Copson’s Returning To Racing With Radial vs The World C7 Corvette

Former Northeastern Outlaw 10.5 runner Joe Copson is planning a return to drag racing this fall with a brand new C7 Chevrolet Corvette in Radial vs The World and NMCA Radial Wars competition with his son, Blake, behind the wheel.

Copson splashed onto the small-tire racing scene back in 2012 with his incredible Chevrolet Camaro built by Gilsbach Racecraft, complete with a number of highly unique and creative features. That car, as the more astute readers out there know, was eventually sold after a number of years of competition to Oklahoma City’s Ryan Martin, becoming the “Fireball Camaro” and rising to fame on Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws.

But Copson wasn’t finished with racing.

Last year, he commissioned Gary Naughton in Maryland to construct a no-holds-barred new Corvette for radial tire competition. Naughton got underway with the build last November and is in the final stages on preparation now, with a few delays along the way for parts and bodywork setting the completion and on-track debut back a couple of months.

Copson has again spared virtually no expense on the build, utilizing lightweight factory and aftermarket C7 body panels from Skinny Kid Race Cars, along with the doors and other exterior parts and pieces to create a work of art that comes in well under the 3,000-pound minimum. Naughton, in an effort to produce an OEM-appearing nose with enough overhang to avoid the use of an extender and for additional fuel cell space, custom-molded a nose based off a combination of the Pro Modified C7 and an OEM nose to create a one-off for Copson’s machine.

A latest-and-greatest Pro Line Racing Hemi was sourced for the build, paired with twin 88 mm Garrett turbos, backed by an M&M Turbo 400 shifted by M&M’s sleek new shifter. A Mark Williams full floater reared housing was also sourced, with carbon fiber brakes all around.