The NHRA’s Competition Eliminator Class referred to simply as “Comp” has the largest diversity of any class the hot rod association runs. With 88 different classes to choose from, Comp class drag machines are assigned an index to run on by the NHRA and the races are handicapped according to those indexes. In simple terms, when a drag racing fan is watching the Comp class you might see an eight-second straight-six cylinder altered running against a six-second big block door slammer that looks like it should be in the Pro Stock field.

In Comp the sky is the limit when it comes to what one way witness competing in the class thanks to a rules package that accommodates a wide range of engine combinations and cars. That also means rabid die-hard drag racing fans can often see some of the most unique and utterly awesome drag vehicles blazing the quarter mile in the class.

In the early 2000’s, in an effort to add even more diversity to an already diverse eliminator, the NHRA added new classes to Competition Eliminator specifically for naturally aspirated front-engine nostalgia dragsters. These cars were a certifiable hit with the fans as they marched from the low sevens into the six-second zone and even claimed a Lucas Oil Series world championship within a handful of years of their introduction. One of the racers that’s helped lead the charge of nostalgia flavor in Comp is Scott Parks from Burlingame, Kansas, and the stunning front engine dragster that he pilots.

Neil & Parks Enterprises Custom Built Race Cars 

Parks’ meticulously engineered dragster was built by Scott and his father, Frank, in their well-renowned speed shop, Neil & Parks Racing Enterprises. Anyone who’s been around drag racing in the Midwest or just about any other part of the country has either heard about or has seen the one-off custom drag cars that Neil & Parks Racing Enterprises has been turning out for over thirty years.

Scott’s all carbon fiber body-paneled piece which, is a first for the Neil and Parks team to assemble, made its debut in Indy during the 2000 Good Guys race and won the show in the Junior Fuel class. This was Scott’s first race as a driver. We’d say that’s not too shabby for either car or driver at their debut event.

This perfect match of racer and machine also makes it a lethal combination for the NHRA’s Competition Eliminator class. But, Frank and Scott Parks have a few tricks up their sleeves that make this old school car, which runs in the A/ND (A/Nostalgia Dragster) class, make their competitors take notice every time they show up at the track.

Secret No. 1 that Frank and Scott employ on their car, which really isn’t a secret at all to any drag racer, is that weight is drag and not the good kind either. That’s why Scott’s car weighs in at only 1,290 lbs. with him strapped in the seat and ready to make a pass down the straight line of black ribbon drag racers call the strip. Secret No. 2, which Frank and Scott don’t mind sharing, is they save weight in other areas of the car like bolting on titanium zoomies and a titanium oil pan for weight reduction and thus the bad drag lessens for both car and driver. 

The Powerplant

What’s even more impressive about this superbly engineered, feather-light 225 inch long slingshot is that the 387-inch small block that has blasted the front engine rail down the 1/4-mile to a best ET of 6.77 at 197 mph totes a cast iron block and heads. To state that the Parks men have an extremely impressive mix of both chassis and engine combination would be an understatement, to say the least.

This 387 inch small block with cast iron heads and block runs in the 6 second zone at almost 200 mph.

This alky burning slingshot utilizes a very trick Tim Engler mechanical fuel injection system that helps Scott’s car blast one-second 60 ft. times on every pass, which will always put the fear of the drag racing Gods into any competitor in the other lane. Scott’s thirteen years of on-track experience in a car that he and his dad built also makes him feel as comfortable in his rail as pulling on one of his favorite racing t-shirts. This also helps him cut killer lights, which is a must in any ultra competitive NHRA Sportsman category.

First Race of the Season

In Scott Parks’s first outing of 2013 he competed at the NHRA’s Division 4 Lucas Oil race at Tulsa Raceway Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 21-23 with the front motored rail. The driver and car were both up to the task as well. After each hard fought round was run Scott was blazing the strip and leaving his competitors covered in a pile of ash. He marched through the 22-car field at Tulsa like a hot knife through butter and made it all the way to the finals.

Scott was almost ready to collect the trophy and check, but instead took home the runner-up spot. He lost by 1,000th of a second in the closest race of the entire event. That’s just how razor-thin close Comp racing can be at the finish line and it’s also why Scott loves running the class, when the family’s busy race car fabricating schedule allows them to go have some fun at the track.

The T-Bucket Tow Vehicle

This story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Parks’ rather unique tow vehicle, either. In Scott’s mind if you have an ultra cool, super fast front engine mounted rail that you and your father built together by hand, the pit vehicle has to peg the cool meter as well and a golf cart just wouldn’t do for the Parks boys. So, in typical Neil & Parks Racing Enterprises fashion, they built an ultra cool, street legal and tagged tow vehicle to match. The first requirement for their hand-built pit vehicle was that it had to be small and narrow enough to fit in their race trailer. So, dad and son constructed a frame from scratch, as they are chassis builders after all. Then a friend donated the engine, rear end, and tranny out of a ’59 Morris Minor to give this one of a kind pit vehicle its motivation.

Scott also wanted the little tower to be able to seat four in case he wanted to make a run into town from a drag strip for extra supplies and still have a decent ride. That’s why the ultra cool pit machine you see before you has an air ride suspension to make this baby float over even the roughest of surfaces. Scott’s T-bodied tow vehicle also follows the same theme as the dragster when it comes to weight, with the little street legal machine tipping the scales at a mere 1,500 lbs. Scott went through the entire motor and drivetrain before assembling his one-off tower and said he wouldn’t fear driving it all the way to California, but laughingly added this time of year an A/C would be a nice addition.

Scott & Frank Parks ready to blaze the 1/4 mile.

Low Key Racers

For the Neil and Parks Racing Enterprises team of both Frank and Scott Parks, drag racing has been in their veins for so long there’s no cure for their infliction and that’s just fine with them. It seems the small Kansas farming community of Burlingame, population 900, is also the perfect sleeper town for a family that builds some of the most unbelievably fast and loud front and rear engine dragsters, nostalgia fuel Funny Cars and Altereds ever given the breath of drag racing life. And that’s just the way Frank and Scott Parks want to keep it. After meeting both of these low key fabricators and racers, one quickly understands how the peaceful northeastern Kansas town is a perfect match for the Parks’ style. They prefer to make their noise on the track.