After proficiently piloting his 1978 Starfire in NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street for several years, Bill Trovato decided to climb into a 2010 Camaro in 2013.

It was a bold move for the driver who prefers proven combinations, but he was focused on forging ahead and flying in the competitive category.

To help him do that, he chose a cast aluminum Dart block and built a 440 cubic-inch LSX engine at his shop, BTR Performance in Rochester, New York, and he topped it with Chevrolet Performance LSX-LS7 cylinder heads, a Mast Motorsports intake massaged by EIC Motorsports and a CFM Performance carburetor.

He worked closely with CFM’s owner, Dale Cubic, to finesse fuel flow for the combination which is enhanced by an Edelbrock nitrous system, and while the combination has seen only minimal changes through the years, he moved from a PowerGlide to an RPM Transmissions-built Turbo 400 last year, and paired it with a Neal Chance converter.

In the beautiful blue car rolling on a four-link with Chassis Engineering suspension components, Afco shocks in the rear and Mickey Thompson tires, Trovato has run as quick and fast as 4.73 and 150 mph in NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street, which is contested on the eighth-mile.

While all of that makes it appear as though Trovato is trouble-free in his trampling of the track, he’s seeking more consistent launches in his car, which he says sometimes hooks and sometimes spins.

He cites as an example the fact that he rocketed to a 4.75 to qualify in the second spot and picked up to a personal best of 4.73 in the semifinal at the seasoning-opening NMCA race, the 16th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem in early March at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, but was not able to hightail it at the hit at the 10th Annual NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Mahle Motorsport in early April at Atlanta Dragway.

“We’ve ruled out issues with our suspension, so we’re focused on our power management to help us with consistency at the hit,” said Trovato. “That might be a bit easier if the car was lighter and we could add weight where it would help us launch better, but we would have to cut the car up to do that.”

Despite the intermittent issues, Trovato has taken the lead in NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street points, and is prepared to give it everything he has to stay there while competing at the 17th Annual NMCA Quick Fuel Technology Bluegrass Nationals, May 17-20 at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

An added element to that event is the 12th Annual Chevrolet Performance LSX Shootout, and an added component to that is the Real Street Shootout presented by Brian Tooley Racing for Edelbrock Xtreme Street drivers with LS-powered vehicles, including Trovato. The winner of that shootout will receive $1,000, a Chevrolet Performance LSX Bowtie engine block, an invitation to the Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series Champions Dinner held during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in December and a Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series champion ring and jacket.

“Because I spend so much time in the shop building engines for customers, I don’t have a lot of time to spend on my car, but I would still very much like to be competitive and to earn a championship,” said Trovato, who added that he may be piloting James Lawrence’s Fox body Mustang with a supercharged combination in NMCA Vortech Superchargers Street Outlaw competition at some point.

See Trovato and his very capable crew, including David Mitchell and John Costello, in action at the event or on the SpeedVideo.com live feed available RIGHT HERE with support from presenting sponsor MaxFire Ignition along with Lunati, ProCharger, Driven Racing Oil, Moser Engineering, Flying A Motorsports, Speedway Motors, Champion Cooling, Late Model Engines, Race Star Industries and FAST.

(Photos by NMCA and courtesy of Bill Trovato)