Despite all of the truly wild and often times sinister engine combinations found in the small tire doorslammer racing realm, there’s no category in all of drag racing that even comes close to Competition Eliminator in terms of shear uniqueness and ingenuity from one car to the next. Case in point is the I/Dragster of Bob and Tony Niemczyk, which sports power from, of all things, a largely OEM, 2.0L Mitsubishi Eclipse powerplant. Thanks to a 76mm turbo and a host of other aftermarket or custom components, this little engine that could now delivers over 1,000 horsepower to the ground. All of the engine operations for the fuel-injected engine are handled through an AEM Engine Management System.

At the Maple Grove Raceway’s annual and now traditional Dutch Classic last month, the Niemczyk’s dragster, with father Bob at the controls, wheeled this awesome machine to the I/Dragster eighth-mile national record by uncorking a wheelstanding 4.56 at 155 miles per hour. The Dutch Classic, like any other national open or divisional, is run on the full quarter mile distance. But due to excessive cross winds in the Maple Grove area that would certainly cause trouble for 200-plus mile per hour race cars, the distance was shortened for the weekend. Nonetheless, mid 4-second laps to the eighth mile are nothing to scoff at from a miniscule little 2.0L inline four-banger.

We have a full feature on this wicked I/Dragster coming down the pipes here on DRAGZINE in the near future, but until then, enjoy the video of this record-setting run at Maple Grove. And if you’d like to learn more about AEM and their line of engine management and computer systems of their air induction systems, click over to aempower.com.