ProCharger-boosted racecars have been showing up and showing out all across the drag racing landscape over the last year, setting and resetting records in Pro Modified, Radial versus The World, and elsewhere. But one place they haven’t truly strutted their stuff is on the 1/4-mile, leaving to question just how quick they can go in the right hands. Well, wonder no longer.
On Saturday, Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association hitter Tyler Hard clocked the three quickest official 1/4-mile runs by a ProCharger-boosted doorslammer at Maryland’s Capitol Raceway on his way to victory. Hard, based out of Pennsylvania, made runs of 5.684, 5.686, and 5.701 at a top speed of 248.80 mph during qualifying and eliminations in his Tim McAmis Race Cars-built 1968 Camaro.
Both Hard and teammate Kevin McCurdy each had their respective cars retrofitted by McAmis for the ProCharger F3-140 supercharger and 521-inch Noonan Hemi combinations less than three months ago, and their success has been swift, to say the least. Highly touted tuner Patrick Barnhill has been calling the shots on the cars, utilizing a Haltech engine management system.
At the recent Yellow Bullet Nationals, McCurdy ran a best of 3.69 over the 1/8-mile (and went to the final round), giving he and Barnhill confidence in their cars as they stretched their legs over another 660-feet.
“After we saw what we did at Yellow Bullet, we were hopeful. I told Brian [Hard, team owner] that I thought it would run a 5.69, and it went a .68, so I definitely expected something like that.
McCurdy adds, “it went 205 on that 3.69 and it wasn’t a perfect run, so I think we can run 3.64, 3.65 if the planets line up. The biggest thing with this car is it’s consistent…when we get it to run a number, it continues to run that number. It is very, very repetitive. Going this fast, that’s hard to do.”
Tyler 5.684 Q3 NEOPMTyler Hard goes a 5.684 during Q3 of NEOPM backing up the Official Capitol Raceway track record. Noonan Race Engineering Red Line Synthetic Oil Precision Racing Suspension Liberty's Gears Neal Chance Racing Converters Diamond Pistons MGP Connecting Rods Tim McAmis Performance Parts Paint by Jeff Hoskins @Haltech ProCharger PTPRacing FinishLine Productions
Posted by Hard Racing on Saturday, September 14, 2019
Barnhill echoed the sentiment, commenting, “We could almost bracket race this ProCharged Pro Mod.”
Hard’s record-setting efforts came in around 1,700-feet of air, and with even greater atmospheric conditions expected at this weekend’s Shakedown Nationals in Virginia and at the upcoming Superchargers Showdown at Maryland International Raceway, a 5.68 may be only a hint of things to come.
“We’re taking both cars to Maryland, and the weather is always good there, so between the two cars, we’ll go faster I’m sure. I think we’ll stomp that record again. We’re not going to hold back,” McCurdy says emphatically.
In a slight departure from their ProCharger-powered peers, Hard and McCurdy utilize Quick Drive lock-up units with five-speed, air-shifted Liberty transmissions and Neal Chance converters in the cars. Both race at 2,500-pounds.