Chad Smith of Fredrick, Maryland, showed up with a 402 iron block sporting 235cc Trick Flow heads and two 200 shots. Smith fought through electrical issues to run a 9 flat at 153 in his Camaro, but couldn't hang with a low 8-second challenger and had to put it on the trailer.
C.J. Peddy was the lone Texas entrant in Drag Radial, and this Lewisville resident brought an '02 Camaro packin' an LQ9 iron block, Dart heads, and a massive 279/292 duration, .732 lift solid roller cam. Toss a 350 RWHP dry kit on top, and you're looking at nearly 1000 rear-wheel ponies! He was hoping for 8.20s and nearly got there with an 8.47 at 163, but it wasn't good enough to best his 7-second first round opponent.
East Side Performance's Ken Quartuccio came loaded for bear-a 440-inch LSX block was topped with ET Performance 265 heads and stuffed with a boatload of nitrous. This '99 Camaro used to run low 9s, but was putting down 8.47 at 160-plus in Memphis. Despite that solid number, he couldn't best the 8 flat his opponent put down in the first round, and had to pack it in. // rick Jensen
For extended coverage of the LSX Shootout, including a full recap of the car show and extra stuff we couldn't cram into the magazine, log onto www.gmhightechperformance.com
Pilot Jason McNeil of Linden, Michigan, took the untested '80 Cutlass and ET Performance-built 440 LSX to a best of 9.58 despite transmission issues, which ultimately meant first-round elimination to the SAM Camaro. | 
Steve Hopkins' outstanding .030 reaction time was spoiled by a lack of top end in his '98 Camaro's 6.0L block and heads combo versus Kevin Patterson and Valentino Juncaj's C5R-headed 429 in the '95 Firebird. Hopkins ran a 10.13 to Patterson's 9.61 in the quarterfinals. | 
Brian "Madman" Jeffery was on hand to set up the suspension on East Side Performance's BigStuff 3-controlled 440 LSX for drag radials. "I like to go stiffer with the rear shocks," Jeffery starts, "adjust the timing to initially hit the tires, pull it back to let the DRs hook, then gradually bring it back in." Ken Quartuccio went 8.79/124 in a soft qualifying pass, then 8.47/161 in a losing first-round effort. |
Toms River, New Jersey's Bill Maloney campaigned his Vette Doctorsbuilt '97 Corvette. This 402 LS2 features ET Performance LS7-style heads and a stock LS7 manifold, and this mill is fed by a rear-mounted 106mm turbo with ARH plumbing. Even scarier than the power potential -it runs through a Vette IRS! Bill qualified number 6 (8.53/169) despite trans brake wiring problems, and had a bye first-round run. In the second round, the trans troubles reared up again, as he lost First gear and had to launch in Second, ending his bid for the championship. | 
Ohio Boys' Steve Turley was on a tear all week: With a W2W-assembled ERL Superdeck 2 402 bullet, All Pro heads, a Precision 106mm pushing 25-28 pounds of boost, BigStuff3 barking orders, and a Rossler trans handling the power, his Camaro was the number one qualifier with an unbelievable 7.79/181. Turley dispatched C.J. Peddy in the first round with a 7.97/181, and when he and Paul Major lined up in Round 2, Steve cut the best light of eliminations-a .030! But it wasn't to be; Turley's fourth-gen broke right after launch and he was done. | 
Fellow Ohio Boy Mike Brown was a busy man this weekend; in addition to his True Street domination, his sweet blue T/A was faring well in Drag Radial too, thanks to the ERL 427, Dart/TEA heads, a hydraulic Comp Cam, and a 101mm Turbonetics turbo pushing 26 psi. The Huber Heights, OH resident qualified number 5 with an 8.40/174, and easily won his first round matchup with an 8.11/177. Round 2 would be tougher, against number 2 qualifier Tom Kempf. Though Mike ran a 7.96 to Kempf's 8.04, Tom's .100 light trumped Mike's .307, and the T/A was eliminated. |