One of the newest cars on the Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car circuits across the United States is Shawn Bowen’s stunning Violator 1970 Dodge Challenger, a carbon fiber-bodied entry out of Grand Blanc, Michigan. After racing his first Funny Car from 2008 through 2014, Shawn and company spent countless hours crafting the newest piece in-house at Bowen Racecars, their family owned shop. Their talent is proven by the quality of work put into this hot rod, which not only dips well into the five-second zone at over 250 miles per hour while burning upwards of 90-percent nitromethane, but could also win likely any car show in the country.

The Bowen family is not a new name to drag racing. Shawn’s father, Mike, competed in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster class from 1988 to 1992 before Shawn took over the controls of the family-owned car after having attending Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in the fall of 1992. From there, the team continued to run a blown alcohol combination at 18 to 20 NHRA national events and divisional meets before switching to a Fontana-powered A/Fuel nitro combination from 2000 to 2005.

It was at that point, in the spring of 2005, that the Bowen family got hooked on the idea of a Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car after attending the famed Bakersfield March Meet in California. It was a quickly-made decision that, over the winter of 2005, the team would start building a fuel Funny Car.

It was two year process that included a ton of overtime hours at their shop, but by the spring of 2008, the first Bowen family Violator Funny Car made its debut. Shawn quickly became a threat to the rest of the competitors in the rapidly-growing Nostalgia Funny Car movement. After switching from a Chevy/Arias combination to a Hemi in 2010, Bowen ran his first five-second 1/4-mile elapsed time in June 2010 in St. Louis, which was a huge stride for the team’s step up in performance. The team checked off another bucket list item by competing for the first time in Bakersfield at the 2013 March Meet.

Like many others before him, Bowen made the move from the NHRA’s Top Alcohol ranks over to Nostalgia Funny Car.

Bowen impressively clinched consecutive DRO Nitro Funny Car Series championships, taking top honors in 2013 and 2014. Most recently, the “Violator” visited the winners circle at Tulsa Raceway Park’s 50th Anniversary Nitro Nationals, defeating Ronny Young’s Blue Max in the final round. This year on October 11th, Shawn placed a runner-up finish at the IHRA World Finals in Memphis, capping off a solid season with a sixth place finish in four IHRA Nitro Jam appearances. This event also marked his career best elapsed time of 5.58 at 257 mph.

When asked what it is about Nitro Funny Cars that satisfies his desire for horsepower, Bowen said, “The feel, the vibration of a nitro motor is unlike anything on the planet. The smell and power of nitromethane sends chills up your spine, especially when you’re the one sitting behind that motor when it comes to life. It really lets you know it’s the boss when the crew drops the body down over you and you really become a part of the race car.

“There aren’t many things more intense than that body coming down and the crew giving you the thumbs-up to do the burnout,” he continues. “I love burnouts, they’re a lot more fun in a Funny Car with all the smoke coming into the cockpit. We named the car Violator after my dad’s drag boat he ran in the 1980s. He was always getting in trouble, so the name was perfect for the boat, and we kept that tradition alive with the Funny Car.”

After the Bowen’s completed the car, from the chassis construction to the air and fuel plumbing, fuel tanks, body mounting, tin work and even the rearend housing, S&D Enterprises in Spring Lake, Michigan took delivery to complete the paint and finish work. This NHRA Heritage Series-legal machine sports a 413 cubic-inch TFX engine between the framerails. Brad Anderson cylinder heads bolt on, and an SSI 6-71 supercharger sits atop the 3,500-plus horsepower engine. The engine is fed by a Rage Fuel Systems 21 gallon fuel pump sparked by a points-style single Mallory magneto firing an average mixture of 89-percent nitromethane.

Bill Miller rods and pistons combust the fuel all under the guidelines and rules enforced by the NHRA Heritage Series. Apply that power to a 4.30 rear end gear ratio on Mickey Thompson 17 by 34.5-inch tires coupled with a two speed Lenco transmission and you’re ready to run a 5.50s at over 250 mph … if you’re lucky!  Bowen is kept safe in the cockpit with Taylor Motorsports safety equipment and restraints. The average cost per run for the team is around $1,500.

Racing a nitromethane-fueled racecar is no easy feat, as the team has learned in its ups and downs over the past seven years in Funny Car racing. None of it would be possible without the support of Shawn’s family, including his father, Mike, and mother, Chris, brother Scott, wife of 19 years, Nicole, and teenage sons, Austin and Dylan. Company support from The Chassis Shop, Ohio Crankshaft and Rage Fuel Systems is additional support the team is grateful to receive in helping them keep the Violator on the race track.

When planning their season, a target of six to eight races are initially planned, but the actual amount of racing done each season is understandably dependent on their success and points chase implications.

Shawn is very satisfied with his switch to a Nitro Funny Car, and with the brand new car rocking and rolling down the drag strip nicely this season, the family plans to continue their participation in the NHRA Heritage Series, IHRA Nitro Jam Series, and match races across the country for years to come. The Bowen’s are hoping for a win in Bakersfield in the future … a dream shared with everyone who holds a passion for nostalgia drag racing. An IHRA Nitro Funny Car Championship is second on the wish list; two goals which will be hard fought, but well-deserved and certainly possible for the Michiganders.