There You Have It: X275 Racer Rich Bruder Goes 4.59

As the 2012 season got underway we were a bit apprehensive to say that X275 – designed as a budget heads-up category targeted at the low-dollar working man – out of control, but as the world record has tumbled more than a tenth of a second in just a couple of months time and put the once-entry level machines have entered a performance bracket nearly on par with their Outlaw Drag Radial big brothers, now might be a good time to page the Captain back to the bridge of the ship, so to speak.

Over the weekend, Rich Bruder, who just recently dropped a brand new bullet into his Ford Mustang that we featured in a news piece here on DRAGZINE, rolled to the first 4.5-second pass in the category with a 4.59 from his “Mustang Mike” Modeste-tuned machine. Bruder, already the most dominant racer in the category, dropped a fresh new 400-inch powerplant in the car mated with a ProCharger F1-X blower and immediately went 158 MPH the first time out, providing just a sampling of what was to come.

Just eight months ago, Bruder set the X275 world record at a then-unbelievable 4.80 at the Shakedown at E’Town. Thing have certainly come a long way in a short time, fueling a lot of discussions around the racing community and on the web about the current health of the bustling category. Taking into account the sheer number of lower-budget racers out there coming into the class just hoping to run in the 5.0’s, a car busting out 4.50’s isn’t a good sign.

In the wake of Bruder’s performance, John Sears, the creator and watchful eye of the X275 platform, has already indicated that changes are necessary and the racers will get their opportunity to voice their suggestions for rules adjustments for 2013.

X275 isn’t dead by any stretch of the imagination, and we certainly hope to see it as a viable place for the working racer to compete for years to come, but there’s no question that some changes have to be made to keep the class within its intended purpose.