Super Stock racer Ray Skillman has a Cobra Jet that features the 5.4L Coyote engine and 4.0L Whipple supercharger on top, and he races it regularly in the NHRA’s Super Stock class. Skillman has been hard at work on his combination all year, competing in the season-opening Cobra Jet Showdown at the NMRA’s Bradenton event in March before turning to NHRA competition.
Skillman showed up at the second Cobra Jet Showdown of the year this past weekend at the NMCA’s event at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, recording an awesome 8.08 elapsed time to top the ladder after qualifying. Then, during the first round of competition, on a single, Skillman turned up the wick even further on the killer-prepped track and was able to achieve an incredible 7.98 elapsed time – this from a factory-built racecar!
He then went on to take the runner-up spot with an 8.04 to P.B. Candies’ 8.000 in the final round of racing, taking out a strong field of seasoned racers on the way. Skillman’s Indianapolis Ford dealership runs a trio of Cobra Jet machines in NHRA competition, using the data gained from the entire team to excel in the ultra-competitive Super Stock eliminator.
Ford Racing’s Cobra Jet machines are nothing short of awesome. As the car that jump-started the Big Three’s wars in NHRA competition back in 2008, the CJ had a leg up on the competition from the get-go. Over the last half-decade, the competitors who take these cars down the strip regularly in the NHRA’s Stock and Super Stock classes have been refining and re-refining their combinations in search of more horsepower. Keep an eye on Ray at the Big Go!