Stang TV Forums - The 1320 Report

Will a Mustang be Billy Glidden or Mike Moran�s Next Ride?

Andrew Casselberry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:04:11 GMT

Word is that Ford Racing has been very “racer friendly” with the new 2010 Mustang Pro Stock body program and don’t be surprised if you see some heavy hitters in the various heads up series debut the new sleeker Mustang next year.

Photo Credit: Drag Racing Online

With the recent for sale posting by Mike Moran for his Monte Carlo and a YB message board notice by Billy Glidden that his Pontiac GTO is gone after the Street Car Super Nationals at Las Vegas, we wonder if a 2010 Mustang Pro Stock body is on its way to both racers.

Ford Racing head Brian Wolfe has been very aggressive pitching the Pro Stock body program to racers outside of NHRA Pro Stock. We would love to see both Glidden and Moran return to the Ford camp since they are both very popular heads up racers and began their careers in Ford drag cars. One racer that has already purchased a Roush built carbon fiber Mustang body is Steve Matusek. Steve is currently working with Larson Race Cars to build a 2010 Mustang to compete in Pro Modified, ADRL and in the NMCA Pro Street. And since Larry Larson is also Mike Moran's chassis guy as well, there might be some cross over knowledge for Moran and a Pro Stock Mustang body as well......

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Rob Campisi runs a personal best 6.64 Elapsed Time in his Twin Turbo 2004 Mustang

Chris Taylor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:02:38 GMT

Twin turbo Outlaw racing has become an extremely popular venue here in the states. But this type of racing has not only become popular here, the guys across the pond in Australia have taken a liking to it as well. While the rules for certain classes may be different over there, and the driver sits on the right side of the car, the basic layout is extremely similar. Enter Rob Campisi (nicknamed Campo) and his 2004 twin turbo tube chassis Mustang. This is a car that if brought to the states, would likely be competitive with some of the most successful guys over here.

According to CV performance, the car made it's debut this year and in more testing has recently run a personal best of 6.64 at 214mph at Sydney International Dragway. An impressive run no doubt.

Photos courtesy of: CV performance.

The car has only made 20 or so passes down the 1320 this year after it's new build and is just getting dialed in. Most of the build was done by Street Car Fabrications and the custom tuning was done by CV performance.

For now, the car consists of a twin turbo 400 cubic inch small block backed up by a power glide transmission. Although rumor is that the team is getting ready to move to a 632 cubic inch big block still featuring twin turbochargers in hopes of even quicker elapsed times. It is believed that if the build is executed properly, they could have a 5-second turbo car on their hands. A short video of the personal best run was also recently released, and shown below:

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First Mercury Marauder In The 9's, Runs 9.759 At Alabama Dragway

Chris Taylor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:52:47 GMT

Most don�t view 4 door passenger cars as ideal for racing. The size and weight usually deters most builders from selecting them, but who says you can�t go fast with a heavy car? Enter the Mercury Marauder - produced for 2 years (2003-2004). While it may have not been the most successful car sales-wise for Ford, it was a unique performance sedan. It boasted a 302hp 32 valve motor from the factory and many appearance upgrades.

In stock form they aren�t the quickest cars on the strip, but when modified correctly, you can take one of these cars well into the 9-second range. A few weekends ago, the first Marauder pass in the 9�s was made at Alabama International Dragway with a 9.759 elapsed time at 140.1mph. The run wasn�t just a fluke, as it was backed up by a 9.80 on the next run.

The pass was first rumored on MercuryMarauder.net, and then followed up with pictures and video of the record-breaking run.

Photos courtesy of: MercuryMarauder.net.

Previous to this pass, the best runs ever performed by a Marauder were in the 10-second range, but those records were shattered by this run with 281 cubic inches. An F1R Procharger goes against the common �no replacement for displacement� saying, with 18psi into the 4.6L motor built by Greg Walker of Walker Performance. The motor is also topped off with a 50-75 shot of nitrous to get things going.

Marty, the owner of the car says his main wrench on the project is Jeff Harris of Dallas, Georgia. At the rate this project has progressed, this car has a lot more in it, and could very likely need a parachute in the near future as they work closer to the 150mph mark.

Being the first Marauder in the 9�s, it is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of, and it is great to see 4 door cars out there proving they can perform. There is almost no doubt this car will be breaking it�s own records soon again, and makes me wonder, could we possibly see a Marauder in the 8�s?

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Fastest 6.4 Powerstroke Diesel Pass at 11.01 seconds

Chris Taylor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:56:49 GMT

The diesel performance world has exploded with new offerings as of late, and diesel drag race cars and trucks are becoming more popular every year. With Ford's recent offering of the 6.4L Powerstroke diesel to replace the 6.0L, you had to know that diesel racers would be eager to claim the title of the "fastest." After his run last weekend at Bowling Green in the NHRDA East Coast finals, Aaron Rudolf can now claim the title of fastest 6.4L. The truck was built and is raced by Rudolf, who is the owner of Rudy�s Diesel Performance.

Word of this pass first came from The Diesel Garage forum, and was later confirmed by Rudolf with videos of the runs made that day.

Videos courtesy of: Aaron Rudolf

A few 6.4 Powerstroke�s have made it into the 11-second barrier, however, Rudolf wanted more from his �08 F250. With its extensive list of modifications, it ultimately ran an elapsed time of 11.01 seconds at 124.32 mph. Not only did Rudolf go home that day as the fastest 6.4L Powerstroke, but he also placed first in the Super Street class.

So, how did this truck get there? No doubt the newest Powerstroke offering is in a class of its own, performance-wise. However, many modifications were made to the motor to achieve these times: a Spartan custom tune, Nitrous Express 2-stage kit, ported heads with bigger valves, and ported exhaust manifolds. The fuel system still contains stock fuel injectors (which Rudolf has plans to upgrade), with an upgraded fuel pump and fuel rails from Elite.

Rudolf performed the EGR and DPF (diesel particulate filter) delete in-house. The suspension in the truck is essentially stock, and the truck rolls on a set of factory Ford 20� rims, wrapped in Toyo Proxes tires. The transmission is a fully built Suncoast 5R110 with a billet input shaft, intermediate shaft, and upgraded clutches.

As it sits, the truck is extremely close to breaking into the 10-second range. More upgrades are planned for this already stout truck, and no doubt Rudolf knows how to get it done. Watch out, a 10-second 6.4 Powerstroke could be coming to a drag strip near you!

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Dwayne Gutridge breaks into the 6's and takes home the Drag Radial Shakedown win

Chris Taylor — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:51:39 GMT

To say the least, this years Shakedown at E-Town was one of the most eventful races of the year. Many cars were making extremely fast passes with some records being broken, cars changing hands and unfortunately a few accidents as well. Amongst all the news surrounding the Englishtown event, Dwayne �Big Daddy� Gutridge joined the elite 6-second zone on a drag radial tire with an elapsed time of 6.99 at 204mph. His best run previous to this was very close at a 7.01.

Dwayne himself posted some details and the incrementals of the run on YellowBullet, explaining that the car wasn�t running as perfect as he would have liked with some boost issues, and believes that it has a lot more in it.

A 6-second run was something Dwayne has been in search of all season as he mentioned in the interview we did a while back and he had come very close on numerous occasions. Only 4 Mustangs are currently in the 6�s on drag radials which goes to show it is not a task many have completed. Not only did he break into the 6�s, he also took home the drag radial class win which was his 2nd career Shakedown drag radial win. A lot of people say Dwayne is at a disadvantage in his class, since he is using a much smaller motor than most with 394 cubic inches under the hood of his �88 Mustang. Another notable item is that his car is the fastest one to still be equipped with an 8.8" Ford rear axle.

Dwayne has made many astounding accomplishments in his career but this is surely one that he will always remember and with some luck he may even improve upon his new best time in the near future.

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Larry Morgan's Pro-Stock Mustang Completed

Chris Taylor — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:46:56 GMT

Famous Pro-Stock racer Larry Morgan announced earlier this year that he would be making the transition from racing a Dodge Stratus to a Ford Mustang in 2010 for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. A lot of work went into this project, as the car body change was not the only big modification. Morgan and Ford Racing also got together to develop new Pro-Stock cylinder heads and engine blocks in hopes of gaining an advantage over the older designs. After many months of hard work the car is finally complete and ready to race.

Photos of the completed Mustang Pro-Stocker were first released to the public at CompetitionPlus.

Photos Courtesy of: CompetitionPlus.

Morgan believes these changes are going to allow him to become even more competitive in the series as well as provide a strong resource for future Ford Racing development. You may remember some of the construction photos we published back in August, when the car was still receiving a roll cage and in the early chassis development stages. Now that the car is complete and we know we will be seeing out on the track shortly.

The car completed with all of the sponsor decals

Morgan has long been sponsored by Lucas Oil Products and as you see with the new car that will not change. We don�t know all the details on the build but with the quality work that went into this car and the driver/team that will be entering it into competitions next year we can be almost certain that this car will be fairly successful. As with most fresh racecars there is usually a learning curve that goes with every new build to really learn what the car needs and how to improve on it, but we can be sure the guys at Ford Racing and Morgan�s team are ready for all of the challenges they may face.

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Dave Hance runs 6.86 at MIR in his now For Sale Twin Turbo Drag Radial Mustang

Chris Taylor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:35:11 GMT

Over the years David Hance has become a popular guy in the drag racing community. Whether he's promoting an event or driving one of the baddest twin-turbo radial Mustangs out there, he's always at the top of his game. Having been one of the few radial cars in the 6's you might wonder, where does one go from there? Hance has shown that he can improve on his already stellar accomplishments with his new best run.

Last weekend at MIR (Maryland International Raceway) Hance posted an appaling 6.88 elapsed time, which was backed up by an even more impressive 6.86 at 215mph. The run breakdown was posted on yellowbullet and Hance later commented on it as well.

Pictures: Tim Lewis.

Hance's car has always been one to fear on the strip, the menacing look coming from the twin turbochargers resting in the car's fascia with top-notch driver handling all the power. The racer-friendly air this weekend at MIR was all the drivers could have asked for and the track prep was noted as simply perfect for drag radial cars. Hance's previous best run of 6.89 was already one of the best numbers on the board, but as all racers know, you always want to go faster.

Hance was truely amazed with the way the car was performing this weekend. Even believing they have this car set up the best it has ever been, Hance has been looking to bigger and better options for the future as he announced that he was interested in selling the car $99,000.

We don't know what the future holds, but we do know this car has more in it. Whether it changes hands or stays with Hance only time will tell but the numbers posted this weekend and the accomplishments made by Hance and crew are sure impressive!

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First 7-Second GT500, And it's Street Legal Too!

Chris Taylor — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:23:24 GMT

The Shelby GT500 has become an icon in the muscle car world, from the original model released in the mid-60s to the supercharged monsters of modern time, it goes without saying that the GT500 has become one of the most respected pony cars to ever be made. With that being said, I bring you the video of the first 7-second pass in an ‘07 Shelby GT500. While the run that was caught on film is a 7.94 elapsed time at 173mph, a faster elapsed time of 7.89 at 175mph was also made that day.

First word of this pass came by way of YellowBullet.

Video courtesy of: Evolution Performance

The car was built by Evolution Performance, located in Aston, PA. The car is not lightweight as far as drag cars are concerned, weighing in at 3400 pounds with a driver, but it is still a fair bit under the factory weight. The combination that propels this car down the track is fairly simple, yet extremely successful. A 5.4L all aluminum engine is topped off with a pair of 67mm Precision turbochargers. On the chassis dyno, the car laid down 1272 rear wheel horsepower and 1043 foot pounds of torque. Those numbers alone are a testament to how much power this car really has.

All three of the 7-second runs and dyno test sessions were done at a conservative 23 pounds of boost, so it is believed that this car could go even faster in the future when the boost is turned up. Seeing that this car hasn’t had a lot of track time, coupled with the fact that more boost can be made with this particular combination, it is safe to say that with more adjustments, it could very well be propelled even deeper into the 7-second bracket. Breaking the 7s is just a start for this crew, and they look to be making more improvements to this already stellar car in the near future.

For now, they are excited to have built the first GT500 in the 7s.

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Robert Patrick Predicts New ADRL Extreme Pro Stock Record

Chris Taylor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:05:37 GMT

Seasoned ADRL Extreme Pro Stock (XPS) racer Robert Patrick has been around the sport long enough to know that anything can happen. Patrick is the current elapsed time record holder in Extreme Pro Stock with a 4.059. However, he is quite confident that his record will be broken this week. "It wouldn�t surprise me if that record falls early on Friday," states Patrick.

This info comes directly from ADRL News.

What makes Patrick so certain that a record pass is in the cards? The mid-60 degree forecast for Friday is ideal, and he also believes that from a competition standpoint, any of the eight finalists are fully capable of winning. It's anybody's race.

Patrick is the number 8 seed for this weekend's event, but he is confident that he has as good a chance as his fellow competitors. "I really believe what you�ll see in Dallas is a battle of eight cars equally capable of winning this Battle for the Belts competition," states Patrick. I expect to have my work cut out for me."

No doubt Patrick has an excellent piece of equipment in the Purvis Ford-sponsored 2007 Shelby Mustang, but anything can happen in a sport as unpredictable as drag racing. It's completely possible that Patrick could be the one breaking his own elapsed time record this weekend. "I really believe the car is as good as it has ever been," he explains. "We�ve really worked on our engines and when we get to Ennis, we�ll have a few bullets ready to go. The power Bob Ingles provides us is on par with everyone else in the class. That�s what it�s going to take. It�s going to take me being the sharpest I�ve ever been on the tree and in my driving.�"

This is certainly shaping up to be one of the best ADRL Extreme Pro Stock races this year.

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