“We’re In It For The Fun”: Wes and Russ Blankenship Go Outlaw Racing

For many racers, the sport of drag racing has always been a family affair. For some it’s a way to help absorb the costs of what can be an incredibly expensive sport in which to complete, but for others, like Ohio’s Wes Blankenship, it’s a way to spend some time with Dad. Too often in today’s world, parents are absent from their child’s lives, but we have to give you credit, Russ – during our conversations with Wes about this article he mentioned you more times than we can count.

Drag racers are a special breed, as the long hours and empty checking accounts are but one sacrifice necessary to compete at the higher echelons of the sport. This ’93 Camaro, which Wes has owned since the tender young age of 18, has been through numerous lives through the course of its fourteen-year lifespan with Blankenship, and we can say without a doubt that the car’s current status appears to be the best one.

“The car was all stock when I bought it, and today we run Outlaw Drag Radial and True 10.5 stuff locally. We’re part of the Renegade Racing Association here in Ohio and we race out at Thompson Dragway, Summit Motorsports Park at Norwalk, and up at Milan with the Ohio Boys and Dave Hinzman. My dad is my best friend; he does most of the wrenching on the car while I drive it. We aren’t rich or anything, just local guys trying to play with the big boys here.

“We used to use a crappy open trailer that was all rusted to hell – people would make jokes about it, but we didn’t care because it was what we could afford at the time. None of that matters to me, because I appreciate the time spent with my dad. The relationship we have is the best part of us racing together. These are memories that mean a lot to me. We’re just regular joes that have normal jobs, but we still find a way to go racing,” Wes explained.

Don’t think that this car came out of writing a check, either. The pair has sacrificed quite a bit to get the program up and running. “My dad used to have a ’70 Nova that he sold to help build this car. Family is just as important to my dad as it is to me. We’re not the fastest guys out there – setting personal goals and achieving them is more important to us. But we won the first Milan race in 2012, which was pretty exciting. And we’re really excited to get out to the Shakedown this year since it’s coming to Norwalk,” says Wes.

The car has been in its current iteration for about five years, and each one has been a learning experience that’s gotten them closer and closer to where they want to be. Last Second Race Cars built the 25.2-spec chassis, while the engine was put together by Ed, Joe, and the team at Champion Performance Custom Race Engines in Center Line, Michigan. It’s a small-block Chevrolet piece based around a Dart Iron Eagle block and stuffed full of a Callies crankshaft, GRP connecting rods, and Diamond pistons.

A pair of Brodix BD2000 cylinder heads and Self Racing intake manifold suck in the boost from a 118mm Precision Turbo and push the exhaust back out through a sweet set of Stainless Works headers. MSD gets the call to light the fire, and BigStuff3 engine management brings the whole package together. Power is transmitted through a Rossler Power Glide and Neal Chance converter back to a custom chromoly 9-inch fabricated rearend housing.

If you can believe it, a stock tubular K-member and torque arm reside underneath the machine that rolls on a set of Weld Racing wheels, and the 3,260 pound car is brought to a stop with a four-corner set of Strange Engineering brakes. So far, the best performance on-track has been a 4.88 at 157 MPH with a soft 1.30 short time, but now that the team has finally figured out how to apply the power they’re looking for better performances this coming season.

Of course, no project is complete without the help of others, and this one is no different. Wes credited the help from George R. at Stainless Works, Jason Lee and Patrick Barnhill at PTP Racing, Jim McMullen, Carl Rossler, and Champion Performance. Crewmembers Uncle Andy, Mike Z, Blowinghost, and “Hooker Killer” are the helping hands at the track that make the car go down the straight and narrow, and Blankenship is looking forward to the start of the season. Currently the engine is out of the car getting freshened up in preparation, and the plan is to run all six of the Renegade Racing Association’s races, along with the events at Milan Dragway where the car fits and the inaugural Shakedown at the Summit event this fall.

“My dad and I race together, and we love to do it together, this is just what we do. There are a lot of people that aren’t able to say that. The moral of the story is, I wouldn’t want to be racing with anyone else,” Wes told us.