More Must-See Rides from the 2017 PRI Show
Just when you thought we’d shown you the best the 2017 PRI Show had to offer, we’re back with Part 2. And, it’s (arguably) better than what we brought you in our initial volley. From Pro Mods and 3,000-plus horsepower funny cars to a 2,300-rwhp Viper and another 2,500-rwhp triple-turbo Cummins, there is no shortage of variety in this batch of vehicles. Feast your eyes on the vehicles profiled below and we’ll ready the final bundle of cars for Part 3.
Mad Max: the 3,500 HP ’69 Camaro
Jeff Lutz of Lutz Race Cars had several masterpieces on display at PRI, including this mean machine named “Mad Max,” which was parked front and center at the Penske booth. You might remember his Pro Mod ’69 Camaro as the car that won Hot Rod Drag Week 2016 and turned in the quickest quarter-mile pass in the event’s history (a 6.05 at 251 mph). You might also recognize the car from its appearances on Street Outlaws. Or maybe you follow sanctioned drag racing and recall Jeff claiming the NMCA Pro Modified title back in 2013. The 3,000-plus horsepower 540ci big-block under the hood is based off of one of the late Trick Flow/Sonny’s aluminum blocks and breathes through a pair of 88mm Precision turbochargers.
4-Time ARCA Champ
Four-time ARCA Midwest Tour champion Ty Majeski’s number 91 Ford Fusion was on hand. The now-23-year-old phenom earned the series’ Rookie of the Year honor in 2014 (at age 20), along with taking home his first of four consecutive titles that year. Easily one of racing’s brightest prospects, Ty has garnered the attention of Bobby Waltrip (brother of Darrell and Michael) and even Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s also worth noting that Ty is the highest ranked player in the world on iRacing.com, an online racing simulator that’s regularly used by professional drivers and novice gamers alike. Surprise surprise, iRacing is one of his major sponsors.
C7 Pro Mod
This big cube Pro Mod Corvette stemmed from the minds of Jim Widener and Tony Bischoff (of BES Racing Engines). Built by Chris Duncan Race Cars, the ‘Vette sports a Tim McAmis-built carbon fiber C7 body that was wrapped by Sticker Dude. A massive, 856ci Hemi put together at BES Racing Engines features custom Ross Racing Pistons to accommodate an Induction Solutions nitrous setup. The C7 gets down the track thanks to a Lenco with a Bruno Converter Drive and a Neal Chance lockup converter. Still new to the racing scene (which means bigger things are yet to come…), the car has been high 3’s in the eighth at 192 mph so far.
First Place Ferrari
The championship-winning MOMO Ferrari 458 could be seen on the outskirts of the MOMO booth. Driven by Henrique Cisneros and Peter Ludwig, the Ferrari took home top honors in the GT class in 2017. For those who don’t know, the PWC is a production car-based racing series held in America. It’s made up of seven different categories (GT, GTZ, GT Cup, GTS, Touring Car, Touring Car A and Touring Car B-Spec). Races adhere to a sprint format, run a maximum of 50 minutes (start to finish) and are broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Watson Racing Cobra Jet
Just one of 50 built, Chuck Watson’s ’16 Cobra Jet was part of the action at the busy Ford Performance booth—and for good reason. His car is the NMCA Holley EFI Factory Super Car record holder with an 8.117-second quarter-mile at more than 165 mph. The 5.0L Coyote V8 under the hood was built and tuned by Kim Mapes of Watson Racing and the engine is laced with a Whipple 2.9L supercharger. A Joel’s On Joy three-speed automatic sends power to a Strange Engineering 9-inch with Mark Williams 40-spline, rifle-drilled axle shafts and 3.89 gears. The Cobra Jet also makes use of a four-link rear suspension, Lamb Racing Components double adjustable coil over shocks and struts, an Aeromotive fuel system, DeatschWerks fuel injectors and a Fast XFI engine management system.
DeMaxed
Our thirst for big boost diesels was satisfied at the Meyer Distributing booth, thanks to the presence of Industrial Injection’s DeMaxed Silverado. The once-Duramax-powered ’01 Chevrolet HD now benefits from a triple-turbo Cummins that’s capable of producing 2,500 hp at the wheels. Under the operation of driver Jared Delekta, the Industrial inline-six has hustled the 6,000-pound Bow Tie through the quarter-mile in as little as 8.53 seconds and as fast as 167 mph. Not surprisingly, the truck currently holds the record for both E.T. and mph in the NHRDA’s Super Street class.
Chassis Dyno-ing A Funny Car?
What better way to show off your axle-hub style chassis dyno system than by bolting a Top Alcohol Funny Car to it! Such was the case at the Mainline DynoLog Dynamometers booth, which had the Hemi-powered, screw-blown Jones Racing Enterprises/Frankenstein Engine Dynamics car attached to one of its 3,000 hp ProHub chassis dynos. The funny car debuted its new colors and an all-new Hemi that the JRE team is calling a “game-changer.” As for Mainline, its ProHub dynamometers are said to offer the ultimate in test data repeatability.
If the General Lee was a Viper…
There’s nothing quite like seeing a fully-packed parachute positioned behind a license plate…and seeing it on Calvo Motorsports’ Gen 5 Dodge Viper definitely caught our eye. Come to find out, the car (coined “The General Lee”) holds the 1/2-mile record for the fastest fifth generation Viper in the world, having gone 208 mph at the Pike’s Peak Airstrip Attack in 2016. The fully built engine features a dry sump oiling system, twin turbos from Forced Performance Turbochargers, water-to-air intercooler, Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes (PPG) transmission and MoTeC firmware. The Viper cranks out an impressive 1,607-rwhp on 93 octane and approximately 2,300-rwhp on the good stuff.
Shaken & Stirred
It’s out-of-the-box creations like this that help break up the mega-horsepower monotony present at the PRI Show. Meet Three Pedals’ Pontiac Safari Wagon, coined “Shaken & Stirred.” It’s powered by a 500 hp LS3, shifted via a T56 Magnum six-speed manual with a dual disc cerametallic Exedy USA clutch and sends a dyno-verified 435 hp to the rear wheels. The wagon has also been graced with coilovers, Corvette brakes, 20-inch wheels, 15-inch hub caps and (of course) a Walley World sticker on the rear window. You can usually find Shaken & Stirred competing in auto cross events or shredding its rear tires in burnout contests.
Tiffany
C10’s never get old, do they? We certainly don’t think so and this work of art from Classic Car Studio all but represents the quintessential classic repower, given the times we’re living in (think LS swap and twin turbos…). The engine is a built, 346 ci LS1 that’s been graced with LS6 heads, twin 64mm Mirror Image turbos from Nelson Racing Engines, 120 lb/hr injectors, a VR2 brushless fuel pump, billet fuel rails, 105mm throttle body, Dominator ECU and a host of other goodies. A TCI Turbo 400 transmission links the boosted V8 to a Ford 9-inch rear end with a Truetrac and 3.73 gears. Not bad for what the folks at Classic Car Studio call their shop truck.
