Jimenez Enters The Record Books As First In ‘Sixes’ On Leaf Springs

West coast radial tire racer Al Jimenez has been one of the hardest working racers in the business in recent seasons, taking the road less traveled with the continued use of a leaf spring rear suspension setup and not just competing with the the rest of the class, but often outgunning the competition. Along the way, the Sylmer, Calif. native has rewritten leaf spring records like it’s his job, and over the weekend, the veteran racer finally accomplished one of his ultimate goals when he became the first racer to record a six-second elapsed times on leafs at the Street Car Super Nationals at The Strip as Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jimenez was the first leaf spring-equipped racer to eclipse 200 MPH back in 2010 and clicked off a 205 MPH lap at the recent NMCA West Finals in Bakersfield. But the cool fall air and the stellar track conditions at The Strip produced exactly the conditions that Jimenez and the rest of the field on hand needed to set some records, and Jimenez took full advantage.

Following a 7.26 best in the first four Extreme Drag Radial qualifying sessions, Jimenez and his wicked ’73 Camaro ripped off the then-quickest leaf spring run of all time at 7.003 seconds at 205.57 MPH. For those keeping score at home, that run was quick enough for fourth in the final qualifying order.

In the opening round of eliminations on Sunday, the supercharged, big block-powered Camaro rolled to a 6.993 at a booming 206.83 MPH, compliments of a 1.246 short time, a 4.630 at 165.46 to half track, and a 5.90 to 1,000-feet. At one time, a six-second run may have seemed improbable on leaf springs, largely because the rather primitive form of factory suspension was an under-appreciated afterthought in a world of four-links and high tech aftermarket suspension components. But the accomplishments of Jimenez and company is a prime example of what dedication can produce.

Said Jimenez in a past interview: “We’re keeping the stock suspension just because that’s what we’ve got and it’s working. When it comes to traction issue; it’s a power application thing but not really the suspensions fault. If we had a four-link or something like that, I think we’d be in the same situation, just with some added adjustability. He continued “We’re pretty competitive. We’re probably in the top two qualifiers at every event, so it’s not like we’re at the back of the pack with what we have. It can get frustrating knowing that we could’ve gone a different route, it just wasn’t planned out to run this class.”

Although his weekend in Las Vegas came to a premature end just a round later at the hands of Rich Hoyle, Jimenez didn’t leave Sin City empty-handed, as he now lays claim to yet another historical achievement that no one can take away.