Performing well on a consistent basis in a top-level drag racing program is a difficult task – just ask any of the one-time champions that litter the land. Being a 14-time champion? That’s a hell of a lot harder than it appears, as parts attrition and bad breaks can derail a season quicker than you can count to three.

SCT Performance-sponsored Outlaw 10.5 racer Mike Murillo is that 14-time champion, but this season wasn’t exactly his best ever. Murillo struggled all year long with gremlins and other issues that were out of his control. Heck, he even managed to save his car after a mishap in the shop at Murillo Motorsports where the car decided to roll out of control, causing some damage to the nose, pushing the turbos out of position just prior to the NMCA World Finals in Indianapolis. 

However, he gets to take one large positive into the offseason – the fact that he made his career-best pass at the recent Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas. Murillo battled the chassis all weekend long, with the power pouring on so hard mid-track that the car was lifting the front tires around the 330-foot mark and riding the wheelie bars hard, forcing him to make adjustments on the fly.

That didn’t deter him from keeping the pedal to the metal, clocking a 6.310 at 234.25 MPH during qualifying to land – if you can believe it – in the third position behind Nick Agostino and Ken Sihota’s 6.26 monster blasts.

During eliminations on Sunday, Murillo took out Doug Paddock in round one and Mark Luton in round two, continuing to battle the chassis, before finally falling to Doug Sikora in the third round of competition when he had to lift on another hard wheelie.

Despite the battles, Murillo feels confident going into the winter that he’s got a car to be reckoned with for the 2014 season.

For more information on the products that SCT Performance offers, check out their website.