As The Radial Turns: Rob Sphar’s RVW Terror Nears Completion

Things are rapidly evolving in the world of drag radial racing,with everyone aiming to be ‘the man to beat.’ For Rob and Lori Sphar, their radial terror is nearing completion and they’re seeking to come out swinging for the top hitters at outlaw events and the traveling National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) circuit.

Carl Stevens, Jr. from Xtreme Race Cars was enlisted to perform the tedious and meticulous job of putting the best chassis possible together to harness all of the horsepower that it takes to sit atop the radial class. As you can tell by most of the photos, Stevens, Jr. is very detail oriented, and virtually every bar has been thought out before ever being welded in.

From the crankshaft centerline to overall ride height, Stevens and the team at Xtreme Race Cars set the entire car up for optimum traction on the small 315 drag radials that are required in the Radial vs. The World/Pro Drag Radial categories. Taking a glance into the driver’s compartment, Sphar and Stevens opened for extensive use of carbon fiber panels to keep the weight at a minimum. With the chassis work completed and a lightweight platform in front of the team, Stevens, Jr.’s engine shop, Xtreme Racing Engines, was also tabbed to supply the horsepower for the project.

Stevens, Jr. specified a 489 cubic inch HEMI to stuff between the framerails, packing a Turbo By Garrett twin turbocharged punch. To provide context about the power potential at work here, Stevens, Jr. is well known for being the first PDRA Pro Extreme racer to break the 230 miles per hour barrier in 1/8-mile competition with his very own HEMI combination, and with a very similar setup intended for Sphar’s Mustang, there should be plenty of power on tap.

M&M Transmission supplied a two-speed transmission to withstand the high boost numbers delivering punishment through the driveline, a custom EV1 torque converter from Pro Torque was bolted in, and a fresh driveshaft from The Driveshaft Shop was added, as well.

Sphar has enlisted Patrick Barnhill from PTP Racing to handle all of the tuning duties for the new Mustang, which was actually just fired for the first time on February 3rd. In our talks with Rob, he’s very excited about the new car and it’s possibilities. He also stated that noted LS racer Mark Carlyle will fill the driving shoes and wheel this top-tier radial tire build in 2016.

While it doesn’t appear that the car will be ready for the $50,000 Lights Out 7 showdown in South Georgia, Sphar and team hope to debut the car at the Outlaw Street Car Reunion in Memphis in mid-March and afterward will be a full-on contender in the NMCA ranks in Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels Radial Wars category. Be on the look out for this hot rod from the Sphar Racing and Xtreme Race Cars camps in 2016 and beyond.

Photo Credit: Rob Sphar and Xtreme Race Cars