If you look at all the different heads-up racing classes in the sport of drag racing, X275 is among its most competitive. Just qualifying for a big event is a major accomplishment and it’s forced teams to really step up their game. When Titan Motorsports joined the party with its Toyota Supra, that made things even tighter. Now, Nero Deliwala and the Titan team are ready to make shake things up yet again in X275 at the Sweet 16.

Bringing an import to an X275 race may seem like a suicide mission to many drag racing fans, but Deliwala and his driver, Gary White, have proven the Toyota 2JZ engine platform is more than capable of doing well on small tires. Last year at the Sweet 16, the Titan Motorsports Supra shocked the world by becoming the quickest import on radials and making the field by beating out some tough cars.

“It’s a lot of fun coming to an event like this for our team. We’re bringing a combination that’s different than the rest and we’re dealing with rules that are changing all the time in the name of consistent parity. Literally race to race things change, and this event is going to be competitive with almost 100 cars trying to qualify for a 16-car field. You have to make quality runs in the good qualifying sessions of the day if you want to make the show,” Deliwala says.

After coming out of left field last year and showing just how much potential the Supra had Deliwala knew that there would be some adjustments to their combination by X275 rule-maker John Sears. The team had worked so hard on removing weight out of the Supra and now they’re trying to strategically add lead to make the new minimum weight they must run.

“Going into the U.S. Street Nationals, we had to add some weight and then after the event, we had more weight added to our combination. We figured out the 25-pounds that needed to be added to the car before the U.S. Street Nationals quickly, we haven’t tested yet with the additional 75-pounds that have been added. We’ll find out next week what it will take to make the car work now with that extra weight. We don’t have nearly as many passes in X275 trim as other teams’ do, so we’re always learning things about the tire, the setup, and what works for the car,” Deliwala explains.

Last year at the Sweet 16, Deliwala and his team at one point found themselves in a precarious position — they were on the bump spot and on the edge of being knocked out of the 16-car field. Thankfully, the team laid down a good pass and solidified their spot in the show, but it taught them how important it is to make the most of the opportunities to run in good conditions during qualifying. That lesson from last year will be applied to the team’s qualifying strategy this year at the Sweet 16.

“What happened last year during qualifying just emphasizes how important it is to take advantage of good conditions at this race. I think we should be able to run mid- to high-4.20s depending on the track conditions and weather. Our goal isn’t e.t.-based…we’re more concerned about making good runs and qualifying. We want the car as consistent as possible so we can go rounds on raceday and not just be a one-hit-wonder with a big e.t. in qualifying,” Deliwala states.

If you want to see the Titan Supra mix it up with the best X275 racers in the world, you need to check out the SpeedVideo broadcast of the Sweet 16. All of the action from South Georgia Motorsports Park will be shown live RIGHT HERE on SpeedVideo. This broadcast is brought to you by Vortech Superchargers, Titan Fuel Tanks, COMP Cams, TCI, Flying A Motorsports, ATI Performance Products, and Neal Chance Racing Converters.