RPM Magazine December Issue 2012

Meet Your RPM Magazine Team EDITOR IN CHIEF: CHRIS BIRO, editor@rpm-mag.com V.P. MARKETING/CUSTOMER RELATIONS: TRISH BIRO, trish@rpm-mag.com DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: BRIAN HANSEN, brian@rpm-mag.com SENIOR DRAG RACE EDITOR - IAN RAE ian@rpm-mag.com EVENT MEDIA DIRECTOR - TONY WEBER tony@rpm-mag.com

WANT YOUR CAR IN RPM? RPM Magazine has been a world leader in motorsports publishing for 13 years and has support locations in Ontario, Canada, Alabama, Wisconsin & Virginia, along with contributing writers and photojournalists worldwide.

If you have a story that may fit within the focus and scope of RPM Magazine’s coverage, please email our Editor In Chief at: editor@rpm-mag.com

EVENT SUBSCRIPTIONS COORDINATOR - SHERRIE WEBER sherrie@rpm-mag.com Photographic Contribution: IAN RAE, JANIS RAE, TONY WEBER, SCOTT SINGLETON, TIM LEWIS, BRIAN HANSEN, PETE “BOOMER” ORES, PAUL SCHMITZ,

Submission of an article does not guarantee that it will be published.

DALE BOERU, LOGAN WEBER, MARK goDragRacing.org, TOMMY LEE BYRD, www.DragStory.com, TOM OWENSBY, BRIAN TYLER Editorial Contribution: IAN RAE, SCOTT SINGLETON, TONY WEBER, TIM LEWIS, CHUCK SCOTT, TOMMY LEE BYRD, BRIAN HANSEN, ROBERT WEATHERS, BEN STRADER, MARK goDragRacing.org, RAY KNIGHT, BRIAN TYLER Technical Writing Contributions: CHUCK SCOTT, BEN STRADER, SHANE TECKLENBURG, ROBERT WEATHERS, TOMMY LEE BYRD

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The focus of RPM is to bring a diverse mix of high performance street and race automobiles to life within its pages including; Race cars, Musclecars, Hot Rods and Street Legal machines with an emphasis on the “EXTREME”, including Fast Doorslammer and Outlaw forms of Drag Racing. Not familiar with these types of cars? They are considered to be the top-shelf of the industry and are-on-the-edge with regards to design and power!

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EDITOR’S RANT -- That’s a wrap for 2012 With this being the “December” and final issue of 2012, we’d like to remind readers that show season is upon us. Be sure to look up RPM Magazine at select shows in the USA and Canada, and stop by to meet our incredible team and have a chat.

A few sure things are that we will once again be doubling our booth space (booth #’s 918 & 920) at the “gold standard” for performance and racing industry trade shows, PRI (Performance Racing Industry, Nov. 29th to Dec. 1st. See page 81 of this issue for details). We’ve been doing this show for 14 years now and it simply never fails to amaze us as to how many hardcore performance enthusiasts and racers actually attend, not to mention the over 1,100 exhibitors with 3,200 booths on-site.

Plus, the fact that it is in Orlando, Florida is a definite bonus. We will also be in Toronto, Canada once again for the country’s largest show, “MegaSpeed”, March 22nd to 24th. Of course there will be a number of other shows that RPM will be attending during the off-season, so keep your eyes open and be sure to stop by and visit.

Also remember that RPM does not publish a January issue but rather produces an early February issue full of new exclusive content for you to sink your teeth into.

We are a family company and each of our team members have families that they enjoy spending time with during this season. Plus, RPM is a “real-time” “current dated” magazine with current exclusive articles, and let’s face it, for the last week of December and first week of January not much happens in any industry, let alone performance and racing. So this is a great time to let our staff and their families winddown so they can wind-up for the new year ahead. With that being said, we send out our best wishes to all of our readers and supporters for a safe, happy holiday season and we’ll see you mid-January.

2012 has been a fantastic year within the performance and racing industries, seeing both street machines and fast doorslammer drag cars, with owners and drivers young and old, coming out of the woodwork to participate in a passion for horsepower and fast cars. West coasts, east coasts, north and south, no matter

where our team went to find fast cars we were never disappointed! This issue alone is proof positive that where there are cars, there are always fast cars!

And where there are fast cars, there are always those trying to make them faster! Many of whom read and are in the pages of RPM. I’ll say it again... exclusivity is where it’s at! In a world filled with everyone and their brother creating a website to tell the same stories with the same names in them over and over again, those stories that months later are in the same magazines month after month and year after year, it’s a breath of fresh air to get real-world grassroots articles that we can all identify with.

For us here at RPM, it has been an incredible 2012! In our 13th year of publishing horsepower worldwide the May issue would see RPM raise the bar once again as innovators not imitators, adding even higher quality stock on our cover AND inside pages. We added new writers and photographers to the already diverse mix at RPM, and our RPM/Lucas Oil Extreme Events presented

by Mickey Thompson were once again amazing! Plus, we had the opportunity to create an episode of The Motorhead Traveler TV series about drag racing!

33 countries is now the magic number worldwide reading RPM in print.

And our online RPM E-Mag took off again in 2012 providing anyone who is anywhere access to complete, unedited copies of RPM at anytime. RPM E-Mags are published 30 days after newsstand release dates, so many of our online readers who needed their fix “right away” are now print magazine subscribers.

More distribution is always better! We once again grew and enhanced our newsstand presence to make RPM available to more people in more places. By adding new chain stores and large nationwide retailers such as Wal-Mart to our existing locations, RPM is out there and in the face of the public everywhere they go. With RPM already available by subscription, at select industry locations, online and at our existing newsstands in the USA and Canada (and select locations in the UK), there is no reason for anyone to go without! If you can’t find RPM for some reason though, simply drop us a line by email or phone.

See you in 2013, stay safe and keep the shiny side up!

Chris Biro, Editor In Chief

ADVERTISER INDEX Advertiser Name Page # Accufab Inc. 27 AJPE - Alan Johnson Perf.

41 ARC - Applied Racing Components 76 ATI Performance Products 32, 83 Bad Attitude Engines 48 Blower Shop 12 Boniferro Speed and Custom 8 Browell Bellhousing 28 BTE Racing 66 BTR Performance 34 Calvert Racing Suspensions 62 Chiseled Performance 49 Chris Alston’s Chassisworks 31 Clocks Off Race Cars 48 Coan Engineering 30 CN Blocks 61 Comp Cams 65 Crower 73 Cynergy Composites 50 DART 11 Design Engineering 13 DiSomma Racing Engines 19 DIY Auto Tune 47 Dynotech Engineering 10 Ed Quay Race Cars 45 EFI University 17 Engine Research & Development ERD 11 Fast Eddie Racewear 74 FastMotorsports 9 FORD Racing 69 FONSE Performance 62 Frankenstein Racing Heads 64 GZ Motorsports 17 4

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Harland Sharp 8 Heartthrob Exhaust 76 Holcomb Motorsports 14 HoleShot Wheels 45 Holley Ultra Dominator 78 Holley Ultra Double Pumper 16 Holley Ultra Street Avenger 71 JB’s Power Centre 70 JEFFco Transmissions 22 JE Pistons 77 Jesel 16 JET Performance 72 K1 Racegear 24 K&N Filters 80 KOOKS Exhaust 30 Leash Electronics 19 Lokar Performance Products 44 LUCAS Oil Products 2 Mahle Clevite Inc. 9 Manton Pushrods 78 Meziere Precision Manufacturing 80 Mickey Thompson Tires 7 Midwest Converters 72 MSD Iginition 29 Neal Chance Converters 18, 37 New Century Performance 49 Nick Arias Jr. 46 Nitrous Supply 60 NOS - Nitrous Oxide Systems 63 OASIS by Corlor 71 Ohsweken Speedway 15 Parts Pro Performance Centers 84 Performance2Way Racing Communications 79 Performance Parts Connection 33

PRI - Performance Racing Industry 81 Phoenix Race Tires 75 ProCharger Supercharger Systems 5 Proformance Racing Transmissions 36 PROLITE Batteries 32 PRO Race Fuels 75 Pro Systems Carburetors 23 Pro-Werks 24 PRP Racing 36 PTC Converters 50 Racecraft Inc. 33, 64 Racing Radios 7 Randy’s Ring & Pinion 26 RH Racecars 10 RJ Pro Fab 71 Ross Racing Pistons 5 Rossler Transmissions 40 RPM MAGAZINE SUBSCRIBE NOW! 82 Scotty’s Racing Engines 22 Shafiroff Racing Engines 25 Smith Racecraft 68 Speedwire Systems 13 Steve Morris Engines 47, 61 Summit Racing Equipment 35 S&W Racecars 21 Ti64 21 Trailer-Alarms.com 79 Trend Performance 51 TRZ Motorsports 34 Unlimited Products 20 Valvoline 67 VP Racing Fuels 46 WC Enterprises 70 Weinle Motorsports 26

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pg. 52 - 59 For A Complete Listing Of More Products & Services To Help With Your Racecar, Street Machine or Hot Rod FREE Classified Ads online at rpmclassifieds.com Still No Gimmicks, Still No Pop-ups!!

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With more than 40 National Championships in the last six years, more ProCharger-equipped racers have raced their way to national titles and event wins than any other power-adder. Period.

All over North America, more and more racers count on ProCharger power to get them across the stripe first. In fact, the 80 quickest racers with centrifugal superchargers are ALL powered by ProCharger. Call us today when you’re ready to take your racing and winning to the next level.

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Who’s In This Issue of Often Imitated, Never Duplicated-- RPM Mag IS The ORIGINAL Voice Of Extreme Drag Racing & Wild Street Machines WORLDWIDE... Don’t Settle For Less! We DELIVER Insane Fast Cars And Bring You NO POLITICS...

JUST ACTION! Your ONLY “Real Time” “Real World” Car Mag... PERIOD! December 2012

So Much Horsepower Packed Into One Place... That Place IS RPM Magazine!

“TAMELESS”

pg 42

A living legend of drag racing that still mixes it up, Arnie Beswick IS TAMELESS. He continues to thrill three generations of fans with long smokey burnouts and low 7second passes in his 1964 GTO Tameless Tiger II Nostalgia Pro Stock.

Historical Value

pg 8

Going back to the start of it all this car is a legend in fast street car drag racing. Sure it’s old school cool, but Larry Vienneau wouldn’t have it any other way!

The Dark Knight

pg 32

If cars could talk this one would say, “I am your worst nightmare!” From the concept of building a record breaking 2,500+ horsepower street machine, to actually doing it.

COOKY AND THE ROOKY...

You Can Steal My Car But you Can’t Take Away My Drive! pg 60 This 7-second all-motor Mustang packs more than a punch and has a story behind it. How the devastating loss of one car led to the build of this potent pony.

PLUS:

Read COMPLeTe RPM MaGaZINe baCk Issues O N L I N e F R e e a T www.RPM-MaG.COM 6

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The Final SHAKEDOWN pg 18 The GREEN Empire Strikes Back pg 70 Project THUG - Flamethrower pg 79

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It has

...and is still one badass ride!

Larry Vienneau would rather keep his 1978 Chevy Malibu just the way it is.

After all, the car is legendary in the world of the fastest street car drag racing!

Story by George Pich

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Photos by Brian Smith, additional photos courtesy Pizza Boys Racing

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round the year 2000, after pioneering big-time horsepower in full bodied street cars, the Anderson brothers began running a certain 1978 Chevrolet Malibu in the Nostalgia Pro Street and Heavy Street classes within the world of Outlaw street car drag racing. This car had some history, actually lots of serious history behind it. In 2001, Ken Anderson drove the car to the World Street Nationals final in Orlando and in 2002, the Malibu went 3 rounds at the Orlando event, and that was where Larry Vienneau first saw it. From that point on the destiny of this particular fast street car changed drastically.

Larry was hooked and quickly caught the itch to buy a fast street machine after watching the Anderson’s campaign the Malibu in Orlando. He already owned a 1969 Chevelle and spotted Marlon Fedele’s ‘69 Chevelle for sale at the event. Larry, along with his brother Vincent, hung around the pit area of the Chevelle for the entire weekend to see if the car was right for them. The Anderson brothers just happened to be working on both the Chevelle and their own Malibu that weekend, so Larry and Vincent had witnessed first-hand the brothers’ work. The shocker came when on Sunday morning the Vienneau brothers woke to see “For Sale” written in white shoe polish on the Malibu. Being motorheads all of their lives, now the horsepower juices were really flowing for these guys.

After watching the car closely on the track all day Sunday, seeing it run a 7.97 second 1/4-mile pass and already knowing the rich history behind the car, Larry knew this Malibu was the car he wanted. At the end of the day, after negotiating the price,

If you think we are kidding about Larry being into historical value, get this. The building the Malibu is sitting in front of is actually a new building (affectionately named Pizza Boys Garage) that has been made to look old. Yep, that’s right, the entire building front and even the front wooden garage door are false. The actual working roll-up bay doors are located at the rear... pretty cool stuff!

MAHLE Clevite products have been on board every single NASCAR® race winner since its beginning in 1948. But even we realize the true lifeblood of auto racing is on any short track on a Friday or Saturday night across the nation. This is the arena where today’s gladiators battle for supremacy - and we are proud to support them. As long as grassroots racing continues to breathe life into asphalt or dirt, our commitment to quality under the hood remains strong. www.mahleclevite.com

PROUD SUPPORTERS OF THE

“HEART”

OF AMERICAN RACING!

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Larry (right) displays his first racing trophy back in the 1970’s from a soapbox (go kart) race. It was shortly thereafter that he became hooked, and later followed fastest street car racing from it’s very beginnings. Check out this vintage signed Rod Saboury hero card hanging in the Pizza Boys Garage with a ton of other cool memorabilia. Note that Rod crossed out the “slower” 7.60 et and 178 mph numbers and wrote his quicker 7.52 and faster 181 mph numbers in! Below, if you look beyond Larry’s 1969 Chevelle which admittedly has not seen the light of day for some time you will see the wall of fast cars. The Pizza Boys Garage makes for a great meeting place on a Saturday night. Here (from the left) Jeff, Kent, Jacob, Sandy, Blaine, Bobby, Kevin, Larry, Jody and Vinnie.

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Larry took some time to make the long trip home to decide whether he wanted to buy a piece of racing history.

Although the Andersons likely never thought they would see him again, the Vinneau brothers contacted them about making the purchase, but first asked for forgiveness from their wives so they could leave to see the car in Pittsburg, P.A. on Valentine’s Day. The trip went off without a hitch and Larry made an agreement to buy the Malibu. Having no car trailer at the time, the Andersons agreed to deliver the car to Canada, actually to the east coast city of Douglas located in the province of New Brunswick, Canada.

Once in Larry’s garage, the car was kept secret for 3 months until it debuted at the Radical Speed Sport show in Moncton, N.B. Keeping it under wraps was a tough go given how active the car scene is in their neck of the woods. Seriously, this place is alive with more gearheads per capita than most other places in the world! So to say it caused a stir in the east coast automotive community is a huge understatement. Everyone who was anyone in the know of fast street machines and drag racing knew of the Anderson’s achievements with the car, so word was out and

Jody Boone (left) and Kent Vienneau take a break to check out the latest issue of their favorite car mag with Larry and see what the rest of the world is up to.

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rumours were flying! Soon they all knew it was the real deal and one of their own now owned a serious piece of street car history. The Malibu won the Street Achievement Award, Best Engine Award and first place Pro Street Award at that first show.

Wanting to work the car the way it was meant to be worked, Larry and crew loaded up and headed south to the World Street Nationals in Orlando to have their own fun with it. It was 2004 and the sport was still relatively young, there was a diverse line-up of cars and people going crazy for street car drag racing. Qualifying 17th with an 8.11 second run was an honor for the Vienneau team and to cap it all off on the way home the next day, they unloaded the car for a cruise and ended up at the Daytona International Speedway.

A quick history lesson: The Anderson Malibu was one of the original cars involved in the start of Pro Street and Fastest Street Car Drag Racing and was originally built by Ken and Jon Anderson. Al Tucci once stated; “this is one of the wildest street cars ever created”. The car dates back to 1991 for the Top Gun Street Shootout in Atlanta, Georgia, where it ran a 9.37 on D.O.T. tires, making it the number 1 qualifier in the Top Gun Class.

In September 1992, the car appeared in Hot Rod Magazine.

The article (“Whaaaaa!”) promoted the first Hot Rod Magazine Fastest Street Car Shootout in Memphis and featured the 10 fastest street cars in America, with the Malibu being the third photo in the article. At this event, the Malibu ran a nitrous motor and finished in the top 10 with an 8.90 @ 152 mph.

In 1993, the second year of the Fastest Street Car Shootout, a blower motor was added to the Malibu to help it make the top ten again running an 8.73 @ 156 mph. That year the Malibu appeared at many Super Chevy Shows around the U.S. as well as the Detroit Autorama, amongst many other well-known heavy hitting street cars of the day.

In 1994, at the 2nd World Street Nationals in Orlando, the car ran a 7.95 with the blower motor, making it one of the original 7-second steel-bodied street cars. ...and we’re sure there’s more that we don’t know about!

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In 2005, Larry raced in the Canadian Fastest Street Car Shootout in Cayuga, where he ran his first 7 second pass (7.97 seconds) on 10.5 inch tires.

The car also qualified 15th at the 2005 World Street Nationals in Orlando, running a 7.93 in the Heavy Street class. In 2006, the last time the car was at the World Street Nationals, Larry qualified 21st, running a stout 7.83 second pass.

The Vienneau brothers attended the Extreme Drag Race Shootout, a massive street car shootout that was brought to their own backyard, Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. This event hosted the fastest street cars from the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom and Larry was geared up to accomplish the monumental task of being one of the first 7-sec-

It’s a 707 cubic inch aluminum blocked big block Chevy with 2 NOS nitrous fogger kits and twin Pro Systems prepared Holley Dominator carburetors sitting happily atop a sheet metal intake. This is all backed up by a Rossler Turbo 400 transmission, Mark Williams 9-inch rearend and 4-link rear suspension with wishbone. This wicked mill may look like it is topped with nostalgic parts, because it is, and Larry likes it that way. And let’s face it, you can’t argue with success, and we’d say that 7.54 quarter-mile elapsed times at 180mph is pretty successful. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it... and this Malibu ain’t broke!

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ond real street driven cars in Canada. The event brought back the popular mandatory street cruise, 3 qualifiers and even a hot start, unfortunately however, it rained hard for 5 straight days, cancelling the show.

Also in Miramichi, the brothers attended an Outlaw style heads-up three-race shootout, at which the only rule was to “have doors”.

Larry won the first and last race of the three, but here is the cool part, after his win he pulled into the pits, packed up the chute, removed the wheelie bars and drove home! …and no it was not just around the corner, try a 2 ½ hour drive!

Here, in 2005, Larry launches on his first 7 second quarter-mile run with the famous Anderson Malibu at the Canadian Fastest Street Car Shootout, and he did it on 10.5 inch tires. Being on the east coast of a big country this event was almost a 40 hour round trip to Ontario and back.

This bad machine is all steel with the exception of the hood of course, but Larry puts it best when he says; “Body By Fisher”. The car, built by Ken and Jon Anderson, dates back to the early 1990’s which was the beginning of the “drive ‘em on the street, then race ‘em on the track”, “run what ya brung, and hope ya brung enough” movement in drag racing. It got a lot of people and cars out of street racing and into to a controlled environment to flex their horsepower muscles, not to mention it created a whole new area of business within the existing performance and racing industries, which continues today.

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RPM Quick Tech Sheet Pro Street 1978 Chevrolet Malibu Street Driven Years Racing: 9 years in Malibu, 30 years in motorized racing (40 years overall “picture of first trophy with go kart”) Owner of Vehicle: Larry & Isabel Vienneau Driver of Vehicle: Larry Vienneau Division or Class Run: Heavy Street NPS, Outlaw Street/ Heads Up no rules ET & MPH: 7.54 @ 180 mph Engine: 707 aluminum Donovan block, MPG aluminum rods, Brodix heads (EPD 650 Oldsmobile based), sheet metal intake, 2 Dominator carburetors by Pro Systems, 2 - NOS race foggers, Jesel belt drive.

Electronics: MSD Digital-7 programmable Chassis: Mild steel chassis, Mark Williams 9 inch rear, four link with coil overs, wishbone and torsion bar, “Body by Fisher” Transmission: Turbo 400 by Rossler Sponsors: Greco Pizza, Capt. Sub Inside you will NOT find all the comforts of home. You will find however the real deal, a Pro Street car from the very grassroots of the street car movement within drag racing. The mix of factory equipment such as door panels and dash with hardcore race stuff certainly brings back memories.

We love the passenger seat with Nitrous bottles fastened in during track duty. As we said, Larry strives to keep the car correct and in top working order, only upgrading what is necessary for performance and reliability. If you look closely at the top photo, Larry has his legit vehicle registration and license papers strapped down in front of the shifter... just in case!

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Miramichi is world renowned for its fishing and after a race in 2011, Larry learned that Mariko Izumi (from the fishing T.V show Hookin’ Up) was there filming so he invited her to go for a pass in passenger seat of the Malibu. He ran an all motor 9.00 second pass with her along for the ride, but always wishes he ran a stage of nitrous to make it even more memorable.

Vienneau still races the car a few times a year and makes sure to drive it on the street as much as possible, just like street cars were meant to be used. So far he has had 111 different passengers since owning the car. Carrying on the history of the Malibu and what is was built for is important to Larry and although he’s contemplated updating the chassis, he appreciates more the unrestored history of the car, which still has the original fenders, doors, quarter panels and roof.

Photo, top right: You noticed Larry’s trick “7 SEC” personalized license plate, but did you notice that on the bottom right corner he has affixed a sticker with his actual 7.54 ET on it. Where do these easterners of the north come up with all of these cool ideas... long winters?

Old School and Older School. On the way to The Pizza Boy’s Wednesday Night Cruise at Fredericton High School Larry and his Malibu are flanked by Chris Woods in Sam Cosman’s 1968 Camaro, and Don McNally from Don’s Performance in his recently restored 1929 Ford, a former drag car from the 70’s. After a summer of racing and shows, they are out for the final cruise of the year.

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Interestingly, as we were writing this piece the current issue of Hot Rod Magazine (November 2012) featured the launch of the Fastest Street Car Shootout in Memphis 20 years ago. The article has a small picture of the Malibu and talks about the first time they saw a non-professional team rebuild their engine in the parking lot overnight. Of course this was completed by the Anderson brothers, and to this day Larry fields questions about the history of the car and how the brothers are doing.

Why Pizza Boy’s Racing? Well, the Vienneau family just happen to run a few Greco Pizza franchises in New Brunswick, and even host a sizeable cruise night at a Fredericton high school during the summer months, so Pizza Boys Racing is a natural fit. If you are ever in their neck of the woods look them up, not only will you get a taste of great pizza, you will also get some cool history on one legendary fast street machine.

Larry would like to thank a very supportive wife Isabel, daughter Shelby, his brother Vincent, and everyone who has helped work on the car along the way. It truly is a piece of automotive racing history that just gets better with age.

Larry is guided through the burnout by brother Vincent AKA Vinnie.

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Story & Photos By Mark goDragRacing.org

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Additional images by Brian Hansen

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The Shakedown Nationals 2012, A Decade Of Records Ends Photos, left: This young man, not even age 22 yet, reset the Outlaw 10.5 MPH at 201.25 and backed it up with repeated 4.08’s all weekend. This family team of Gil Christy and Kasper Racing have been dominating the Northeast of late. Look for TJ Kasper to further his efforts possibly in Pro Modified.

Above: Your 20-grand champion in Pro Modified, Eric Latino, from Ontario Canada, pushed his way through with belt driven assist to nail down the championship.

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rom its humble beginnings, the name “Shakedown” has become synonymous with the word records. Back in 2002 David Hance decided to build upon the Outlaw drag racing genre’ that had been growing in the Northeast. What was formerly known as the Shakedown at E Town had built up enough momentum for David Hance on the race’s 10th anniversary to rename and rebrand itself as the Shakedown Nationals.

Through the evolution of this event gaining recognition, Hance had decided that this race deserved “Nationals” to be embedded into the name and history books along with its never-ending record breaking ways throughout its existence. Hance had stated that many in the racing community, himself included, felt as though the name “Shakedown at E

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Town” was still not hitting home with fans and racers. Therefore, in July of 2012, all of what was known as the Shakedown at E Town was now the Shakedown Nationals. Of course, speculation abounded as questions arose all over the internet, facebook, twitter, about Hance taking this to some kind of gargantuan level.

Hance quickly tamped that down showing his loyalty to Raceway Park and, in fact, his single signature event would come to an end with his announcement following this race.

Hance, after thanking the many that had contributed to his events’ success, stated; “Our 10 Shakedown events and single Palm Beach event were awesome. However, to continue promoting additional events at this time is not feasible for myself and my family”.

als for this year; nowhere will you find a larger array of exotic power and diversity of classes.

Each year Hance makes it a point to see that everyone is fully represented.

Raceway Park is limited in days it has for noise, meaning that are only certain allotted days and nights for un-muffled racing and muffled racing within decibel limits. This leads into Friday qualifying of only four classes, X275, Limited Street, 8.50 Index and Pro Cycle with the rest of the entrants waiting until Saturday morning to attack the track with the ear splitting open piped classes of Pro Modified, Outlaw 10.5, Heavy Street, Pro Import, and Top Sportsman.

Friday qualifying: The contrast in temperatures from the prior week was huge. The Northeast had seen oppressive heat and humidity in the days heading into this event, a turn for the best dropped them back to the cool, (actually cold) nighttime numbers in the low 40’s from the high 70’s at night the week prior. This allowed the four classes involved on Friday evening to find incredible numbers awaiting at the time slip booth, with racers in the pits from other classes

When you have a track the caliber of Englishtown, mixed with the cool October air, racers will surely find their quickest elapsed times and biggest mile-per-hour— everyone looked towards this race for their personal best performances for the year. The Shakedown is where it “gets done” and always has been held in true Outlaw drag racing form, promoted as the quickest and fastest drag race in the world, and 2012 would have it no different. Nine distinct and separate classes formed the Nation-

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licking their chops hoping it would stay this way which it did; they wanted those “Shakedown Nationals numbers!” Though entertaining with solid numbers and wheels-up action, the taste of competition in the fans mouths would eagerly await two more sessions on Saturday, so no one could count on these runs as being the baseline. On the final pass of the night, Paul Major took his final pass shaking the tires and shutting off early then spinning into the wall as his Drag Radial Corvette would begin burning near the 1/4 Mile stripe. Major made it out of the car unhurt yet the damage would end his weekend for the newly finished transition of turbos to the more conventional place in the front of the car.

Photos, from left: Recently married to his beautiful new wife and starting line girl “Heather”, Gerry Capano pushed through the field with his pristine “SplitRacing.com” 63 Vette in Pro Modified.

Dueling Era Mustangs In Outlaw 10.5. Jason Enos with his newly redesigned 67 Shelby with Proline power ends his pass in superb style.

Frank Pompillio’s early model Outlaw 10.5 Mustang is a stark contrast to Joe Copsons late model Camaro on the top end, chutes out at high speed.

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Saturday Qualifying: “The Attack Of The Time Clock Gremlins”

Mike Maglio came across the country to play in the Northeast, his stunning performances with brutally big MPH were a treat for the fans. This is one wild ride and the team is outstanding! Below: Angela Ray, new to Pro Mod and part of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association, had a great showing in her Shelby bodied fast doorslammer. This is a father/ daughter operation out of Conneticut.

A heavy frost covered the now filled pits in the early a.m. hours as a prelude to a full day of qualifying. It was apparent from the first passes down the track that something had definitely gone wrong with the timing equipment. Scoreboards were not showing elapsed times yet they were showing a win light.

As the day moved on, the problem only worsened finally putting a stop to the race when the tree became inactive. At that point, the 8.50 Index, Heavy Street, Outlaw 10.5, and Top Sportsman had run, with Pro Mod stopped as repairs began.

Former track manager Eddie Krawiec and the staff at Raceway Park took to defining this problem as quickly as possible. Smoldering computers, circuit boards, and timing diodes were all considered culprits. Eddie, known for his NHRA championship wins, was searching high and low for a problem that they had never seen before. This ultimately led to nearly five grueling hours of downtime, though the main announcer, Al Tucci, kept us abreast of the proceedings as well as entertained while we waited it out. Parts for the timing system were flown in from Atco Raceway as the problem was found to be a modem sending voltage to the computers for the live timing. As daylight faded, the clocks were brought back up and equipment was powered on. It was time to begin the show, and man was it ever a good one! Pro Modified resumed as did Pro Import and Heavy Street as well which suffered the loss of their number one qualifier (Roger Sterling in his immaculate 2006 GTO) in a huge high speed accident. Outlaw 10.5 had their next kick at it, and then one more shot for Pro Modified as the noise curfew fell upon the event.

Those who waited out the delay were treated to some of the best qualifying action to date, let’s face it, nighttime Drag Racing rocks!

Final Sunday Qualifiers And Eliminations: With ladders posted during the early morning Sunday, racers had at least one more shot at gaining ground for the final pairings and placement.

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Boninfante - Performance Clutch Parts Pro Modified: The brutes of the ¼-mile took center stage with Jose Gonzales in his new twin turbo Camaro ripping a 5.785 @ 240 for the top spot, Mike Maggio and his “Ruthless” blown Camaro took number two with 5.820 and top MPH at 255mph. Promoter David Hance moved from number 24 to number 3 with his 2012 season best 5.866 @ 252mph in the cool New York Motorsports 57 Chevy (yes, it’s that same tubocharged ‘57 on the wild new RPM Magazine T-Shirts!). A complete 32-car field was in place with 24 out of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Associations stronghold of racers. Upsets were abundant as big names fell fast. Favored to win “Todd Tutterow” lost his bid in the second round but put some big MPH up with a smolderingly fast 262 through the traps in his first round win. Last year’s Champion Jose Gonzales also found himself on the wrong side of the ticket losing to Dwayne Wolfe from West Virginia in the blown 2002 Firebird who would continue through this tough field to meet eventual winner Eric Latino and his insane blown Camaro. Latino’s son Matt is responsible for designing the tasteful paint job. Eric is also the reigning PMRA champion and his victory at this race would net him the big money of $20,000 as they took the dough and title back to Canada. Help from “blower guru” Jon Salemi of Resolution Racing Services tuned the supercharged combination to this win over Wolfe’s 6.120 @ 231mph to Latino’s 6.011 @ 243.

Above: Pro Mod runner-up, Dwayne Wolfe shows what the speed induced panel distortion is like at over 235MPH as he drops the laundry. Look close at the way the front-end is pushing in.

Right: Randy and Michelle Jewell were one of the first in the pits with their RJ PROFAB built twin turbo big block Camaro and are fantastic representatives of RPM Magazine. The car has gone deep into the 6-second zone in the quarter and is a true showpiece of Randy’s workmanship.

Todd Tutterow unloads his mighty Mopar as a huge crowd gathered all weekend to see this machine run in the Northeast. He didn’t disappoint fans of big MPH clocking a whopping 262mph in eliminations.

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K&K Advanced Door Car Technology Outlaw 10.5 Presented By Precision Turbo: The anchoring class of all classes saw Tim Lynch come back after missing this event due to a fire in 2011 to again assail the 1/8th-mile in record time. His 4.024 @ 196mph was considered ground breaking, and quickly put him at the top of the pack. The jet-black Proline powered Corvette made it look effortless and all bets were on a high three-second pass before the race was over. New Yorker Craig Pio stunned the crowd, and the competition, with an amazing 4.079 @ 187mph driving more real estate than he should have adding an extra 30ft to his pass. TJ Kasper set a milestone in the class MPH record with a blistering 201.25mph (yes that is in the eighthmile!), making him the fastest Outlaw 10.5 in the world! His ET 4.085 followed it up to place him third on the ladder. A full field was in order with 32 cars in the lanes for eliminations. Tim Lynch would lose his round by

Above: Ken Doak, returning Sponsor in Outlaw 10.5 shook the bleachers with is own K&K Advanced Door Cars supercharged Hemi Camaro. It is one of the finest rides in the class but fuel system problems kept him from going more rounds at the Shakedown. Below: Charlie Dolbin with pipes lit, outlasted many of the pressure driven Outlaw 10.5 cars to be the only Nitrous entry left for his final pairing with Wells. New Yorker Craig Pio raced into his own personal best with the Montana Brothers Race Cars Camaro, how does 4.07 sound!

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way of tire shake to Harry Jarvis. Charlie Dolbin, also one of the few nitrous cars in the mix, would come from place 31 in the highly contested class and take out everyone in his path on his way to a final pairing with Rob Wells who qualified much higher in the ranks. The Floridian Wells would meet a considerably smoking Dolbin in Harold Caldwell’s outrageous Mustang out of PA. Wells would make a clean 4.15 @ 189 pass to nail down the 2012 championship and prize money equalling $10,000. goDragRacing.org Heavy Street Presented By New York Motorsports: The ultimate in big tire heavy hitters still reigns supreme. The street looking machines with massive powerplants demand attention wherever they go. This year a complete field was in order with Roger Sterling’s fabulous GTO at the top of the ladder, however his crash would keep him out of competition. Presto Racing-AKA Tony Basso in the “Most Likely To Destroy The Starting Line” supercharged Hemi Chevy II nailed the second spot, 4.412 @ 167mph. Followed by Shakedown original John Schroeder’s 4.469 @ 164. Schroeder announced he will be turning over the driving chores to his son at the end of this year. Heavy Street was one of the classes that would not see a final due to curfew as both racers, Tony Basso and two-time champion Mitch George in his nitroused ‘84 Monte Carlo would split the purse.

Above: Rob Wells on his way to his championship in Outlaw 10.5. He will return to his warm home in Florida 10 grand richer for his efforts. Below: One big Dodge, plus one big Hemi, plus big horsepower equals Heavy Street! Chris Cadotte’s wicked 97 Ram truck launches hard. The epitome of brute Heavy Street power, the Presto Racing-Tony Basso Nova is not only intense eye candy to anyone who loves horsepower, but it actually IS earth shaking!

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ProTorque Converters Limited Street Presented By PM Construction Services: Frank Soldridge put up qualifying numbers a full tenth better than his number two and three opponents with a 4.279 @ 185mph on radial tires with Kevin Fiscus digging in for a long weekend at 4.389 @ 186, followed by Ray Royer to finish the top three. Soldridge had been on a roll in the past number of months but couldn’t finish the Shakedown deal this year. Instead, Scott Guadagno in his Scotty’s Racing Engines nitrous Camaro got some sweet revenge from last year when a broken suspension part had him towed off the track bypassing the scales for a disqualification. This year “Scotty G” had the momentum going once again and a strong 4.604 @ 162mph over Ray Royer would put him in the winner’s circle with Team “SPF”, Scotty, Pete and Frank.

ATI Performance Products X275 Presented By Mickey Thompson: There are literally only three names that could possibly matter in the outcome of this class at this race; Sean Ashe, Rich Bruder and Dean Marinis. The heavyweights of this group Scotty’s Racing Engines outlasted everyone as this pass was the final statement of the night. Scott Guadagno and his team stayed long after the race to celebrate the weekend. Is it just me or does Scotty’s hood scoop get bigger and badder every year?

Frank Soldridge finishing a run in Limited Street. The PSI Motorsports Mustang was again a hit in this show.

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took it to a supreme battle royale with everyone awaiting the final that never came. With number one qualifier “Ashe” and number four “Bruder” waiting for the final dance as curfew hit overtime, it was a toss-up to be decided at another race. I think it is very safe to say that these boys wanted this one bad.

Western Beef 8.50 Index Presented By goDragRacing.org: It is not bracket racing it’s “Index Racing”. This class is a fan favorite with tight, wheels- up action, close finishes and a range of cars that is extremely diverse. Make it fast and make it look “streetable” is all that counts. The largest class at the Nationals was this Index, with 61 cars in qualifying! Many who had stood before as champions were taken out in the unrelenting rounds, it was like it never stopped for them; so many cars! Standout racer Joe Albrecht in his 1984 Monte Carlo SS would not be able to pair with his opponent as the curfew fell. The purse and honors would be split with Billy Moran Jr. in his ‘74 Vega” who also had performed flawlessly.

G-Bodies are still competitive as Anthony Aviles proves with his Grand National in X275 and Joe Albrecht proves in his fathers 84 Monte SS in 8.50 Index.

Pat Musi Performance Top Sportsman: New Jersey’s first son of Outlaw Drag Racing Pat Musi, said his farewells to Jersey with his upcoming move to a new location in Mooresville, N.C. He had a large class filled with T/S Cars while he himself raced in Pro Modified. Chuck Mohn, the quickest of the bunch with a 4.153 @ 170 mph put on quite a show but lost in later rounds. The final was decided in

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this class with Wayne Horton in his ‘98 Cutlass taking the title and purse over Alan Prusiensky’s 2006 Dodge Stratus.

So what’s our take on this? I have had the pleasure to write and photograph this event for RPM Magazine since its very start.

I have seen it grow to become the quickest and fastest Outlaw Drag Race in the world, and I personally hate to see it all come to an end after so many great years with David Hance, Michelle Marchesse, and Raceway Park, not to mention my own personal interests as a fan. I’m sure Hance’s decision was a tough one but in the end, we can always look back and remember RPM Magazine’s exclusive, uninterrupted coverage for ten straight years, starting when goDragRacing’s Matt Mullarkey took the killer shot that graced the inaugural event cover. To Dave, Michelle and their entire crew, we wish you all the best and hope that our paths cross once again in the future.

Here is a SMALL sample of some serious eye candy from the Shakedown pits. From top left: A tricked out SS427 Impala and a Hemi with some of Accufab’s best bling. Below: Yet another blown injected Hemi, and yes it is real, the blown Nova of Mike Reynolds. Lower right is TJ Kasper’s record setting DiSomma powerplant.

Shakedown promoter David Hance takes his last pass down the ¼-mile at his own event which has now come to an end.

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If cars could talk this one would say, “I am your worst nightmare!”

Cooky and the Rooky Richard Billings is a car guy. This is the guy who fitted an upgraded supercharger on a Ford GT and tore up the M90 in Scotland. The police only caught him when he slowed to 127mph after the supercharger blew up. Apparently the throttle got stuck. “I was keeping pace with the traffic, I was never going to fly.” After his cameo appearances in court and just about all of the national newspapers, Richard bought several good pairs of walking shoes and contemplated how to feed his need for speed while the Queens highways were a no-go zone. He has raced in multiple disciplines of motorsports and has a car collection that would make the curator of Beaulieu Motor Museum envious. Donald Trump borrows from him.

Richard Branston wants to be him. So we have the resources, but after a 700hp road car where do you go? Enter Al Cook, AKA “Cooky”.

Cooky has been around drag racing since God was a boy. He has driven and broken cars in every doorslammer class of drag racing from Pro Street to Pro Modified. In recent years he was getting

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Story By The Silver Fox Photos By Matt Woods www.mattwoodsphotography.com

low eight second passes out of Ian Jackson’s nitrous small block when they won the UK Street Eliminator title in 2004 (before the twin turbo adventure). When he wasn’t racing, Al was modifying TVR’s for Russian kazillionaires. It was this hobby that brought him into contact with Richard who added one of these TVR’s to his collection and talked to Al about wanting to go really fast (if you don’t know… google “TVR”). Al confided in him that the (now sorted ) twin turbo Corvette was for sale after the Silver Fox had been seduced by a job offer he couldn’t refuse in New York. 1,600hp on pump gas? It seemed rude not to buy it on condition that Al stuck with him for a year. It’s fair to say that Richard is very experienced in a range of motorsports, but drag racing would be new for him. As so many before him, it was about this time that Richard was heard to say, ‘Come on Al. We are going in a straight line! How difficult could it be?’ Hold that thought Rich.

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With its 76mm turbos and air over ice water intercooler, the Vette had run 8.2 and 170mph in 2007 with only 21lbs of boost. Ok, so it’s not the fastest car in the UK’s Street Eliminator competition but the motor is bulletproof and has enough beans to upset anyone if they fail to leave on time. In fact, a seven second car if you bring the boost in earlier or turn up the wick. Not a bad way to go for first hit at Santa Pod Raceway.

Cooky’s wisdom: ‘Plant your foot on the throttle and if you lift, you lose’. He might have also said, ‘if you see a concrete wall, it’s ok to lift’. If he did say that then Richard didn’t hear it, because after he put in a couple of shakedown passes he got loose off the line and, just as Cooky said, kept his foot in it. In a move last seen on the set of Starsky and Hutch, one second later he was hugging the guardrail and laughing off the spectacular nature of the shunt. It’s the measure of the man that he didn’t give a rat’s arse about the ordeal, he just wants to go faster! Meanwhile, before the meeting, Cooky had already booked a slot at Jon Webster’s shop and had arranged for the Vette body molds to be ready. Dale from DRE just needed to know which panels he was going to make. It was as if Al knew something that Richard didn’t. Hmm. The car went back together in double quick time, and Richard had mastered the complexities of staging a turbo car.

He was banging out mid 8’s like they were going out of fashion.

Al was reading the data and making changes. The data said, get a new converter, and after a trip to the cultural epicenter of the UK and a meeting with Wolverhampton’s finest ambassador, Andy Frost supplied Neal Chance’s latest materpiece. The next time out the car ran 8.1 and 184 mph as Al turned up the wick, and Rich kept his foot planted in spite of carrying the front wheels for 500 feet. Spectacular driving job. The last time the car was seen in a complete state was when it was at 90 degrees to the ground scraping its chute along the track. After it landed, the Vette was in a bad way and didn’t fair too well hitting the wall head-on about three-quarter track, but Richard was unscathed and demanding more.

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The new Billings/Cook Mustang is fully street legal and street driven. In fact, the records they plan to break could not be broken without this requirement being satisfied.

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The Vette was now an ornament in Richard’s considerable garage, right next to the Lear Jet and behind his wife’s Bugatti Veron.

Richard was loving this drag racing thing and wanted to upset the record books. The word “quit” is not in his vocabulary. Sadly for the long suffering Mrs. Billings though, phrases like “Honey I just bought another race car,” are in his vocabulary.

Speaking of ornaments, Steve Kellet had built the most amazing 2004 Mustang to compete in the Street Eliminator Championship. It had only been used on Sundays to go to church and was for sale less the twin ProCharged engine and box. The chassis was Jon Webster’s best work and incorporated a few chassis tricks that had yet to be tested. A deal was struck and the car, truck and trailer were on their way to have the small block twin turbo bullet stuffed between the rails. Richard ran low 8’s off the trailer with the small block and the heavier car proved to be easier to drive. It was loads of fun but probably not enough to run deep into the seven second area.

For that they would need to buy a few more ponies.

Rob Loaring had worked with Al Cook for years. In fact most act’s of madness in Al’s life could be traced back to Mr. Loaring. From gentlemen’s clubs across the USA to 6 second nitrous passes in a Pro Mod it was Rob’s fault. Rob is one half of ICE Racing Engines based at Silverstone Race Track and is a cross between Albert Einstein and Albert Steptoe; a kind of grumpy

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genius. The other half is Nick Davies… think Wall Street meets Pro Street, Gordon Gecko in a firesuit. These two are all about the challenge. After years of building and tuning drag racing engines, they diversified into circuit racing. They relocated the business to Silverstone and never looked back. The challenge now is, what could they build that would be capable of trashing every record set in the Street Eliminator class and yet still be capable of running on the street? By this time Cooky had bought a fifty percent share in the team which meant that they went from a well resourced team to a team that could match the UK defence budget. First job was to come up with a catchy team name that displayed flare, innovation, performance and style. That didn’t work so after 5 pints of Stella and 3 shots of Patron, “Quietus Racing” was born.

In addition to hardcore engine building, if there is one thing that ICE Racing Engines are known for its integrity. The only people who will know the exact spec’ of the engine are Rob, Nick and their priest. Occasionally the car owner is taken into his confidence but that usually involves the owner leaving a family member at Silverstone as a hostage… since no one is going to tell me, let’s talk about what we can see.

The hood is off... are you prepared for what you are about to witness?

I can see it’s a big block Chevy aluminum block. We know that it has been built to be quicker than the competition, so that’s quicker than 706 cubic inch

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former Pro Mod nitrous motors, 800+ inch Hemi nitrous Chevy mountain motors and twin turbo 500 inch plus big block motors, so it’s safe to say it’s a ‘big’ big block. There are no budget constraints so the internals are going to be the best that money can buy. Think billet reciprocating assembly with trick pistons. The heads have the words ‘Big Duke’ etched onto them, so we know they are Brodix Pro Stock heads, the intake is Hogan’s finest with twin throttle bodies (if you fancy some internet action then look at the Hogan’s catalogue online. If you don’t feel a stirring in your loins you are probably a regular at the Bug Jam. Not judging… just sayin’. Save it in your ‘favourites’ between the Victoria’s Secret and Snap On catalogues)… Where were we? Oh yeah, it’s an ICE engine so everything is going to be perfectly matched. I can see 16 injectors and you can bet that each one of them has been on a flow bench as they came from Precision Turbo and that’s just how they roll.

OK. Let’s talk about the headers. Wow. 321 stainless steel 2 3/8” primary pipes crossing over into stainless collectors. Why cross over? The answer is simple and it beats me why no one has used this

It’s big and it’s bad... any more details are unavailable unless surrendering a loved one... wink wink!

before in this application (apart from the obvious work and expense).

The firing order on a Chevy engine means that the exhaust gasses from four cylinders hit their respective collectors at roughly the same time creating that distinctive V8 pulse. By crossing (the correct) 4 cylinders into the opposite collector, it removes the pulsing and spools the turbo faster from idle because there’s no bunching of gasses… and it creates a completely different sound. Genius. The headers were designed and made by Barry Grimes and Rob Smallsworth at their shop using some very trick bending equipment. The exhaust system is a straight shot into two 5-inch pipes leading to the Flowmaster 2 chamber mufflers and out the back door. These trick headers determined that the engine mounts needed to be re made… check out the chrome moly tubes, rod ends and chassis brace keeping everything ship shape.

The turbos are Precision’s finest 91mm Pro Mod units, they are big. Each one is the same size as a Snap On toolchest. These are the same as the ones that are on Brad Personnett’s NHRA Pro Mod Camaro. The twin turbo king who ran 6.08 at 250mph in a tire

limited class (10.5) in November 2011. These size turbos are so successful that they were made illegal in Pro Mod… but not the Street Eliminator. The hot pressurized air from the turbos is routed to an air over ice water intercooler sitting in the passenger footwell. The intercooler has been expanded to increase its capacity. The water pump, which is usually the size of a mouse’s hearing aid, has grown. If it had been a bilge pump on the Titanic, the ship probably wouldn’t have sunk. Looks like Rich won’t be draining his pool this season.

The expansion of the tank means that passenger rides come with free yoga lessons. Hmm. The now arctic cool air is sent to the Hogan’s intake via some more Wiggins connected pipe work into a custom plenum.

Encouraged by the MSA (the UK’s Motor Sports Association), the fuel is the vegetarian variety. No dinosaur died to make this car tear up the strip (ok, maybe several acres of corn or sugar beet before it gets shipped to Morrison supermarket). So there is an argument that Richard and Al are saving the planet by racing this car and that they should get a government grant and an OBE each. The car is also tuned to run on pump gas to meet the needs of the street cruise.

The oiling system has more tricks than Paul Daniels and David Copperfield put together. I can see that it’s a dry sump but there are feed pipes and scavenge pipes that don’t make sense to the untrained eye. Your intrepid reporter should ask them about the trick oiling on this motor but they have my wife and they will return her if I push my luck. Either way I can see the oil being scavenged from the pan and the turbos. I can also see oil being fed to the block in curious ways. Hmm. There’s a lot more clever stuff inside the Motec control centre and sensors all over the car. If the engine misses a beat, the car moves an eighth of an inch out of the groove, or Rich picks his nose, Al will know.

The Mustang has more technology than the space shuttle and as you would expect, we are not going to learn very much from this super secretive team. It’s a partnership that is beginning to show great results. The trouble with having a car with all of its new equipment and technology at the track at the first meeting is, all of your testing is done in public. This is a steep learning curve for the tuners and drivers and no one wants to be the one that damages the new parts. Softly, softly. What everyone knew was that Cooky and Richard with the help of I.C.E. had put together a beast that has yet to be fully unleashed.

Continuing the theme of tearing up the rulebook on how to set up a road/race car, the cooling is also pretty trick. The team are using two radiators out front, F1 style. That’s 20% more cooling than before, fed by two in-line pumps. Entry for the water is not the traditional front of block route, but through one of the core plug

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holes, taking the cool water straight to the center of the block and then spitting it out of the heads. This avoids cooking the water in the block en route to the heads and makes the whole set up more efficient.

Transmission and torque converter duties are handled by a Carl Rossler built Powerglide and an upgraded Pro Torque converter to help eliminate the excessive slip at the finish line. The rear axle is shiny and light with 40 spline shafts snugged into the tall rear gear. Suspension is double adjustable on all 4 corners.

Above: As they wait with their Topspeed Automotive Street Eliminator peers for round one, crewman Mark gives Rich some fresh air while he’s strapped in the pilot’s seat and Al stands guard out back. Then it’s go time!

“When we started the Mustang the goal was to build the most powerful street legal car in the UK to compete in the Topspeed Street Eliminator race series,” explains Richard. “This class is for the fastest street legal cars, and they must have tax and insurance and a current MOT (Ministry Of Transportation certificate). The competition element is, of course, Drag Racing, and in this case over a quarter of a mile. Part of the qualification process for these cars is that at the end of qualifying at the race track, the cars are taken out on the roads and have to complete a thirty five mile drive taking on board fuel at a petrol station, and completing several hot starts.

Now, in the past these cruises have been at night and in torrential rain, and in these extreme cars that is a lot harder than it may initially sound.”

Al added, “To beat the current class and world records in a car that weighs 2800lbs, and to accelerate

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to over 200 MPH in the mid seven second region, we would need to produce in excess of 2500 HP! This was determined by the performance levels of our competitors. The two records we wanted to beat were an E.T. of 7.65 seconds for the quarter-mile and in this time the car would need to reach over 191.40mph.�

So does it work? At the time of writing the Mustang has run 7.46 seconds at 208mph on class legal radial tires, smashing the records they set out to break. But there’s more, Al is working on the development of a number of tuning aids while Rich is mastering the complexities of staging a big block with big inch turbos. Totally different skills required than a nitrous or small turbo application.

Still think you have a fast street car? Keep an eye on this team.

Hey, they are not done breaking records yet!

The burnout...

The launch...

The records smashed!

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Story By BRIAN HANSEN Photos By PETE ORES, BRIAN HANSEN, JAY MANGUM Additional Images supplied by Arnie Beswick

Arnie Beswick next to the original Tameless Tiger in 1965 wearing a fire retardant suit and holding his open-face helmet before making another mid-eight second pass. Fast forward 47 years and here Arnie is with the new Tameless Tiger II ready to mix it up in 7 second 1/4-mile madness!

A Living Legend Of Drag Racing That Still Mixes It Up! “Tameless Tiger”

The Early Years

When it comes to drag racing fast door-cars Arnie Beswick has been at it longer than anyone. Arnie, now 82 years old, continues to thrill three generations of fans with long smokey burnouts and low 7 second passes in his 1964 GTO Tameless Tiger II Nostalgia Pro Stock in match races all over the Midwest, and he has no plans to retire anytime soon!

Arnie Beswick grew up in the small town of Morrison Illinois on his family’s farm and learned how to spin a wrench at an early age.

In the early 1950’s he got his start as a racer in a 1950 2-door Oldsmobile Rocket 88 “fastback”. Following the Rocket 88 he successfully raced a 1954 Oldsmobile and a 1956 Dodge before purchasing his very first Pontiac (a 1958 2-door, Tri-power, three-on-the-tree

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43

manual transmission Pontiac Chiefton). When the 1960 models were announced Arnie ordered a Pontiac Ventura with the 348hp engine option and a four-speed directly from the factory (it is believed that this car is the very first Pontiac ever to be shipped with a four-speed)!

This car was raced with great success including winning the very 1st Super Stock race at the Winternationals in Daytona Beach.

Between the years of 1960-1964 the Super Stock wars were at a fever pitch and Pontiac answered the call with their Super Duty (SD) 421 engine option and a factory lightweight Catalina was chosen to do battle with the factory backed Fords and Mopars.

One of Arnie’s competitors who had Chrysler’s support was the Ramchargers team. Since GM discontinued sponsoring drag racing teams in early 1963 racers like Arnie Beswick had to find ways to remain competitive without the factory’s help. As Arnie stated, “Even without the backing from the factory I still found a way to beat those factory teams on a regular basis. As a matter of fact the competition was often so fierce that there were occasions when there was even a little ‘stretching of the rules’ that went on.”

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With the front wheels in the air (on a leaf-spring front end) the original 1963 Tempest Tameless Tiger was a “handful” according to Arnie. It’s interesting to note that Arnie was the 1st racer to break into the 9’s with a stock bodied car.

Only a few months after accomplishing this feat he was also the first one to break the magical 8 second barrier!

Arnie vs Dyno Don 1961- The famous “Passionate Poncho” Pontiac won the highly competitive Super Stock class at the 1st Winternationals event at Daytona Beach, Florida (and he drove the car there and intentionally left the window sticker on the car to prove that it was not modified)! This ultra-rare Ventura was equipped with an aluminum front end, 421 Super Duty engine and a four speed transmission. Yes, that is a flag-man starting the drag race!

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Arnie continued, “A good example of that ‘stretching of rules’ was in the early 1960’s when we were at a Super Stock race in Martin Michigan and ended up in the finals against the Ramchargers. We were getting our Pontiac ready in the pits when a spectator walked up to me and said, ‘Arnie, you better ask that the Ramchargers car be put back on the scales before you run them in the finals.’ I asked him why and he told me that when he was over at the Ramchargers pit area earlier one of the crew members had taken off one of the wheels that were on the car when it was weighed and lost his balance trying to move it around the pit area. It appears that they had put water in the set of tires used to weigh-in and switched them out before the first round (imagine how much extra weight could be added in each tire with all that water!). When the track officials asked the Ramchargers to put the car back on the scales they refused, packed up their car and headed home. We won that final round by default, but I would have rather beat those Dodge boys on the track!”

1960’s Match Racing Madness!

During the mid to late 1960’s drag strips all over the country were putting together match races that featured highly modified production based cars. When fuel injection alone was not enough Arnie bolted a GMC blower on his 1964 GTO called the Mystery Tornado.

Shortly after that car was finished a lighter 1963 factory lightweight

Even though General Motors got out of drag racing in 1963 a few lightlight Tempest Coupes, and Station Wagons were produced that year. The famous “Mrs B’s Grocery Getter” was one of only a handful of factory lightweights produced. It featured a dual-quad 421 Super Duty engine, aluminum front end, battery located in the trunk, no sound deadener and an unusual 4-speed clutch operated automatic trans-axle transmission. The wicked little wagon could really haul the groceries with low 11 second ET’s! Above, the Wagon is running in Super Stock A Division, but below, the Grocery Getter is running AFX. Look closely at the front fender and you can see the SS/A has been taped over! Today, you might just catch a replica of Arnie’s Mrs. B’s Famous Grocery Getter (lower left) match-racing across the country. Don’t worry, this was a harmless nitrous backfire during a 2003 event and the wicked wagon was back next round! The owners were racing the car “for Arnie’s speedy recovery”

Photo courtesy Ian Rae

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Tempest (1 of only 6 produced that year) was built to do battle with the A/FX and S/FX Fords and Mopars.

Painted in an orange and black tiger strip theme the Tameless Tiger was born and became Arnie’s first alteredwheelbase match racer. With a heavy load of nitro (up to 35% according to Arnie) this Poncho was a handful on the drag strip and ran as fast as 8.35 in the quarter-mile. At a time when most of the other alter-wheelbase cars were running in the 8.50’s the Tameless Tiger was feared by racers from coast to coast.

Throughout the late 1960’s Arnie continued to successfully race a number of GTO’s in Funny Car match races all over the country. Although the travel required Arnie to crisscross the country he loved what he did and never complained about the rigorous schedule. At the peak of match racing in the late 1960’s he match raced at 150 races in a single year since many tracks held races not

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PHOTOS, left: This shot captured by photographer Jay Mangum from Kingwood, Texas at Green Valley Raceway on March 5th 1967 shows excitement in the pits as the big guns get ready to go. As Jay recalled, “we were all excited that Arnie Beswick was going to be match racing at our local track and the place was packed with fans. Arnie’s GMC “ramp truck” Hauler not only had the new 1966 Funny Car but also had the record setting Tameless Tiger altered-wheelbase match racer along with it!”

only on the weekend but also during the week!

Another iconic shot from Jay Mangum (using a Rolleiflex large-format camera) at Green Valley in ‘67 shows the track crew carefully puts down a coating of Rosin traction compound (also known as Gold Dust) before the match race between Arnie and the Stone, Woods & Cook “Dark Horse II” Mustang. The “Star of the Circuit” 1966 GTO had a Logge Brothers modified chassis (utilizing the frame from his 1964 Mystery Tornado GTO) and weighed in at 2660 pounds with driver. Best performance was a stout 8.48 @ 178 MPH at U.S 30 Dragway in Gary, Indiana.

The 1972 Shop Fire

“Funny Car”- The first full-tube chassis car was Arnie’s 1968 GTO named the “Star of the Circuit II”. This car was lighter, and safer, than the earlier 1966 GTO that Arnie piloted from 1967 and well into 1968.

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In the early 1970’s Arnie built a brand new Pontiac Firebird Funny Car called the “Boss Bird”. Racing full-time required a dedicated shop to maintain his drag cars so he built a new structure on his farm in Morrison Illinois to house his racing operation (and also his farm equipment).

Things were going good for Arnie until early one morning in April of 1972 when a tragic fire started in the new building. Fueled by racing gas and diesel fuel that were being stored there, the fire raged out of control until nearly everything inside was destroyed.

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Although he had some insurance on the farm equipment that was also stored there he had no insurance on all of the racing equipment (back then racers did not have the option to insure their drag cars or equipment like they do these days). With all of his cars, engines and tools gone Arnie had no choice but to retire from drag racing and focus his efforts on running his cattle farming operation. Having only received pro-rated value on his farming equipment from the insurance company, he ended up having to buy well-used equipment to replace what was destroyed in the fire. It was a good thing Arnie was handy with the tools since he commented that he had to fix or repair one piece of farm equipment just about every other day. These were incredibly challenging times for Arnie but he knew someday he would get back into racing.

he was back out racing with his own car. Other match racers from the 1960’s including Malcolm Durham, Phil Bonner, Ronnie Sox, Dick Brannan and “Dyno” Don Nicholson were also building modern versions of their original cars and a new era of “Nostalgia” Match Racing was born.

Just like back in the 1960’s competition between Arnie and racers like “Dyno” Don Nicholson was fierce and everyone was looking for a performance advantage. As Waddy Hamam (who used to work at Nitrous Oxide Systems) recalled, “It was actually Arnie who called me first about an NOS nitrous oxide system for his Pontiac. Arch-rival “Dyno” Don was running a 632 big block Chevy (and was rumored to have a CompuCar nitrous system hidden on his Impala). Arnie only had a 500 cubic inch Pro Stock combination and didn’t like the thought of losing any rounds to the Chevy so he wanted to put a pair of nitrous plates under the carburetors as extra insurance. Next thing I know Nicholson was also calling me asking for advice on a nitrous system for his bubbletop Impala!” Waddy continued,” Both Arnie and Don would ask me if the other had called about getting a system on their car. I never let the cat out of the bag but during one of their match races they figured it out that BOTH cars had NOS nitrous systems on them!”

Back in the Saddle: Tameless Tiger I & II The desire to get back into a racecar was realized in 1986 when Arnie got behind the wheel of Jake Howards 1963 Pontiac Lemans. Jake had supplied the rolling chassis and Arnie the engine and drivetrain from parts that he had collected over the years following the fire in 1972. Eventually this stock suspension car ran 9.70’s in the quarter-mile with Arnie in the pilot’s seat.

In the mid-eighties the “Blast from the Past” nostalgia racers that Arnie was running with were becoming a huge hit with racing fans wherever they went. This prompted Arnie to start building the 1963 Tempest Tameless Tiger I Nostalgia Pro Stock, and within a couple of years

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John Holmes is Arnies Crew Chief and helps to keep the Arnie Beswick legend alive by attending nostalgia racing events with Arnie’s 1963 Tempest “Little B’s Runabout” and restored “Star of the Circuit” 1966 GTO Funny Car now owned by John. The Runabout is powered by a 455 cubic inch Pontiac engine (of course) and is backed up by a Turbo Hydro 400 transmission and a Midwest Converters (of Rockford Illinois) torque converter.

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Arnie was at the top of his game again and in high-demand by promoters all over the country during the 1990’s. With a full schedule of races and appearances, things continued to go well for the legendary racer until one fateful day in August of 2003 when he was seriously injured in an accident at Mid-American Raceway in Missouri. A tremendous explosion consumed the Tameless Tiger II and he was airlifted to St John’s Mercy Medical Center Burn Unit, and listed in critical condition with third degree burns to both of his hands. He was also severely burned on his ankles, nose and mouth.

Most racers would have thrown in the towel after experiencing such a horrific accident but not Arnie Beswick. As a testament to his resolve Arnie vowed that he would return to the sport that he loved. It took him three years to fix the damage from the fire and was out on the match race circuit again to do what he did best… drag race.

Tamless Tiger II. What better background to shoot Arnie “The Famer’s” Tamelss Tiger II than next to a corn field. True to his nickname Arnie still actively farms on the land he grew up on in Morrison, Illinois.

The new and improved Tameless Tiger with Arnie Beswick at the wheel get’s it done on the dragstrip during 2012!

The body is a total VFN fiberglass creation. Alston Race Cars mounted the VFN body onto the car and did all the tin work inside. The chassis was very well done and required minimal repairs after the fire. It was basically cleaned up by Arnie prior to being dropped off to Alston for the re-work. And once coated with Arnie’s trademark “colors” the total package is nothing short of stunning!

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In The Office - Arnie getting ready to make a pass in Tameless II. When many people from Arnie’s generation no longer drive a car he’s still tearing up the quarter-mile in his 7 second Tameless Tiger II Nostalgia Pro Stock!

Tameless Tiger II Engine - The current mill in Arnies Tameless Tiger II is a tried and true 572 cubic inch combination topped off with a set of “386” Pontiac Pro Stock Cylinder heads, Quick Fuel Technology carb’s, Ross pistons, Lunati crank, R&R connecting rods and drinks a steady diet of Sunoco racing fuel. According to Arnie this combination has well over 1,000 passes on it and has been very reliable (except for the occasional piston that needs to be replaced when the ring land gets pinched because of all the nitrous that they are subjected to).

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Beswick vs Kilpatrick, Pontiac vs Mopar- Just like in the heyday of match racing in the 1960’s Arnie likes to mix it up with the Mopars whenever possible.

During a 2012 match race Labor Day Weekend at the Great Lakes Dragaway Arnie found the win light (as the result of having a better reaction time) in the first round against Jim Kilpatrick’s blown/injected Hemi powered Dodge Polara. Here is the best part. Afterwards, Arnie walked over to Kilpatrick’s pit area and handed him a packet of No-Doze tablets as a joke. Everyone had a good laugh…even Jim.

A True Legend in Drag Racing In addition to being featured in countless magazines over the years Arnie has set numerous records and also been the recipient of many awards including: being one of the first inductees to the Super Stock Hall of Fame in 2005, Induction into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2006 and received an NHRA Wally for “A Lifetime Of Achievement” at the National Hot Rod Reunion in 2008.

Special Thanks Few racers in history have made such an indelible impact on the sport of drag racing as Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick. It has taken a lot of hard work and a supportive family to be in drag racing for over 60 years. As Arnie stated, “without all my family and friends there is no way that I could have remained in this sport for so long. I would like to thank my wife of 56 years Evelyn and four daughters Arnette, Paula, Michele, and Rhonda for supporting me through the good times and the bad. Without them behind me I could have never accomplished what I have in my racing career.”

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You Can Steal My Car But You Can’t Take Away My Drive!

I

n ancient mythology it is said that when the Phoenix is near the end of its life cycle, the creature will burn fiercely and be reduced to ashes from which a new Phoenix shall rise. For racer Wayde Mahoney, his Pro Stock Mustang was born from the ashes of loss and heartbreak of his stolen single turbo small block coupe.

Story & Photos By BRIAN TYLER

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As a grade 10 student in Ontario, Canada, Wayde Mahoney began a co-op program through his high school, earning class credits while gaining hands on experience in the automotive

RPM Magazine, THE Voice Of Fast Cars WORLDWIDE

This all-motor Fox bodied Mustang powered by a crazy high revvin’ big block Ford makes some serious steam! Wayde’s first Mustang, below, was stolen while he was on a testing trip quite far from home. To say it was devastating is understatement. The green car was no slouch either with it’s small block turbo’d power.

industry at a local speed shop. As a 16-year-old young man, Wayde found himself as a co-op student during the week and when the weekend arrived he was the newest crewmember of the Mustang Parts Warehouse Super Street Mustang. Working alongside MPW owner Mike Grella would provide years of knowledge and racing experience, as well as forge a longstanding friendship between Mahoney and Grella.

After successfully completing his co-op Wayde would make the decision to become involved in his family business working in the landscape and outdoor contracting field but a passion for drag racing had been born.

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With his first build, Wayde would jump in with both feet into heads up drag racing and put together a stunning fox body Mustang that was set to bring the OSCA E/Z Street class to its knees. The Viper green notchback had the engine bay loaded with a 351W Dart block based 401 inch small block by Bennett Racing Engines boosted by a massive 106mm Precision turbo. Sadly, the car would never make a full pass down the quarter mile. After returning home from the Province of Quebec’s Napierville Dragway where Mahoney had driven to make some test hits, his 28ft trailer loaded with a 4 wheeler, tools and his beloved Mustang coupe were stolen from the families secure property, leaving Wayde devastated. “He was a wreck” said Wayde’s girlfriend Natasha. “We had only been dating a short time, and here he is losing this car he loved. I had to do something to help”. Natasha would spread the word on the missing Mustang, plastering the internet with photos and information, hitting everything from local car club forums to some of the most high traffic drag racing forums out there, and even contacted local news agencies to put the word out on the car hoping someone, somewhere had seen something.

This forward facing scoop allows the 555 inch mill to breath, but should carry a warning for children and small animals who may be sucked in if they get too close! Below: Dual chutes and a 25.3 certified chassis are a sure sign that this Mustang means business. The chassis cert. will allow Wayde and his team to put the coupe into the 6’s.

Months later, regional Police would zero in on those allegedly responsible for the theft of the car, but it was bittersweet. “They found some parts from the green car, but the chassis was gone. I got my engine, transmission and rear end back plus some small stuff like the body color-matched bead locks from the rear wheels, but the car was gone”.

Wayde would make the decision to come back bigger and badder in 2011, and would make the move from a turbocharged small block E/Z street ride to the world of high revving, all motor competition in OSCA Pro Stock.

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Beneath the slick blue body panels lays the backbone of Wayde’s coupe. The Chassis Stop roll cage keeps the driver out of harms way, as well as keeps the Mustang leaving hard and driving straight as an arrow. Schoneck Composites also supplied the OE style dash which features a RacePak display moulded into the factory cluster location, allowing Wayde to keep an eye on the cars vital signs going down track.

Mahoney’s new ride would be a well-planned build leaving lots of room to grow. Using the same tried and true platform as the green machine, they got rolling on the new coupe. Starting in the cockpit of the Mustang, a 25.3 spec full chromoly cage was fabricated by The Chassis Stop in Mississauga, Ontario. Wayde clearly was thinking long term, as this current chassis is certified to run well into the 6second zone at race weight.

With the cage complete, the Mustang was transported back to MPW to continue the build.

On the outside, a Schoneck Composites Outlaw front bumper, fenders, dash and trunk lid take a few pounds off of the curb weight and look downright mean in a custom vinyl wrap by Graphiti.ca.

Beneath the bright blue skin, Skinny Kid Race Cars would supply the custom front K-member and sheet metal 9.5 inch rear axle assembly loaded with a Dewco center section, 4.44 rear gears and Strange gun drilled 40 spline axles. The Mustang gets low thanks to double

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adjustable shocks and fills the wheel arches with spindle mount skinnies up front and massive 15x14 inch Spinworks double bead locks out back wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber.

With a rolling chassis completed, it was time to get some ponies under the hood. Wayde would contact Tony Bischoff of BES Racing Engines to build a one of a kind big block Ford to move him down track. Starting with an IDT Premier BBF Block, BES would stuff a Bryant lightweight billet crank, GRP aluminum rods and Ross pistons into the bottom end and complete the long block with a set of Trick Flow A460 heads that have been heavily worked by the team at BES. A custom intake would be fabricated to accept a trick, stretched CFM carb to feed the hungry 555 cubic inch powerplant capable of 1,300 flywheel horsepower and being shifted at over 9,000 RPM! A Hutch built Powerglide transmission hangs off the rear of the big block Ford and is coupled with a Neal Chance billet torque converter to get the power to the back tires.

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“I had always been a fan of NHRA Pro Stock, and I had this thing that I wanted to go out there and go after some of the big names in the (OSCA Pro Stock) class”. When pressed for names, Wayde laughed and let out one name, Michigan based racer Butch Kemp.

“People told me I would never be able to beat a guy like Butch, and that’s exactly what I wanted to go out and do!”. Wayde has not had the chance to meet Kemp in the beams just yet, but is hoping that running in the Milan Dragway Heads Up Series in 2013 just might provide him that opportunity.

The OSCA Pro Stock class has certainly taken note of Wayde’s arrival, with Mahoney taking the 2011 championship in his rookie season as well as setting the class record for e.t. and mph. With a personal best of 8.08 @ 177 mph at his 3300 lb race weight and a blistering 7.84 @ 184.32 mph at 2950 lbs, Tony Bischoff of BES Racing assembled this killer 555 cube big block Ford capable of 1,300 all-motor ponies, working together with a Neal Chance billet converter and a Hutch built ‘Glide for a personal best of 7.84 @ 184.32 mph to date.

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Introducing Valvoline NextGen. The first recycled oil formulated from a breakthrough process that combines the latest re-refining technology with Valvoline’s special additives to exceed industry standards. It’s the only recycled oil good enough to be called Valvoline, because we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Yours.

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Wayde has shown that a dedication to testing and improving on his program is what it takes to win on race weekends, taking home the 2011 and 2012 Canadian Street Car Nationals Pro Stock championships in addition to his aforementioned OSCA competition success.

“Thank you’s” go out first and foremost to his friends and family for their support, his brother and crew chief Morgan, Mike Grella, his sponsors, Tony and the whole crew at BES Racing Engines for building him one bad bullet, Hutch for building a rock solid transmission and his patience in finding the right converter. Schoneck Composites and Graphiti.ca who will be wrapping the vehicle with a new look for the 2013 season.

Looking forward, Wayde has big dreams in the racing world. “The blue car is still pretty new, and we think it has a lot left in it. One day though I’d like to step up to running a Pro-Mod. I love Mike Moran’s new Mustang Pro-Mod body, so maybe that or a first gen Camaro. Heck, I would go Nitro racing if a sponsor asked me to!” No matter what class he winds up in, you can be certain Wayde and his teams’ dedication and love of the sport will go a long way toward their continued success.

Wayde gets a little sunshine beneath the front tires of his Mustang. A lot of testing and dedication have gone into the success and consistency of this machine.

A Schoneck Outlaw front clip has been modified to accept front exit headers letting the exhaust side of the Trick Flow heads breathe.

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The GREEN Empire Strikes Back!

After a huge upset at the final event last season, the Sporring/Latino team took back the PMRA and more in 2012!

Story & Photos By Ian Rae

Additional Photos By Brian Tyler

R

ob and Anne Sporring along with Eric Latino field one of the most competitive and professional Pro Mod teams on the planet. More commonly know as Team Green, they struck back in 2012 after loosing the previous years Pro Modified Racing Association championship by the narrowest of margins, one point. This year they again came into the last race as the aggressor, running second to multi-time champion Bruce Boland for most of the year. The series is designed to reward those that support it; this almost guarantees the title being won at the finale. This year it was Latino’s turn to win by two points. A smiling Latino said, “I have to give credit to my entire team who were at the top of their game all weekend,” Latino mentioned after the race. “The track condition was tricky and Paolo (D’Alimonte, the team’s crew chief) read the track perfectly making it easier for me to get down fast and smooth every pass.” He went on to thank Rob and Anne Sporring, car chief Peter Olin, Matt Latino, Gord Campbell, Nick Campbell, Rikkie Rumball, Paul Bassil, and Teri Cowl and sponsors, Redline Automotive, Don Butt Auto Body, Quality Plus Compressors, Global Emissions Systems Inc., Vibrant Performance, Magnum Auto Parts, Ellesmere Fabricators Limited, NGK Spark Plugs, Hoosier Racing Tires, Pro Racing Fuels, Ressurection Custom Painting, ARK Compressor Parts and Kendall Motor Oil.

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Boland had started out the year with a quote that many just shook their heads and said, “Yeah, we have heard it all before.” “This is definitely my last year,” said Boland, “I made my wife a promise and I think it is time to look towards the future.” One thing was for sure; he would be in the mix right to the end and true to form he was. Both Latino and Boland returned with the same basic equipment as last year.

Third place finisher Derek Hawker did what he does best and that is go rounds. He may not have the quickest hot rod in the park but once he qualifies he concentrates on scoring points. There is probably not a harder working team in the series and I am sure Derek will agree some of it is by their own making. But come raceday he succeeds in getting down the track and that’s what helped him to a well-earned third place.

PHOTOS: Left - Eric Latino, the class of the field in PMRA made amends for loosing the championship by one point in 2011. The 521 cube Hemi is topped by a Kobelco K-11 14-71 supercharger! RPM gives these guys a huge congratulations for not only taking the PMRA Championship but also the Shakedown Nationals Pro Mod win (see page 19 of this issue).

Below: Bruce Boland says he’s finally calling it quits after many wins, several championships and a fantastic racing career... we’ll see!

The Hawker team performs when needed, a slow steady pace gets them the points. Hawkers slick ‘63 Stingray is powered by an Alan Johnson 526 cubic inch mill with PSI D trim screw blower on top backed by a Lenco three speed transmission.

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Jeff Roth was another to return with an updated car. He immediately got off to a good start by winning the all Willys final at Cayuga’s Victoria Day Challenge. Roth was pleased with his performance on the line in the final. “We had to be on our game,” he noted. “And we snapped a good light against Bruce.” The win was Roth’s second in PMRA competition. He added, “I want to thank Dave Bankes and the rest of the crew, including Larry Summerfield, Marc McCrae and Ashley Roth,” he said. “I also want to thank our sponsors Oak Grove Cheese, Shellbourne Fuels and NGK Spark Plugs.”

New to the PMRA but not to Ontario drag racing was former OSCA and NSCA champion Rocky DiLeece. “Running with the PMRA is always something I wanted to do, the car is ready to test and I’m looking forward to my first Pro Mod season,” Rocky stated earlier in the year. The Metro Infrastructure Inc. entry will have long-time crew

PHOTOS, from top: Angelo Aceto backs up Pro Mod rookie Rocky DiLeece in his new 1968 version of the Camaro. No stranger to going fast, DiLeece is also a multi-time Champion in the fast doorslammer drag racing world, taking both the NSCA (National Street Car Association) Super Street and OSCA (Ontario Street Car Association) Super Street 10.5 title in the same year piloting his blown Chevelle. Rocky’s new ride boasts a 526 inch blown Hemi between the frame rails.

One cool hot rod! The very flashy, very cool Outlaw Pro Mod 1933 Willys from Sterling Racing runs with the NEOPMA and has made a few hits with the PMRA during the 2012 season. The car underwent a total facelift and is drop dead georgeous!

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chief Angelo Aceto heading up a team of other long-time members, Emilio Aceto, Kevin Cooper and Tony Presto.

It was good to see Jason Kalso and family back in the PMRA fold with a number seven placed finish. With a new motor program to contend with, the Michigan based team were making strides forward before Kalso was involved in the scariest accident of the year when the Mopar narrowly avoided rolling but visited both walls of the Grand Bend Motorplex. Kalso’s participation encouraged fellow Mopar racer Pete Farber to cross the border and fly the CRC Industries colors.

Sophomore racer Jay Santos arrived with a new car. “A good opportunity came along to sell the car and build a new one,” Santos explained. “The new car is lighter with the use of titanium, and is able to race more competitively within all sanctioning bodies” Santos went on, “The engine program is improved to better fit the rules of the PMRA and I will retain the services of tuner and G-Force Race Cars owner Jim Salemi.” The new car obviously suited Santos as he went to the final of the last race of the year and finished sixth in the championship.

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PHOTOS, from left: The action starts to happen early for Clarkston Michigan’s Jason Kalso but he saves the car from rolling. Kalso’s 1971 Plymouth Barracuda is powered by a blown injected 521Hemi, sits on a G-Force Race Cars chassis and is backed by a Lenco 3-speed.

Running out of Otter River, Massachusetts Pete Farber’s CRC Industries Daytona is a welcome change from cookie cutter Camaros so prevalent in Pro Mod these days. The very cool 1969 Dodge Daytona Charger is powered by a Billes Racing built 521cubic inch Billet supercharged Hemi and also sits on a G-Force Race Cars chassis.

PHOTO, lower row: Kalso’s close call caught

by Ian Rae, but not until after the car was staring straight at him off the line.

Jay Santos’ and his beautiful ’69 Yenko Camaro take a break between rounds. The Santos team’s rig and operation have all the drag race bling, glitz and glitter but they are a great bunch!

The Grainy Brothers Racing team’s Lethal Weapon Camaro features a Mike Stawicki built 526 cubic inch Hemi power plant. The Grainy Bros., out of New York, have been running with the PMRA since 2004 and took an event win on their home turf in 2012!

Here, Farber has a go at IHRA Pro Mod standout Kenny Lang who joins in the PMRA fun on occasion.

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Sam Andreacchi returned with the 2011 ride of Jay Santos. Now resplendent in it’s trademark blue Wolf Electric colors. Sam proved he was back with a vengeance when he took the Stratford Spectacular win home. “It is good to be back,” noted Andreacchi after his victory. “We’re back on track. We’ve been taking baby steps with the new car, but we’re now comfortable with it.”

Jay Santos is getting the hang of his tricked out new ultra light new G-Force 1969 Camaro. 521 cubic inches of billet based Hemi power the beast which is topped by a CFH billet 14-71 supercharger assembled by Al Billes Racing. A Lenco Drive 3 speed converter driven transmission backs it up.

Sam Andreacchi proved he has not lost his winning ways at Grand Bend Motorplex. His new ‘69 Camaro (which was Santos’ last year) is powered by a 526-cubic inch Brad Anderson blown Hemi, but Sam is best known for campaigning his “Pro Street” Nova for many years prior.

Something else new for 2012 was the visit to US 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan “We’ve tried to get a date set for several years now, but there was always a conflict,” said US 131 Motorsports Park General Manager Jason Peterson. “But the timing was right for this opportunity to come along.” Not only was the timing right but the show was that good the PMRA has been asked back for more in 2013. Winning the event; none other than those wiley old foxes, the Grainy Brothers. One of the original PMRA racers, Grainy of North Tonawanda, New York, won his first event in the Pro Modified series. Driving the Grainy Brothers Racing 1967 Camaro, he bested Eric Latino and Team Green in the final.

Anyone who has been around the PMRA will see it is just like a great big family. In 2012 we lost two of the series’ biggest supporters. Series director Bruce Mehlenbacher’s daughter Jackie had fought a long hard heroic battle against cancer.

Growing up she had like all the other Mehlenbacher children been involved in motorsports and it was only fitting that as she fought that fight, racers and photographers alike all sported the Team Jax logo on their equipment. The other was Val Potter, wife of Cayuga’s announcer and photographer Rob Potter. Val was very talented and after marrying Potter and entering the racing world much of her art was racing themed. Both were a huge part of the PMRA

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family and we send our condolences to the Mehlenbacher and Potter families.

Attached to the PMRA is the Q32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA and for the first time in series history it was not a door car that won! The dragster team of Mike Hinbest and Katie Ward took the overall this time but there were three door cars in the top five. Dan Aitken took his Mustang to second place and Top Sportsman honors with Spencer Hyde and Paul Martin taking fourth and fifth respectively.

The series is a perfect fit with the PMRA giving fans a view of all kinds of racecars and some fantastic racing. Look for both series’ to be back in 2013 along with the Wiseco Pro Bike and Sled Series.

The top Q32 door-car was Dan Aitken Jr’s Mustang. Aitken’s 95 Ford is all Ford with a monster 619-inch Holbrook Racing Engines big block and a solid hit of nitrous to help out.

Spencer Hyde took his ex Ricky Smith Camaro to second place in the Top Sportsman championship and fourth overall in the Q32 series. The Camaro packs 762 cubic inches of ERD (Engine Research & Development) power backed by a Coan Engineering Mega Glide transmission.

Right: We caught a quick glimpse of the ex Al Billes then Ralph Andreacchi Studebaker now run

by Doug Blowes in NAPA Q32 and HURA. It’s powered by a blown injected 509 cubic inch big block Chevy. Many will remember the Blowes family’s wild bright yellow 1951 Chevy Top Sportsman pick-up truck.

Jeff Gabel runs one of few Mopars in NAPA Q32. A Joe’s Transmission 588 Indy headed wedge is stuffed between the rails (with a hit of nitrous) and is backed by one of Joe’s trick Powerglides.

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Project 4 Lug Thug

By Chuck Scott

Photos by Chuck Scott & Brad Rakes

FLAMETHROWER Project Thug gets custom front-exit stainless headers from Kooks and Speed 365.

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n case you haven’t noticed in the last few years in drag race cars, front exit exhaust or “bull horns” have become extremely popular in heads-up sportsman classes. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there is no denying they have many advantages over traditional under car exhaust. I’m sure you have heard about how directing them upwards can produce down force helping to control wheelies.

The biggest reason for me is not worrying about crushing them under the car, plus they provide easy access to the transmission. One more great perk that you don’t often hear about is how quiet they make the exhaust inside the car. You can hear the engine and driveline much better with the exhaust noise directed away from the car. About the only negative to front exit is the instant ticket you will get if you try driving with them on the street.

With project Thug being close to hitting the track only a few jobs remain. Since it’s long past time to get headers built, I called on Eric McMillon to hook me up. Eric’s shop, Speed 365, specializes in drag cars and performance street machines along with general repair on regular cars and diesel trucks. The upper section of the building is Seidle Racing Engines with the lower housing a general repair area plus race & performance section. Former NASCAR fab man Mark Gongloff works for Speed 365 doing all types of race fab projects. I hauled ol’ 4 Lug about an hour from my shop to Axton VA for Mark to work his magic and come up with a unique exhaust set-up.

Before dropping the car off at Speed 365, I ordered the exhaust parts Mark recommended from Kooks Headers. I ordered a 2" primary stainless weld-up header kit for Trick Flow Highport cyclinder heads and picked the optional collector Shootout Mufflers. I also got a few 4" diameter 90-degree stainless bends, a couple V-band connectors to make bumper exit pipes, and a couple O2 sensor bungs.

RPM Magazine, THE Voice Of Fast Cars WORLDWIDE

The Kooks Shootout Collector Mufflers are a really cool design. The collector part is a merge design that is known to make power with a transition spike that makes a smooth transition from the primary tube to the collector. The integrated muffler is basically just there to meet class rule requirements. Don’t expect much actual “muffling”. They feature a resonator ring design with no actual packing material or anything that hinders wide-open flow.

By combining the collector and muffler into a nice compact unit, Kooks has made stuffing a bunch of exhaust into a tight spot a little easier and with less welding for Mark.

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PHOTOS: 3. Mark starts out by deciding to cut a hole in each apron panel to route the primary tubes to the collector. 4. The typical Mustang front exit header goes under the motor plate and turns out through a hole in the bumper cover. Mark felt that going this route instead will provide easy access to the spark plugs, eliminate the need to relocate the oil filter and leave room around the alternator and vacuum pump. I think the real reason is he wanted them up where they can be seen well! 5. Each of the 2" U-bends will be cut into sections as needed to provide multiple compound bends. 6. Mark deburs after each cut for a nice clean joint to weld. 7. Mark describes building headers as a “jigsaw puzzle with all sky”. Mark holds his sections in place and marks the joints so he can tack weld them in place at the bench without loosing their orientation. 8. A few tack welds at each joint and the primary tube can be fit into place on the car. 9. I’m sure there is a more technical way to fit and measure each tube but Mark just eyeballs it and marks where to cut and weld with a Sharpie. He has to visualize the entire header and plan in advance how he wants each tube to go. Not thinking ahead could screw you on the next primary. Mark drops his third tube down low to make room for the 4th tube and to equalize the primary lengths. Mark doesn’t worry about getting every tube the exact same length but with our collector being so close to the front cylinder on each head, without a little effort the rear tube lengths could end up more than double the length of the fronts.

10. After tack welding the first few bends of each primary on the bench, the last section of each primary tube before the collector is tacked in the car to assure a perfect fit. 11. All the primaries now pieced together show Mark’s skill and vision. Every spark plug can easily be pulled with a socket and extension.

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Now time for the bumper exits... Mark tacks the V-band halves to the lower pipe and to the end of the collector mufflers then connects the two with the V-band clamp. Mark then draws a line on the exit pipe just past the bumper cover and cuts off the extra overhang. You may be wondering why I needed a V-band here and why not just weld the pipe to the muffler? Not only does it allow for easy replacement but I plan on building a removable second smaller diameter full under car exhaust that will route from the collector muffler to over the control arms and out the back of the car with quieter street mufflers for road duty.

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15. After getting the entire system built and tack welded together, Mark takes it all back off the car and sits down to lay down the final tig welds around each joint, around the Vband halves and the wideband O2 sensor bungs to the exit pipe.

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16. & 17. And there you have it folks, a completed header masterpiece built by Mark Gongloff of Speed 365 using premium Kooks parts.

18. Mark put the exit pipe in the press and ovaled the end a little to give it a little different look. The new exit pipe is tucked in tight with a slight upturn. The entire project is top-shelf and looks as trick as it gets! Now if we can get a mean tune on the nitrous system we can activate the flamethrower.

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Previous Project 4 Lug total = $48,786 Parts list/cost for exhaust: (2) 4" S/S 16 ga 90 degree bends â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kooks Custom Headers - $103 ea / $206 (2) 2" to 4" Shootout Collector Muffler Kooks Custom Headers - $489 ea / $978 (2) Stainless header flanges TFS Highport - Kooks Custom Headers - $86 ea / $172 (9) 2" Stainless U-bends 3" radius - Kooks Custom Headers - $39 ea / $351 (2) Stainless steel O2 sensor bungs - Kooks Custom Headers - $14 ea / $28 (2) 4" V-band assemblies - Kooks Custom Headers - $175 ea / $350 Labor to build custom front exit headers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Speed 365 By McMillon $1000 Total for custom stainless steel exhaust build = $3085 New Project 4 Lug Total = $51,871

Sources:

Kooks Custom Headers (866)586-KOOK www.kookscustomheaders.com/ Speed 365 By McMillon (276)732-1000 www.speed-365.com