The big attraction at Lights Out 7 was the epic purse in Radial vs The World that totaled over $55,000, but that wasn’t the only killer action going on at SGMP. Nitrous racing kingpin Darren Hilterbran was on a mission to win the race for a fallen friend … and for the Nitrous X class, that was bad news. Hilterbran demonstrated yet again why he is one of the best in the business by winning the event and smashing both ends of the Nitrous X record in the process.
Being a dominant racer in the small tire game isn’t an easy task, and Hilterbran gets it done by grinding it out with plenty of testing, racing, and help from some great people. One of those people was respected nitrous guru Jack Vanover, who tragically passed away just before Lights Out 7. “I put it out on the internet that if I made the Lights Out 7 race, I was going to try and rotate the earth backwards for my buddy, Jack Vanover, and for my sister who I had just recently lost. I do everything in my power to keep my word, so failing wasn’t an option,” says Hilterbran.
After finishing the thrash on his car at the track, it was game time for the Hilterbran, and he made good on his promise in a hurry. During qualifying, a blistering 4.68 at 151 mph was laid down by Hilterbran to set the mile per hour record, but that was just the start. A new ET record was also set when a 4.67-second pass with a 1.09 60-foot was ripped off by Hilterbran.
When the dust settled and the event was finished, Hilterbran had kept his word, set records, and added to his hat collection with another win at Lights Out in Nitrous X. Look for Hilterbran to keep the momentum going this season as he races his BES-powered Mustang at The Outlaw Street Car Reunion III.