Big-Block Power Adder Winner!
Curt Johnson
Monroe Center, IL
'70 Chevy Chevelle
Nobody ever said Drag Week(tm) was easy, but then Curtis Johnson doesn't strike us as someone who loafs through life. He owns three businesses (a used-car dealership, a beauty shop, and a ministorage facility) and still had the stamina to put this Chevelle together and thrash on it for Drag Week(tm). The engine is a 540 with three stages of nitrous (though he has only hit two of them so far), which was just a bit too much for the TH400 (built by fellow competitor Mike Thompson). Curt nearly threw in the towel at Union Grove, but with prodding from HOT ROD and his buddies Thompson and Roger Tangorra, he found another trans from a buddy in Rockford, Illinois, and once it was delivered, everyone dove in and had it installed in 45 minutes. It slipped to a 10.01, well off its prior day's 8.68, but they did something to get it fixed and ran 9.01 at WIR, then went on to win the class. His average was 9.01 at 157, but the car ran as quick as 8.66 at 159 at Cedar Falls.
Bob Cattelino
Jefferson, WI
'68 Chevy Nova
It's painted with Rustoleum from a rattle can! Awesome! Bob's mid-11-second Nova is an example of a simple combination that makes for a fantastic Drag Week(tm) experience. The engine is a 470ci big-block Chevy with date-coded '71 LS6 heads (sweet!) and a Barry Grant carb on a Holley Strip Dominator intake. Bob says it makes 406 hp to the 275/60-15 M&H Racemasters, which is good for a best pass of 11.36 at 118. The trans is a TH400 and a 12-bolt hung with Chassis Engineering parts takes the abuse.
Big-Block N/A Winner!
Steve Hoch
Tolono, IL
'68 Chevy Corvette
Steve and his U-Haul-pulling Vette have been to all three Drag Weeks, and 2007 was his best year, winning the Big-Block N/A class with a 9.97 average. This thing was a bracket racer-Steve turned in timeslips of 9.96, 9.97, 9.95, 10.08, and 9.91. The engine combo has remained the same for all three years (540 with Dart 18-degree heads and a single four-barrel), but he ran without the nitrous this year.
Small-Block Power Adder Winner!
Ev Bernardo
Bristow, VA
'96 Ford Mustang
Obviously, Bernardo knows what he's doing, since this car hadn't made a single pass until the Friday before Drag Week(tm), but then ran mid-8s every day to win the class by nearly a tenth and a half. It was formerly a six-cylinder car that Ev stuffed a Chevy motor into and bolted on a pair of turbos, then ran as quickly as 8.36 at 172 mph. Yowza! On the last day, with Dan Marks' Camaro breathing down his neck for the class win, the Mustang blew up the transmission, driveshaft, and rearend in one big bang. He pulled his spare trans from the trailer, borrowed a rearend from another racer, and, by a miracle, the driveshaft out of Mike Crow's Barracuda fit the Mustang. Soon after Drag Week(tm), the car ran 8.08 on drag radials.
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