Veteran racer John Decerbo debuted his brand new Tim McAmis built 1968 Camaro sporting a three-speed automatic and a Neal Chance converter at the recent ADRL U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, VA, and in the process, proved that experience is an invaluable asset when trying to get a new car lined out and competitive from the get-go.

With only a handful of test hits on his new ride, Decerbo and team hauled to Virginia with the new Camaro in tow and unloaded with a stout 4.02 at 183.79 MPHin the opening round of qualifying that placed him ninth on the preliminary qualifying sheet. John then made the necessary adjustments and came out in the second round and powered to a blistering 3.998 at 184.90 MPH to lay claim to the very first three-second pass for a nitrous-assisted, automatic car in the ADRL. Unfortunately, a broken  flex plate ended the great run before eliminations as Decerbo and crew weren’t able to make the call to face Mike Castellana. Nonetheless, a statement had been made. Recent record-setting performance in the top tier ADRL categories, including Decerbo’s 3.99, have proven the overwhelming validity of the automatic transmission and converter combination.

Decerbo’s new McAmis ‘68 Camaro is motivated by a big block from Reher Morrison, and is backed by a Bruno air shifted three-speed transmission and a Neal Chance torque converter.