def. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.589, 211.26.
 
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.912, 194.74  def. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.985, 188.54.
 
Top Alcohol Dragster — Randy Meyer, 5.366, 271.90  def. Jim Whiteley, 5.466, 221.27.
 
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Tony Bartone, Ford Mustang, 5.591, 263.56  def. John Lombardo Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.629, 261.52.
 
Pro Modified — Clint Satterfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.015, 246.75  def. Kenny Lang, Chevy Corvette, foul.

Since the current Ford Mustang Cobra Jet’s inception in 2008, the other two domestic automotive manufacturers have jumped onboard with their own version of a factory-built racecar; Dodge is producing the Drag Pak Challenger with HEMI power and Chevrolet has crafted a new batch of COPO Camaros. The machines are designed to dominate the NHRA’s Stock and Super Stock classes, but there’s a side benefit to the programs – drag races are springing up all over the country to take advantage of this new breed of factory supercar.

ATI Racing, long known for their line of transmissions, torque converters, and engine Super Dampers, has jumped onboard to promote their very own event, called the Factory Outlaw Showdown, and it’s scheduled to take place over the weekend of October 11-13, 2013, at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Maryland.

Paul Cambria’s record-setting COPO Camaro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-n_F2ZwceM

 So far, there’s a list of drivers scheduled to attend the event, including ATI’s own JC Beattie Jr. in his ’09 BB/SA Challenger and 2001-03 Stock Eliminator champion Kevin Helms in his BB/SA ’11 Challenger. Multi-time NHRA/IHRA National Event winner Robbie Hudlow will be there with his SS/AAA 2012 Cobra Jet along with 2012 NMRA Cobra Jet Shootout winner (and former Pro Stock racer) Roger Cook and his 2010 CC/SA Cobra Jet. Paul Cambria, owner of the fastest legal COPO Camaro (8.49 at 161 MPH) will be on the property representing the Chevy gang, of which Beattie Jr. is also included with his second car, a 2012 COPO SS/AAA machine.fJoseph Teuton will also be representing the Dodge contingent in BB/SA, and the list will only continue to grow larger as the season progresses and more racers make the decision to attend. It’s sure to be a barn-burner, and will be one of the only events in the country where you’ll be able to see all of these machines go head-to-head in one place at one time. Make your plans now to attend what’s sure to be one of the coolest events of the season.

ATI Racing’s Drag Pak Challenger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdqcTZlKACM

Official Release:

Proform Releases New Pneumatic Valve Spring Compressor

Proform’s new Pneumatic Valve Spring Compressor can cut cylinder head disassembly time in half. Pulling the tool’s trigger supplies up to 350 pounds of force using 125-psi air-compressor pressure (it will operate with as little as 100 psi.). With the valve spring compressed, its keepers and retainer can be easily removed. Depressing the tool’s pressure-release button retracts the piston, setting the spring free.

Features:

• Can cut cylinder head disassembly time in half
• Supplies up to 350 pounds of force using 125-psi air-compressor pressure
• With the valve spring compressed, its keepers and retainer can be easily removed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcGzoLfTdw4

But Woodruff, calm, cool, and collected, did what any racer would do and put his driving skills to work, getting up on the wheel like a circle track ringer and bringing the speeding Corvette to a heart-dropping stop by spinning it around nearly 180-degrees in the shutdown area. What Woodruff pulls is off is nothing short of impressive because, keep in mind, these race-intended tires aren’t designed for drifting and there can only be two results: a perfect stop (as Woodruff has done) or on your roof.

Our friends over at AFCO Racing tipped us to the onboard video footage of Woodruff’s excursion that you see above, which gives you a better sensation of what Woodruff’s exciting ride at the top end was like. Woodruff’s Corvette sports a set of AFCO’s mono-tube shocks prepared by shock guru Mark Menscer, better known as “The Shock Nerd.” Woodruff wasn’t the only competitor on Menscer-prepped AFCO shocks, as several of the top 10 qualifiers in Outlaw Drag Radial ran AFCO by Menscer shocks, as did all four semifinalists in X275.

After you check out the video of Woodruff’s wild ride, click on over to AFCO Racing and check out their complete product lines for your drag racing, circle track, and street applications.

Photos courtesy of Jon Lund II

Fred Cook, Nelson Whitlock, and the team of technicians at Evolution Performance have established a reputation as one of the finest shops on the East Coast, if not in the entire country for S197 owners who have a higher standard for their definition of what is real fast. Recently the team, led by master technician Chuck Wrzesnewski, took this brand-spankin’-new 2013 Mustang (that was delivered to them with only 34 miles on it, straight from the dealership) and turned it into a mid-eight-second monster in the span of six fifteen hour days.

The car is owned by Chicago’s Justin Cyrnek, a previous Evolution customer who also had them modify his Gotta Have It Green 2013 a little while back. Cyrnek dropped off the new car with the express intention of making it into what it is today, the world-record-holding street-driven Coyote-powered machine that takes the title away from then current record holder Terry “Beefcake” Reeves. Driven by Evolution’s Nelson Whitlock, right off the trailer a 9.20 at 148 MPH was the result, and by the end of the day the car turned in an incredible 8.74 at 155 MPH on 18 pounds of boost and the 50-shot of NOS nitrous oxide. Car owner Cyrnek even took his chance in the seat for one pass, cranking off an 8.99 at 151 MPH on the fourth pass before Whitlock got back in the seat to set the record on the fifth.

How was this insane elapsed time achieved? It wasn’t a simple task, although the Evolution gang often makes it seem so. JRS Fabrication did a roll-cage in the car, along with one of Ford Racing’s rear seat delete kits, and then Wrzesniewski and the gang were off on a marathon build. “We pulled the stock engine out, and already had a built engine ready to go, and we built the whole car in six days. It was at the track on the eighth day after we received it. Since we do a lot of these cars, we know exactly what needs to be done to make them go fast. The fuel system, the superchargers, they all need to be mounted the same way. There are some variations but for the most part a lot of things are done the same. We know the S197 chassis in and out, I know everything I need ahead of time in terms of parts selection,” said Cook. 

Mike Rauscher at L&M Engines in Hatboro, Pennsylvania has established a reputation as one of the finest minds in the Coyote/Modular engine building business over the last decade, and it was in his direction that the Evolution team turned to bulletproof Crynek’s engine before the mill was installed into the car. Rauscher put together a 302-cubic inch Coyote using one of his Tornado engine blocks, complete with Diamond pistons, Manley Pro Series I-Beam connecting rods, billet oil pump gears, and ARP hardware throughout. L&M custom cams were paired with a set of Evolution’s Stage 3 CNC-machined heads that sport Ferrea valves and titanium retainers. Topping it off is an Evolution CNC-machined intake manifold, and the main motivator, one of Ford Racing‘s 2.9L “Crusher” Whipple superchargers. 

The 6R80 automatic transmission was modified with a set of Stage 2 clutches from Exedy and a host of Circle D Specialties transmission parts, namely their billet intermediate shaft and Pro Series billet torque converter. The engine breathes through a set of American Racing Headers 1 7/8-inch longtube headers with 3.5-inch collectors and turndowns, while the fuel system was pumped up with a Fore Innovations Fuel Pump Module including a pair of killer 450 LPH pumps, squirting Sunoco E85R racing fuel. A host of other gear from Evolution like their billet fuel rails and alternator brace were onboard, while JLT Performance‘s Super Big Air, ATI Performance Products‘ 15% overdrive damper, Brisk Silver spark plugs, and Weld Racing 15-inch RT-S wheels were along for the ride. The killer ET’s were recorded on a brand-new set of Mickey Thompson‘s 275/60/15 ET Street Radial Pro tires that were installed just for the test session.

The suspension was modified as well. The rear of the car received a full complement of Steeda components including their upper control arm mount, adjustable upper control arm, lower control arms, and lower control arm relocation brackets. In the front they’ve got a full complement of BMR Suspension‘s equipment including a K-member, adjustable a-arms, and tubular radiator support. An Evolution antiroll bar was employed along with a full set of Evolution’s coil springs. The car was built, with the exception of the rollcage, at Evolution Performance in Aston, Pennsylvania, and tuned by Jon Lund of Lund Racing. Cook tells us that the car will be in attendance at the NMRA’s 5.0 Shootout to be held later this year at the Norwalk stop of that series.  Wow fast will it be then? That’s a couple of months away, and they managed to run 8.74 in six days, so imagine what they might be able to achieve with more time.

The marketing world is full of many tips, tricks, and slights of hand used to convince consumers to pick one particular product over another. These subtle actions appeal to our subconscious, convincing us in ways we don’t fully understand to buy things like hard-boiled egg shapers, back scratchers, and clothes for our dog. Because what Fido needs is another layer of fur.

The gearheads at Turbosmart decided to ditch the subtly for their latest product though, calling in the Tour de Force known as “Big Bubba” to pitch their Big Bubba Blowoff Valve. It’s witty, to the point, and a nice change of pace from the subtle manipulations most advertisements use. Really though, it just makes sense.

Turbosmart has made a business out of selling badass blowoff valves, wastegates, and other accessories for forced induction engines. While normally Turbosmart is in the business of integrating a lot of performance into a small package, the Big Bubba blowoff valve is big, brash, and really really loud…perfect for in-your-face cars and their owners.

In fact, the Big Bubba is the largest blowoff valve in Turbosmart’s lineup, and can be used on turbocharged, supercharged, or even turbodiesel engines. Yet despite being designed for big horsepower and brash sounds, the Big Bubba package still only weighs in at 1.7 pounds, yet boasts a 52mm aluminum piston. A -4AN threaded vacuum port offers a variety of connection methods, and to make things easy Turbosmart ensured that all Big Bubba valves use the same inlet flange and V-Band clamp as the Turbosmart Race Port. You can get your Big Bubba blowoff valve in three colors; blue, black, and “sleeper.” 

Impressive, right? And we love the marketing campaign; it’s one of those rare commercials that get’s the product’s fanbase right.

(Image courtesy NHRA/National Dragster)

This weekend, NHRA drag racing fans at home watching the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals presented by Super Start Batteries at the Royal Purple Raceway in Houston will be treated to an unparalleled level of live coverage, as the ESPN cameras will be delivering the racing action as it happens both during qualifying and eliminations.

Although the programming schedule for the Houston event has been public knowledge for months, the NHRA made it official this week with the announcement that both Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s eliminations from the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event will be broadcast live on ESPN2, a move the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning body hopes will lead to more live programming in the future.

The live coverage from Royal Purple Raceway will kick off on Saturday afternoon, April 27, at 3 p.m. (ET) and will run for two hours, showcasing the complete final round of professional qualifying that will set the fields for race day. The coverage will begin with Pro Stock Motorcycle, with Pro Stock, Top Fuel, and Funny Car to follow.

On Sunday, the live telecast will hit the air at 2 p.m. (ET), a big departure from the NHRA’s traditional prime-time slot. The three hour telecast (which will run until 5 p.m. ET) will feature live coverage of the semifinal and final rounds of professional racing. The ESPN2 cameras will roll back the first two rounds to catch the fans up to speed on the goings-on of the race on a very short tape-delayed basis, before going into the live semifinal coverage, which will begin with Pro Stock Motorcycle. After the semifinals are complete, the cameras will stay with the racing action as the teams make their short turnaround to prepare for the final round.

WatchESPN will also air its traditional coverage of Friday’s second qualifying session live on the internet, for those with access to the programming, meaning drag racing fans will have three straight days of live action from Houston on tap to fill their weekend.

During the week, Mark Micke builds transmissions for some of the quickest cars in the land at his M&M Transmissions facility in Jefferson City, Missouri. And on the weekend, he chooses to spend his time sitting behind the wheel of Jason Carter’s incredible 1978 Malibu in race competition, most recently this past weekend at the Shootout At The Springs event held at Holly Springs Dragstrip in Holly Springs, Mississippi, where he was able to crank off an eye-popping 4.25 at 192 MPH in the Outlaw Drag Radial class.

Click the link below to see the pass; Thanks to Motor Mania TV For The Video Coverage

httpv://new.livestream.com/accounts/572122/events/1995562/videos/16962513/player?autoPlay

As we’re seeing more and more often from some of the standout Outlaw 10.5 cars (of which Carter’s is one, having finished third in points last year in NMCA Super Street competition with Eric LaFerriere driving), this weekend the team decided to strap on a set of Mickey Thompson 315/60/15 drag radials and take their shot at the track with the unfamiliar tire. Carter explained, “I’m glad we could make a good show for the fans and help this sport grow even more. Helping the racers with transmission service was our main goal at this radial tire race plus try to learn the tire, which we’ve never raced on before.”

We caught up with Micke just after the race, and he was ecstatic about the team’s performance. “We’ve been running in NMCA trim, and we were able to go a 4.28 on the “W” tire in Atlanta, and we went to Holly Springs just to test on that tire. We went ahead and slapped the radials on it just to see what would happen, and on the second pass with them it went a 4.28 at 181 MPH, and we knew we had something at that point,” he explained.

Normally you’d think switching from one style of tire to the other would require big changes in the chassis tuneup, but Micke assured us that wasn’t the case.

“No real changes – we raised the wheelie bars up real high and made some shock adjustments, and went right back at it. Since I’ve never driven a drag radial car, and the bars were permitted at this event, we left them on the car. We made a couple of aborted runs to see what the tire would take on the starting line, but since we’ve teamed up with Mark Woodruff and his Corvette this year we’ve got some data on his car that we were able to use on the Malibu.

“The air was extremely good, but that gives us the opportunity to go to more events now. Jason’s main focus is on winning the NMCA Super Street championship, but now we’re planning on hitting some Outlaw Drag Radial races. The car’s a player, so we’re going to see what she’s got,” Micke said.

Unfortunately the track surface started to go away, and with limited data to use for making changes, the team went out in the second round. 

The car relies on a Nelson Competition Engines-built big-block Chevy pumped up with a pair of Garrett turbochargers, an M&M Transmissions transmission, Pro Torque converter, and on the insane run, the team carded a 1.15 short time, 2.90 330′ time, and a 4.25 elapsed time at 192.88 MPH – meaning that the machine is making well over 3,000 horsepower and getting it to the ground in supreme fashion.

Not only is the team excelling quickly on the new tire, they also hold the points lead in NMCA Super Street this season, as they’ve already won one race and are in the final round of the yet-to-be-completed Atlanta event. Micke is the 2008 NMRA Pro Street champ behind the wheel of his own Camaro, so as you can see, there’s a whole lot of skill and dedication behind the Carter/Micke program. We look forward to seeing what else they can do this season, both in Super Street and Outlaw Drag Radial competition.

A few months ago, the EngineLabs Facebook page shared a side-by-side, before-and-after photo of a busted-up cylinder head repaired by Noonan Race Engineering of Australia. Due to differences in camera angle of the two pictures, many readers suspected a new head was used to show the after results. EngineLabs corrected the photo angles to clear up the misunderstanding, but Noonan promised to send start-to-finish pics of the next head repair that came into the shop.

Noonan is best known for developing the X1 billet cylinder head popular with Pro Mods and alcohol dragsters. One of its customers over-revved an engine using a different head, snapping a valve that carved up the combustion chamber. Some errant shrapnel also found its way through the manifold to another cylinder, again disfiguring the chamber surface.

The customer intended to upgrade to the X1 head soon, so he wanted just a basic repair to make the head useable for a few more races. Follow along the photos to see how machinist Alan McCoy and other technicians at Noonan Race Engineering repair the damage.

In chamber #1, piston-to-valve contact led to the valve head snapping and digging deep into the combustion chamber surface between the valve openings. In chamber #2, debris had moved through the intake manifold and scarred up the surfaces. Some of the valve guides were also bent.

The valve-seat inserts were removed and valve guides were replaced, as needed, on both chambers (this is #2). The chamber surface is also prepped for welding with a burr, then the insert recesses were machined for an undercut radius. This removes the sharp corner that could hinder the welding.

Here are the chambers after extra material is TIG-welded to the surfaces (#1 on the left, #2 on the right). Note that the insert recesses are also filled.

The chambers are then CNC-machined to near original dimensions.

Here's chamber #2 after the first round of machining. The insert recesses are machined and the valve-seat inserts are installed before the seats are machined.

Noonan double checks that the welds are 'clean and sound.' Noonan then fits the seat inserts and rough cuts the seats. The final CNC machining of the chamber and seat inserts ensures that the inserts blends into the chamber, and there's a final cut to correct the seat height. Shown are the finished chambers, #1 on the left and #2 on the right.

As you’ll quickly notice, the driver chose to run with a set of drag radials making the trip to the strip more than merely an exercise in wheelspin. The video reports that the first run was done with the launch control on and revved to 5,500 RPM. After the rear tires erupt into a glorious water-box burnout, the Viper appears to nearly stall right off the line, but presents no spin what so ever. The result of 1.75 short time, 11.16 at 127 MPH. The next run was performed with the launch control off, and there’s again slight bog off the line as the car leaves just off-idle. However, the 8.4L V10 gets all 640 ponies wound up and gets down the track in a hurry.

The Viper leaves hard every time, but bogs right past the tree, still managing low 11s and decent short times.

Official Release:

Moroso’s Ford FE 352-428 Aluminum Motor Plates

• Provides a solid connection between the engine and the chassis 

• Improves reaction and 60 foot times 

• Eliminates twisting of the chassis caused by engine torque and ensures that the power gets to the rear wheels 

• Perfect for performing engine swaps or setting engine back in the chassis for increased weight transfer 

• Designed so that the front timing cover is not disturbed 

• Motorplate consists of two 1⁄4″ thick 6061-T6 aluminum plates and two billet aluminum mounting adapters 

• The two billet aluminum mounting adapters bolt on to the engine block, the plates then bolt on to the mounting adapters. 

Part #: C4011

Description: Ford FE 352-428 Front Motorplate, Aluminum

Back in the day, the coolest cats had Pro Street cars that looked fast but had no balls. Things change, and so do trends. Now that it’s no longer cool to be a poser, our hobby is filled with purpose-built machines that actually deliver the performance they portray, and look the part as well.

This trend towards functionality has bred a whole new generation of race cars that ‘show’ as good as they go! Eric Gustafson is a prime example with his 1969 Camaro SS.

This legit Super Sport began life with a 350 small block nestled between it’s fenders, and offered Gustafson the perfect platform to build on. It served him well when he initially bought it as his first car in high school. It looked and ran great, and got a lot of thumbs up from on-lookers. “It was quick enough to be a cruiser when I first bought it, but I wanted more,” Gustafson told us when we caught up with him at a PSCA heads up race.

However as is often the case, Gustafson soon became bored with the Camaro’s mild-manners, and was left at a crossroads. He could sell the SS and buy something quicker, or he could keep it and incorporate all of today’s performance technology into the old school machine. What you’re looking at on this page is the answer.

Bye Bye SBC, Hello Boosted Big Inch LSX

Out went the SBC, and in went a bored and stroked RHS block built by Kurt Urban. The reasons for the LS swap were simple: a lightweight, compact design; an immense aftermarket, and a huge amount of potential. Put boost to one of these motors, and it’s guaranteed that your car will fly.

What you’re looking at is over 1500 HP being produced by 412 cubic inches and one big F1X ProCharger.

That’s just what Gustafson did too, in the form of the massive but efficient ProCharger F1X and a PT 3000 air-to-water intercooler. All said and done, the Camaro puts down a “healthy” 1500 horsepower.

To handle that massive amount of power, the Kurt Urban-built, 412 cubic inch LSX has been fortified with some of the best components that the aftermarket has to offer. Starting from the bottom, the Camaro is equipped with a Callies crankshaft with a set of eight Howards connecting rods positioning an octet of Wiseco pistons into the cylinders.

A set of smallish 8.5 M/T ET Drags do a fine job of getting the Camaro hooked.

Working our way up through the valvetrain, we’re looking at a Cloyes double roller timing chain, a Comp Cams bumpstick (of secret, undisclosed specs), Kurt Urban-spec PAC valvesprings, Jesel shaft-mounted rockers, and Manton pushrods. A pair of ported All Pro cylinders heads sit atop of the block, and in conjunction of the pistons, help provide a total compression ratio of 9.5:1.

Not stopping there, Gustafson’s SS is topped off with a GMPP/Wenger intake manifold, large enough to handle all of the extra air the F1X can throw its way. The spent gasses exit through a set of Big Head Motorsports 2-1/8-inch custom stainless headers feeding to dual 4-inch collector Flowmaster mufflers.

Rounding out the engine mods are a dry-sump oiling system, MSD coilpacks, and a FAST XFI injection system. A B&M-shifted Steve Casner Turbo 400 gearbox sits behind the LS mill, relying on a Continental 6200 stall speed converter to set the correct RPM off of the starting line. Out back, a Chassisworks 9-inch rear sits, stuffed with 3.89 gears.

While much of the original trim remains, the Camaro does include every necessary safety and performance feature needed in a race car of this caliber.

Wrapped Up With A Neat Bow-Tie

Inside the cockpit, you’ll see the twin Kirkey race seats tucked with the 25.3 SFI-certified rollcage, the 43-year-old gauges, and an Auto Meter tachometer mounted on top of the original dash. The exterior is mostly stock, with the exception of the Harwood hood and rear spoiler. Even the Electron Blue hue, though not original to this model year Camaro, is a GM exclusive.

Having had the car painted just last year, Eric’s Electron Blue ’69 glistened in the sun.

Underneath the Camaro is a combination of Varishock double adjustable front and rear shocks, CalTracs mono rear leaf springs, a Chris Alston rear anti-roll bar, and a Chris Alston No Fab suspension up front.

The Camaro currently sits on a set of Weld Racing Aluma Stars 2.0 measuring 15×4.5 in the front and 15×10 in the rear. For rubber, the Camaro relies on Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro skinnies in the front, and Mickey Thompson ET Drags spec’ing in at 26×8.5 in the rear.

It Came, It Saw, It Conquered

If you’re looking for exact dyno numbers, Gustafson doesn’t have them since his car has never run on a dynamometer. What he does have is a time slip that lays claim to an ET of 5.27 at 142.53 mph in the 1/8 mile. The Camaro’s race weight is 3,530 pounds, that roughly translates to 1,500 horsepower, based on the trap speed.

Having said that, Gustafson has been quite successful with this Camaro over the last two years. He has won SCSN 7 back in November 2011. The following year, the Camaro cleaned house at two WCHRA Outlaw 8.5 races, was was also the points runner up at the NMCA West Outlaw 8.5 class, setting both an ET and MPH trap speed record.

The location for our photo shoot was at Eric’s place of employment, Coast Packing Company. By employment, what we really mean is that Gustafson is the CEO, and we were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves for industrial backdrop we were looking for.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. As Gustafson puts it, “Unfortunately we came in 3rd at SCSN 8 this past November. We got a little greedy on the tune-up in the semi-final and struck the tires. At the very least we could have been runner up. So dating back to SCSN 7 we won 5 out of 10 Outlaw 8.5 races on the West Coast.” Any way you slice it, those are all notable accomplishments, especially for a guy who is only 34 years old.

So dating back to SCSN 7, we won 5 out of 10 Outlaw 8.5 races on the West Coast. -Gustafson

What’s Next?

Two-thousand twelve may be the last time this car might hit the track – at least while in Gustafson’s possession. He tells us that’s he’s retiring the Camaro, and will be running an ’89 Mustang in Outlaw 8.5 for 2013, while building another new car for 2014.

The plans for the Camaro are still up in the air. He’s not sure if he’s going to sell it, or put it back on the street. For now, he’s basically going to park it until he decides it’s fate.

The Camaro isn't currently a street car, but Gustafson hinted that it might be again in the future.

Gustafson would like us to mention that he thanks his loving wife for putting up with his hobby, and his family for all of their  support, including his dad and friends who have helped him over the years turn what was once a stock SS 350 into something quite a bit more substantial.

As of this writing, the Camaro isn’t street legal, but Gustafson also recently picked up a Fox-body Mustang to have some LS fun with. Even so, we wouldn’t rule out the Camaro making a return to the two-lane blacktop. In the meantime, keep an eye out for this ’69 to line up next to you on a West Coast track.

The view that most opponents see of Gustafson’s Camaro is this one. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

The Ford Lighting is based on the workhorse F-150 that Ford is known for. The Lighting was first introduced in 1993, and offered upgraded suspension for better handling along with some different badges. In 1999, Ford decided to really turn up the performance and appearance appeal of the Lighting. The truck started to roll off the assembly line with an Eaton supercharger strapped to the top of the 5.4 liter motor, which boosted the power to 360 horses and 440 ft/lbs. of torque in stock form. In 2001 the Lighting got a better intake to make even more power, an aluminum drive shaft, Bilstein shocks, and 3.73 gears out back.

The truck in 1320’s video is a built-to-the-hilt Lighting that really hauls the mail. A 331 cubic inch motor still sits under the hood of the truck, and some very nice ported and polished Trickflow heads help the truck build good power. The bottom end of the motor is built, and it needs to be so it can support the Precision Industries billet 82mm turbo. This combo produces a pavement-punishing 1,280 horsepower at 30 pounds of boost. The truck has been a best of 9.60@144 when its set on kill. In this video the truck is only tuned up for 22 pounds of boost and runs a nice 9.81@141.  Thanks to 1320 Video for finding this amazing truck and putting together a killer video.

It’s no surprise that 1320 Video was drawn to The Dirty Bird, a 1968 Falcon with a claimed 2,600 horsepower from a small-block Ford boasting two huge turbochargers. With a flat-black paint job and raw brute force, the Dirty Bird can certainly fly down the track.

Belonging to Jason Wade and based out of Texas, this nasty Falcon is running a 449 cubic-inch Ford small-block engine and two, count ‘em TWO 88mm turbochargers, backed with a Rossler two-speed transmission. That combo is good for near about 2,600 horsepower, fast enough to take the Bird down the 1/8th mile in an even 4.700 seconds at an incredible 159.35 mph. That is one fast fowl!

This video came out of the North Star Dragway at the EX275 event, and the bird was wearing 275 drag radials when it ran that 4.7, and it weighs about 3,250 pounds. This brand new setup is certainly something to be feared, and the Rick Jones four-link suspension makes sure most of that 2,600 horsepower gets to the ground. The Dirty Bird sounds so smooth that we could listen to it all day, even if it looks like hell.

Credit to the guys at 1320Video for capturing this great footage of the Dirty Bird in Texas.

Official Release:

Good Vibrations Motorsports Front Offset Drive

No room in the back for that magneto? Cam flex and bad vibes creating a timing issue? No worries. Good Vibrations Motorsports has a solution with this new dual offset drive. It is designed to drive the fuel pump and a magneto off the front of the engine. Fuel pump bolts directly to the offset and can be adjusted 360 degrees.

The magneto clamps to the offset using either a Stainless Steel or Aluminum band clamp. The drive uses the popular X-Cross drive for the magneto. The offset drive assembly clamps to quick-release style fuel pump extensions using a Q.R. adapter plate (included at NO additional cost).

Features:

• Clamps to the offset using either a Stainless Steel or Aluminum band clamp
• The drive uses the popular X-Cross drive for the magneto
• Fuel pump bolts directly to the offset and can be adjusted 360 degrees

QA1 uses all steel bodies and laser cut mounting tabs.

After assembly, each shock is tested on a dyno to check for proper valve adjustment.

Best of all, this entire process goes on right here in the U.S. of A. For more information  on QA1’s suspension products, and to find parts for your own ride, check out their website, or give them a call at 800-721-7761 and tell them we sent you!

In south Georgia back in February, in his first competitive start since repairs were made to the car in the off season, Berry blasted his way to the LSX Drag Radial record with a 4.400 at 174.66 mph lap, giving everyone a pretty good indication of what his sinister ride, powered by a 3,200 horsepower, 468 cubic inch RHS tall deck LSX with twin 88mm turbos, was really capable of. Then last weekend, Berry and throngs of other heavy hitters descended upon the cool air and tacky surface of the Holly Springs Dragway in Mississippi for the 2nd annual Shootout at the Springs, where records have fallen in abundance in recent months and were sure to fall again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30W1yodyi0A

(Video credit: EvolZ28)

In the third round of Outlaw Drag Radial qualifying, Berry’s Corvette carded a quick 1.15 short time right out of the gate, and was 2.95 to half track on its way to a stunning 4.342 at 180.14 mph, effectively killing two birds with one stone by marking not only a new overall LSX-powered world record, but the small block Outlaw Drag Radial world record, as well.

Of course, Berry wasn’t done at that point, as he mowed his way through eliminations, culminating in a final round berth alongside the Ford Mustang of Marty Stinnett. Berry was not to be denied, bouncing Stinnett with his quickest run of the weekend and a new pair of records with a killer 4.339-second lap.

Bill Widen, driver and owner of Signatures Across America Racing Team, dazzled the crowd at Irwindale Dragstrip on Thursday night under the lights, as he raced against a turbo charged VW on the Lucas Oil TV show Won and Done which airs on MAV TV. The camera crew filmed as Widen and his crew prepped the car and negotiated the race terms.

Widen won the race, however the MC of the show, Rich Christensen had mistakenly started the race prematurely. One of the race terms had been overlooked by Christensen, which gave Widen the option to run another race. In order to get more air time for the car and thus his sponsors, he agreed to run again, although he was risking the $500 that he won when he initially won the race.

Another race ensued, however this time, the VW won the race. The crowd was not happy with the results of the second race. As the booing resounded from the crowd, Christensen asked the crowd if there should be a third “Tie breaker” race.  The crowd went wild, cheering and applauding.

After the second race, Widen pulled into his pit to check the condition of his Nova and to start packing up to leave. Widen had no idea at this point that a third race was announced. As friends, family, and his pit crew gathered around the car, Widen learned that another race had been proposed. While his crew worked to get Widen out of the car, removing his helmet and safety equipment; the MAV TV camera crew rushed to get the cameras rolling on Widen, his team, and the Nova.

Widen told the MAV TV crew that he needed to let the car cool down, but agreed to run a “Tie breaker.” As the crew removed the hood of the car to make adjustments to the engine, the cameras were rolling.

Once the car was cool and minor adjustments made, Widen rolled back to the line for another pass. The Nova was the crowd favorite. The crowd was chanting for Widen to win. However, half way down the 1/8^th mile, the water pump gave out causing Widen to slow it down. He did not win this one, but the good news is: He was invited to race on the MAV TV show Won & Done in the near future. More air time is in the stars for Widen, who has worked very hard for many years to get to this point. And perhaps the next race will be his victory.

Widen, a lung transplant recipient, has traveled across the country racing as a symbol of organ and tissue donation and transplantation with his Donate Life/Signatures Across America team. Widen’s 1969 Nova SS, which he proudly races today, was donated to the project by Teri Clark of Memphis, Tenn. in 2011 and was formerly campaigned by the late Johnny McPeake, who was a Foot Brake world champion in the car and an organ donor upon his passing in 2005.

Image: Snake & Mongoose Movie on Facebook

Rivals on the track and friends on the street, Prudhomme and McEwen have impacted many enthusiasts over the years in one way or another and continue to do so even today through their story and upcoming movie “Snake & Mongoose,” set to hit the silver screen this September. But before their Hollywood debut, the two legends are doing what they do best- commemorating their famous racing history at events like the Goodguys 13th Del Mar Nationals. Check out what they had to say about drag racing and their appearance at the early-April car show in the video above.

From Hot Wheels toys to vintage footage, the legend of The Snake and The Mongoose will live on forever and the two good ‘ole boys wouldn’t have it any other way. Car enthusiasts from a young age, the once professional racers are now retired but continue on with their true automotive passion.

When Goodguys caught up with the pair at the April Del Mar Nationals, they were full of laughs, stories and pride. Prudhomme discussed his acquisition of the Snake nickname and his previous auto shop experience with the crew, while McEwen talked marketing and distractions.

No matter how many years pass since The Snake and The Mongoose went head to head in NHRA competition, their story remains a highlight of the sport’s history. Then again, with a rivalry based in the good ‘ole days of drag racing, would you want it any other way?