Fastest of Fast: The Cars of PRI, Part 2
If we can take one thing away from our 2016 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show experience, it’s that the automotive racing industry is booming right now. Vehicles are perpetually getting faster, National Hot Rod Diesel Association (NHRDA) event attendance and TV ratings are on the rise, the popularity of NASCAR and circle track racing remains strong, and one extremely popular TV show has introduced grassroots-style drag racing to the masses.
Building on what we brought you in Part 1 of our PRI Show coverage, consider these beauties the best of the rest. From competition-only to street cars, twin-turbos to electric turbines and celebrity status to up-and-coming, there’s a little bit of everything in our second installment.
Dominator
If we learned anything at this year’s PRI Show, it’s that twin-turbo setups are “in” for 2017, especially for the "Street Outlaw" guys. The ’67 Dodge Dart owned by Joe Woods (a.k.a. "Dominator") was on display in the Turbonetics booth, and it means business.
A non-intercooled, parallel turbocharger arrangement fills the Troy Scott-built, pump gas-compatible (10.5:1 compression) 632 ci Chevy big block’s lungs. Dominator’s demeanor and the way he conducts himself in front of the cameras has earned him numerous fans, and many believe he drives one of the only “true” street cars left in the show.
Twin-Turbo ’16 Camaro
With two 98 mm Garrett turbos glaring at us, we couldn’t help but slobber over Steve Summer’s new Pro Mod Camaro, conveniently parked in the Garrett booth. The twin turbos feed a billet-aluminum, 522 ci engine built by Jasiek Racing Engines, complete with a set of CFE Racing heads. The 98 mm chargers will be legal in National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) Pro Mod competition, while a set of 94 mm snails will get the call in the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Pro Boost class. The car itself is a’16 Camaro and utilizes a chassis built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars of Moscow Mills, Missouri.
BIG Cubes, High Compression
Over at the Ross Pistons booth sat Nick Bacalis’ latest build: a ‘96 Mustang packing big cubes and high compression. The 700+ ci, one-off big block under the hood was built by BES Racing Engines, makes use of a billet-aluminum block from LSM Systems Engineering and is said to produce 1,600 hp. Look for Bacalis to compete within the ranks of the Street Outlaw class in both National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) and NMCA in 2017, as he’ll be looking to shoot the ‘Stang through the eighth-mile in 4.5-second intervals.
Daddy Dave’s Twin-Turbo S10
This nasty little creation was also parked under the Turbonetics banner. The S10 Xtreme belongs to “Daddy Dave” Comstock of "Street Outlaws" and is said to be his daily driver. We didn’t get a chance to look under the hood, but we did peer over the bedsides and discovered a bed-mounted twin-turbo arrangement.
The remote/bed-mounted 64 mm chargers, sourced from Nelson Racing engines, send boost through a water-to-air intercooler fabricated by Icebox Performance. Daddy Dave’s twin-turbo S10 project was pulled off by thePADokc, one of the premier custom fabrication shops in the country — not a bad setup to help you get from A to B... you know, when you’re not behind the wheel of your 2,300 hp Nova.
World’s Fastest Log
Here’s something different for you to digest. If you’ve ever seen the HGTV show “Canada’s Timber Kings” (or if you've seen our "Odd & Awesome" SEMA 2016 Wrap-Up gallery), you know what this is. If you haven’t, say hello to the fastest motorized log in the world.
The Guinness World Record was achieved on the set of the show on January 20, 2015. The “Cedar Rocket” as it’s known is powered by twin 20 hp electric turbines and ran 90 km/h through the quarter-mile (roughly 55 mph) on its way to claiming the unconventional record.
Fastest Manual C7
OK, back to serious horsepower... Meet the fastest C7 manual transmission Corvette in the country. Owned by the mastermind behind “Street Car Takeover,” Justin Keith, the late model ‘Vette is powered by a 427 ci ERL Performance engine that’s force fed air courtesy of an F1A-94 ProCharger. A direct port, 200 hp shot nitrous system from Nitrous Outlet tops things off and a pair of Nitto NT555R drag radials (mounted to 15x10 Weld Racing wheels) keeps this 1,000+ hp package glued to the track.
Circle Track Winner
Just two days prior to being parked in the DRP Performance Products booth at the PRI Show, this Super Late Model built by Fury Race Cars was busy winning the 49th annual Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Florida. Driver Christian Eckes, a 15-year-old phenom from Middletown, New York, beat out 35 other drivers in the prestigious, 300-lap race to take home the trophy.
Climbing the Ladder
Tyler Dippel might just be NASCAR’s next big thing. The 16-year-old got his start racing slingshots on the dirt tracks in upstate New York and is looking to follow the same type of path that Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson did before reaching the top ranks of NASCAR. For 2017, Dippel will be racing the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East series in conjunction with Rette Jones Racing; the all-new No. 28 Ford Fusion he’ll be piloting was unveiled at the PRI Show.
