Grudge and no-time racing hold a unique place in the drag racing universe with their vibrant culture and hardcore fanbase. Many of the racers that call these genres of racing their home feed off the old school vibe and atmosphere that permeates this style of racing. Avery Thomas is one racer who lives the grudge and no-time life with his wild screw-blown 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass known as “Dr. Kevorkian” and it fits right into this rambunctious racing scene.

Michigan native Thomas used to go watch the street races on Livernois Avenue in Detroit while he was still in high school, the excitement of this racing hooked him and there was no turning back. Thomas soon had is first of many racecars that included several Challengers, Road Runners, a Dart, and a slew of GM products. All of those cars were fun for him, but none were as extreme as his current Cutlass.

“I’ve always grudge raced, whether on the street or the track. If I ever wanted to make any money I could never show how fast my cars were so that wasn’t an option. I can’t remember a time where I’ve ever shown how fast any of my cars are. I’ve always wanted to compete for cash on the street or track so I’m totally a grudge racer at heart,” Thomas explains.

As his cars progressed in the performance department it became more difficult to put all of the power he had on tap to the street. Some might think this is a good problem to have, however racing on the street is a dangerous affair and there are many ways things can go wrong that will lead to serious injury or worse.

“When you’re on the street going only so fast that’s fine, but when cars start getting too fast, the street just can’t handle the power, to be honest. I had a really close call running against Johnny Quick on the street and almost hit a pole. At that point I decided to start going to the track where I would spin less and be able to really put the power down to see what my car could do,” Thomas says.

Dr. Kevorkian hasn’t always been a monstrous G-body with a blower, when Thomas originally got the car it was actually stock and driven on the street regularly.

“A friend of mine had the car and I always wanted it, but he would never sell it to me. I ended up buying another car and then he decided to sell it, so I had to move the car I just purchased to get this Cutlass. It was a stock car and it had that look I wanted. After I purchased it, I started it building it slowly and still drove it on the street. Eventually, it when from being a streetcar to an extreme car,” Thomas explains.

The Cutlass originally was a small-block nitrous car that Thomas raced as often as he could. Wanting to go faster he opted to add some displacement and then campaign the car with a big-block configuration under the hood. Before long he was looking at making the switch to a huge 960 cubic-inch engine that would feed on a steady diet of nitrous, but at the last second Thomas had a change of heart and made the switch to big boosted power.

“I was ready to put the big nitrous engine in the car but never did because I decided if I was going to go over the top, I might as well go way over. The blown Hemi ended up being what I wanted to do because there’s really nothing else like it. I know the power a blown Hemi can make and it just made sense to go that route. I would rather have too much power and try to figure out how to get it down the track, rather than not enough power and get my ass kicked,” Thomas says.

To ensure he had more than enough power Thomas had Skinny Kid Race Cars modify his Cutlass to accept a Brad Anderson Enterprises (BAE) 526 cubic-inch Hemi engine. The big elephant was then assembled by Billy Briggs and topped off with a wicked screw blower before it was placed into Dr. Kevorkian. Since this is still a grudge car Thomas wouldn’t go into much detail about the engine other than it made plenty of boost to beat anybody who lined up against him.

“When you fire up a Hemi like this you can feel the power in your body. When you whack the throttle you can just feel it even more, I was totally hooked after the first startup of the car. Putting the car on the transbrake and mashing the throttle to the floor just makes it vibrate and howl. It’s an unbelievable feeling in the car that no other combination can produce,” Thomas says.

One of the cool things about grudge and no-time racing is that people still name their racecars. This practice of providing a car with a name adds a layer of fan excitement and makes it easier to root for your favorite car. Thomas wanted his Cutlass to have a name that matched the car and his intentions when it comes to grudge racing. “I came up with Dr. Kevorkian because people would call me out even when they couldn’t beat me, so they were calling to commit suicide. It’s a morbid name but it fits the car and my style.”

Avery Thomas and his Cutlass are the perfect example of what makes the grudge and no-time racing scene so interesting. The culture of bring everything that you have to the starting line and hope it’s enough is still strong at these events.