Interview: Kevin Fiscus And Josh Klugger On Their 2012 Partnership

Kevin Fiscus and Josh Klugger have teamed up for the 2012 season to concentrate on a single car effort. Consolidating their resources in this way will make it much easier financially, as the pair already acted as a team, running the two cars and sharing tools and information. With a fresh Pro Line Racing 632-inch big block installed and a new paint scheme, the team is ready to face the new season. Already having tested at South Georgia Motorsports Park to shake the car down, they rolled down to Bradenton to make some runs during the private testing this past week leading up to the U.S. Street Nationals, where they ran some 4.40’s @ 182.

Dragzine: What are your plans and goals with the fresh PLR engine for 2012?

Klugger: The main goal is to win some races, Secondary would be to set a record or even be the first to the 4.20’s.

Fiscus: The new engine is basically the same setup as last year with the exception of a new port design for the heads and a Berry Billet Intake. From our initial testing the first weekend at SGMP, not only does the new intake save weight and look great but it also evened out the individual cylinder temperatures. With no individual cylinder correction, the EGT’s were closer than before which had as much as 10% individual cylinder correction. We have a lot of testing to do but want to be very consistent this year while continuing to run the big numbers.

Dragzine:When and how did you decide to team up with Kevin for the coming year?

Klugger: Kevin and I have had a partnership for several years now with Hurricane Performance out of Orange Park Florida. We were talking about future plans in drag racing and both have a similar goal, and that will take a large financial commitment. So around November we started to talk about merging our race programs, which would help us both. We can share knowledge between the two of us; I can learn from Kevin on some of my weak points and vice versa. We were as close to team mates as you could be in the past but ran separate cars, shared tuning information, parts, and tools, so this was just a logical step.

Fiscus: Josh and I have been friends for many years racing together and I’ve talked about forming a combined team for a few years and it just made a lot of sense this year with the money it takes to field a top car now.

Dragzine:  How did you get started racing, and when did you decide to move to the Drag Radial scene.

Klugger: Actually I got started in early 2000 running a few index classes in the NMRA and Fun Ford. I ran in the Mod Motor class mainly. After doing that for a couple of years I decided to build an NMRA Drag radial car. I believe the first year I ran the full series was ’05 and ’06. In ’06, I decide  that I couldn’t take off from work for as long of a time period, so I switched combos from a Mod motor to a pushrod motor and started running all the outlaw events.

Fiscus: My addiction and love for drag racing started the first time I took my 2003 Roush Mustang down the track which was a 13-second ride. Fast forward a few years when I bought a turnkey Drag Radial car and went 7.90’s the first weekend in the car. I got my license and the following weekend scored a runner up in the 2007 U.S. Street Nationals. In ’07 and ’08 I ran the NMRA Drag Radial series and was nominated for Rookie of the Year and finished 3^rd in the points in 2007. In 2009 I put a SBF Proline motor in the car and held the 1/8 and 1/4-mile record for a time with a 4.60 and 7.06 respectfully. I also was the second racer to ever run a six-second pass on radials and the first with a small block. I took most of 2010 off planning my return with a Proline BBF and did that ever pay off. In February 2011 we were the first car ever to enter into the 4.30’s and lowered the record to a 4.33.

Dragzine: We know having your car stolen was a big setback and disappointment. Has there been any progress on finding it or making an arrest?

Fiscus: The theft of my car was a HUGE setback – and still is – as well as a valuable lesson in life. There’s still an investigation going on. It’s been expressed to me that they’re pretty sure who it was and the players involved. As far as recovery, it’s a very interesting thing that not one part has shown up from the car. To this day I still get phone calls from Australia, the islands, and the states with people wondering if it’s my car. They usually follow up with pictures. If and when the car shows up some where they will be caught; there are too many people that know that car, from chassis tuners, to engine builders, to tuners, and racers.

Dragzine: Who and what is Hurricane Performance?

Klugger: Hurricane Performance was started 3 years ago by myself, Kevin Fiscus, and Jason Combs. It’s located in Orange Park, just outside of Jacksonville. We started out with primarily building street cars with turbo setups, or superchargers. We have since grown and have a few heads up cars on the horizon “if all goes as planned.”

Dragzine: How do you feel about the Radial vs. The World class with allowing pretty much any chassis and the controversy over what is or isn’t stock suspension.

Klugger: First, Radial vs. the world is actually a pretty neat class; it really has nothing to do with the kind of chassis. It really levels the playing field with the tires and who can make what work on that given day.

Second, as far as what is or what isn’t stock suspension, I don’t think it really matters. From a Ford stock-type four-link perspective, I feel it works just as well with a stock-type versus a traditional four-link. I don’t think there is a need to make people run a three-link or an IRS just for safety reasons. I’m sorry, but if we’re running 1/4-mile out the back I’m not one who would want to go 230+ on a three-link.

Fiscus: For one or two races a year I love the idea but also like the idea of racing my fellow racers on the same tire on the same track.

Dragzine: Given the steadily increasing performance of the top cars in the class, who do you think will be the first to run 4.20’s? And do you think the speeds and ET’s are getting out of hand, especially relating to the cost to be competitive.

Klugger: Actually Kevin was the first to the 30’s last year, and at the end of the year we should have gone 20’s; however the stars didn’t align. I think with the added power the new engine is making and with some advances from Proformance Racing Transmissions (Dave Klaput) I think it will happen sooner than later. I also think you’re going to see a plateau in the 4.20’s and then you’ll see other cars catch up. It’s not as much about buying newer and better stuff at this point, but more about refining what you already have.

Fiscus: As far as the first to the 4.30’s, it was myself last February and we (Fiscus/Klugger Racing) plan to give it all we’ve got to be the first to the 4.20’s early in 2012. As far as the speeds and ET’s, I feel they’re a natural progression in any form of motorsports. The longer and harder you work with a given power plant and tire you should naturally be getting faster with the knowledge you gain from your past experiences.  The cost associated with staying on top is one of the reasons we formed this new team for the 2012 racing season.