Who says you can't go fast without boost? Turbo cars may be all the rage, but to these purists-they'd rather die than use anything other than God's own 14.7 psi. These 8 and 9-second au natural LS1s are forces to be reckoned with for 2009.
Judson Massingill/SAM Racing, '99 SS
"This year we are hoping to get everything ready and tested before we get there." A mistake that Judson said cost them last year, "We waited too long to test. We were trying to get the new clutch right. All manual cars get an extra 120-pounds [weight penalty] this year, which is pretty well fair, since they run more mph. I hope this year there are more cars, I hear another one of my [former] students will be competing [against me]." Oddly enough Judson was upstaged in 2008 by two former students: Joe Hunneycutt and Chris Fowler, who squared off in the final round as Judson was sidelined by an ignition issue. Meanwhile the SAM Camaro still has the naturally aspirated record with a blistering 8.75 at 153 mph. Before the Shootout, though, the SAM crew will be implanting a fresh motor, trading the former C5R block for an LSX block because he said, "the cylinders were moving around too much." The same C5R heads and Beck sheetmetal intake will be utilized, but with a single four-barrel throttle body to comply to this year's rules. A bump in compression (from 13 to 14.8:1) and a five-speed Liberty trans will also deviate from the previous combo. It will take some testing to get used to the changes, but the SAM SS is always a threat.
The School of Automotive Machinists also plans to compete in True Street with Judson's wife, Linda, behind the wheel of a '98 Z28. Though SAM may also be in possession of a 2010 Camaro, which is pegged for a 440-inch nitrous-enhanced LS1 and True Street competition.
John Ventresca, '01 Z28
When asked what he thought of last year's event, the jovial Canadian was quick to exclaim, "I loved it!" Ventresca made the long trek from just outside Toronto, Ontario, from his shop Westport Automotive. "All Motor really shows our engine building capabilities, and it's a fun class to run. It's pretty tight!" He was also excited about the rule changes, "we can drop almost 350 pounds. We were at 3,400 last year." This should hopefully help John break into the low 9s this year as the TH350-equipped Camaro topped out at 9.69 at the Shootout, and 9.42 at 144 mph during testing. "We haven't looked at the car yet [since the Shootout], but are definitely planning to do some testing before the event. We are waiting on the new Edelbrock canted valve heads to become available. If not we may go with the All-Pro heads. I'd like to do a clutchless tranny, but we'll see." John said he believes even with the 125lb weight penalty, the manual trans cars still have an advantage. Of course that's assuming the person behind the wheel is on his or her game. Only time will tell if the more consistent automatic cars or the faster trap speeds of the stick cars will prevail.
Chris/Arvil Fowler, '90 Camaro
This father and son combo made it all the way to the Finals last year, losing out to fellow Texan and SAM graduate Joe Huneycutt. The Extreme Horsepower third-gen was packing an LS7-headed 427. This year they have assembled a higher compression LSX-based 431-cid motor with a custom grind solid roller LSM cam. "We've improved a lot of things: heads, intake ... a completely different setup. We'll be running an Aviad wet sump since our local classes won't let us run dry sump." Another big difference from last year is a change of drivers. Chris Fowler piloted the '90 Camaro last year, but his duties in the National Guard have called him away from the October race. His father, Arvil, will be taking his place with sponsorship from the Guard in salute of their effort. "We have a pretty light car ... and last year things were unsettled and we had to make some last minute adjustments. It should be more stable this year because of the rule changes that have clarified some things and evened the playing field. It's never easy-it's racing you know, but we should be right in the mix. Last year we got some breaks, but that comes into play in racing. For our first time out we were very pleased with that [2nd place]."
Drag Radial: The Proving Grounds For LSX Performance
The LSX Drag Radial class is home to some of the fastest Drag Radial cars in the country. We caught up with some of the best, to see what they have to say about the upcoming shootout.
Mark Koehler, '00 Firebird
"I thought last year was a great event. I had a lot of fun! Even though I went out in the first round, winning the Dyno Shootout was a big bonus for the trip." Knowing that last year's 8.06 won't cut it, Mark has changed almost everything in his setup besides the chassis. "Since last year, Kurt Urban and I have built a new 447-cubic-inch LSX motor. I have changed the turbo, added a different converter, and a new rear gear. I hope to have the new setup at its max performance by the LSX Shootout! With the new setup, I hope to maintain a high 7-second setup that will be reliable. I think it will take a 7.40-7.50 to win the event though. So far, in testing we have gone mid-8's at 175. The promising part is it's been at reasonably low boost levels compared to the same numbers in 2008. I am looking for some 7.8x's in the very near future, which would be 0.30 faster than last year." Mark expects a tough competition, listing Mike Brown, Steve Turley, Paul Major, and Steven Fereday as potential winners, in what will certainly be a tight and exciting race.
Tom Kempf, '00 Trans Am
Over the course of this year, many rumors have surrounded the Kempf camp. After selling his 2007-winning '00 Camaro, many people thought Tom was switching to a 2010 Camaro. When we caught up with Tom, he reported that "we don't currently have the 2010 Camaro, so we are building a Trans Am instead. Really, it was just at the right place at the right time. I prefer the Camaro body for a race car, but the plan is to be ready in time for the LSX Shootout. I am hoping that this year will be as good as last year. We are using a spare motor left over from the old program. Same cubic inches but we have installed a front-drive distributor and a belt drive. Instead of the single 106, we are going to run twin 76mm turbos, mounted high and center under a Joe Van Overbeek Trans Am hood. The car is a full 25.2 chassis because I really wanted to be as safe as possible. Even though these cars are easy to drive, they are very fast." Tom told us that he has stuck with the same team as last year and he hopes to come back and win, if he can get the car completed in time.