Ken Quartuccio Wants The 1/4-Mile Radial Record At World Cup Finals

Ken Quartuccio Jr. debuted his show-stopping C7 Corvette this season with some high expectations and so far the car has delivered. In Outlaw 10.5 trim Quartuccio’s Corvette has won races, set records, and is in the hunt for a national title in the Billet Atomizer Outlaw 10.5 series. Now Quartuccio wants to break the 5.92-second radial tire record set by Kevin Fiscus at the Import vs Domestic – World Cup Finals (WCF) and win the event along the way.

To prepare his Pro Line-powered Corvette for quarter-mile action Quartuccio and his team are making changes to the rearend gear ratio, transmission, and torque converter. Also on the adjustment list is the wicker on the rear wing of the car and the shock package will also be tweaked to help prevent too much settling on the back half of the track. All of these changes are being done to make the car easier for Quartuccio to drive as he attacks the radial record.

“We’re pretty excited and want to see if we can break the record on radials in the quarter-mile. Jamie Miller is coming to help tune the car and we’re going to try and go for it. This will be the car’s first time quarter-mile racing. Jamie tunes a turbo Pro Mod in the NHRA so he has experience with the engine management. I’m going to take baby steps to make sure I’m comfortable with everything before we open the car up,” Quartuccio says.

The 2018 WCF event won’t be the first time that Quartuccio has run one of his cars the full quarter-mile; he competed in the Heavy Street class at other events in the past and has run in the NMCA running the full quarter-mile.

“I don’t have a lot of experience going 250 mph so we’re going to need to learn that. The whole thing with this is going to be the challenge of trying to figure the car out to go this quick. When Fiscus set the record they slowed the car in the eighth and picked up more on the back. We’re going to run the car fast to the eighth and then pull it back from there. We will make a few runs to like 900- or a 1,000-feet to see what the car will do. The plan is to try and go 3.80s to the eighth-mile, where Kevin was only going 4.10,” Quartuccio explains.

The allure of etching his name into the record books of radial tire racing is just one of the reasons that Quartuccio added the WCF event to his 2018 racing schedule. Being able to run against the best quarter-mile racers from all over the world on one of drag racing’s biggest stages has drawn him to the WCF and he’s ready to drink the entire experience in.

“I’m looking forward to the whole spectacle of this race. I’m not going in with any expectations but I know we should be able to go fast and do well. I know there will be some quick imports at this event but they don’t always have the results due to consistency issues. I’m thrilled because this will be a different deal with some new faces and cars. If both cars were running right now I would have both at this event.”

With so much elite competition at the WCF Quartuccio knows that he can’t swing for the fences on every pass. The plan coming into the WCF will be to stay as consistent as possible and make sure the Corvette can go A-to-B every pass while still outrunning the car in the other lane.

“I think we have a chance to win this event and I really want to beat Kevin’s record. The Pro Line guys think this car will go low 5.80s if I have the guts to run it that hard. They know I’m an older guy and not a chance-taker so I’m going to take my time to get the car figured out. The fastest I’ve gone in the quarter-mile before was the 6.40s so this will be interesting,” Quartuccio says.

The 23rd Annual Haltech World Cup Finals – Import vs Domestic could see radial tire racing history rewritten at the hand of Ken Quartuccio Jr. Make sure you’re tuned into SpeedVideo’s coverage from Maryland International Raceway October 30-November 4 RIGHT HERE. This broadcast is brought to you by presenting sponsor ProCharger, along with Strange Engineering, Driven Racing Oil, Ferrea Racing Components, Race Star Industries, Miller Electric, OSTAR Motorsports, GFORCE 1320, McLeod Racing, ATI Performance, Blow-By-Racing, Hot Shot’s Secret, and Firestone.

About the author

Brian Wagner

Spending his childhood at different race tracks around Ohio with his family’s 1967 Nova, Brian developed a true love for drag racing. Brian enjoys anything loud, fast, and fun.
Read My Articles