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Filed under: Motorsports , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Etc. , Videos , Chevrolet , GM , Nissan , Special/Limited Editions Click the image above to view the gassed 'Vette take on the Nissan GT-R after the jump The Garage 419 team is anything but conventional, so when they say they're going to race a Nissan GT-R against a $500 competitor, you know it's going to be entertaining. Host Matt Farah had the easy task of rolling to the strip in the Godzilla of street racers, with 478 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and launch control at his beck and call. Editor Gene Sanchez had the tougher task of obtaining a $500 car to challenge his co-worker. Sanchez had a couple tricks up his sleeve, though, as he rented a $200-per-day LS3 Corvette from the Hertz Fun Collection and added a bargain-basement $300 nitrous system. Unfortunately, the 'Vette was burdened with lousy run-flat tires and a six-speed slush box, but at least the yellow underdog had the crowd on its side. Does a juiced up Corvette...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Coupes , Ford Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ford Mustang FR500CJ Cobra Jet We first told you about Ford's new Mustang Cobra Jet factory drag car in June of 2007 and last week Ford posted a video on YouTube of a test session with the new car showing its stuff at Milan DragWay. Now we've received some fresh high-res pics of the Cobra Jet in our inbox from Ford. Last we heard Ford is only building 50 of these drag race specials all of which are powered by a blown 5.4-liter 32-valve V8 based on the GT500 motor. This engine has been breathed on a little more heavily then the GT500 and the car looks like it's been stripped down. With the usual drag combo of skinny front and fat rear tires, this Cobra looks like it might be a contender. Gallery: Mustang FR500CJ Cobra Jet Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Motorsports , Safety The NHRA has acted very quickly in an effort to improve the safety of its Top Fuel and Funny Car races. Due to the tragic death recently of '94 and '95 Top Fuel champion Scott Kalitta, the drag strip for these two fastest classes will be shortened from the traditional 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet. Race officials and team managers believe that this compromise will continue to make for an entertaining race as the cars will still be hitting speeds of around 300 mph. This is an interim change as the sanctioning body investigates the crash and its causes, and will stay in effect until more definite changes can be made. The first race which will incorporate the new shorter track length will take place on July 11-13 at the Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver, Colorado. [Source: NHRA via AutoWeek ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Motorsports , Ford Click above for a high-res gallery from the Ford Racing Invitational I went into the Ford Racing Racing Invitational drag race this weekend with only a cursory knowledge of drag racing. Sure I was aware of all the usual suspects like Garlits, Prudhomme, Force and other famous names over the years. I knew about the kind of speeds they reached and I had a vague awareness of bracket racing and the need for consistency. But I figured "How hard can it be to go from a starting line and traverse 1320 feet in the shortest possible time?" Well, it turns out that it's a lot harder than you might think. If nothing else, I came away from this experience with with a vastly increased respect for successful drag racers. Let's start with a brief run down of the procedure. First up, before getting to the starting line you do a couple of burnouts to warm the tires in hope of getting some extra grip. On racing slicks this undoubtedly helps. Whether it actually...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Coupes , Ford 1968 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Ford has a long history of creating factory-built racers based on its regular production cars. Over the past four decades, most of those have have been derived from the Mustang. Since the mid-90s, that has included several runs of Cobra Rs, and today, a couple of variants of the FR500. Later this summer, Ford will revive another Mustang variant from the first generation when the Cobra Jet is reborn. The original Cobra Jet was built as a drag racing special with a high-torque long-stroke 428 cu. in. V8. Forty years later, Ford will be building a new Cobra Jet this summer. The new Cobra Jet will be powered by a supercharged 5.4L 32-valve V8 based on the GT500 engine. This engine, dubbed the Romeo 605 by Ford Racing officials, will use an upgraded supercharger as compared to the GT500. The car will come from the factory detuned to a mere 400 hp in order to meet NHRA rules. The 605 gives an indication of the true power potential...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Coupes , Ford Click my Mustang for a high res gallery As the skies finally cleared this morning, us hacks finally managed to get in a single practice run here at Milan Dragway for the Ford Racing Invitational. Ford invited some media out to race race some Mustangs as part of the NMRA Ford Nationals weekend. In my first-ever run on a dragstrip, I managed to not embarrass myself and get decent time in my Shelby GT500. My reaction time was a bit on the slow side at 0.6149s as I was seeing the tree for the first time. Once I hooked up, the car flew down the strip before I backed off just a bit too soon, not knowing where the finish line was. I still ended up with 12.8692 ET at 106.56. At the 1,000 ft mark I was at 103.70mph and 10.875 sec. Now that I know where I'm going hopefully I can do a little better this afternoon. Oh, the guy in the orange convertible ? Ehh, not so fast, better luck next time. Gallery: Ford Racing Invitational 08: Practise Permalink | Email...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Time Warp , Coupes , Dodge , Special/Limited Editions Dodge Challenger Super Stock shown from 2006 SEMA Show Fans of going as fast as possible in a straight line, which includes some of us at Autoblog, have reason to rejoice. Chrysler has officially announced that the drag package for its upcoming Challenger, initially shown at SEMA in late 2006 , will be released on an unsuspecting public. Previous rumors have the drag pack getting hi-po versions of the 5.9-liter Magnum and Hemi V8's, while jettisoning around eight-hundred pounds of dead weight unnecessary for mass-acceleration. The National Hot Rod Association is said to be going through the package as we speak in order to certify it for racing duty. After all of the necessary paperwork is complete, the Challenger is expected to race in the Stock Eliminator class. According to Chrysler spokeswoman Patricia Georgevich, Chrysler is looking at a possible introduction in July. [Source: Inside Line ] Read | Permalink...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Etc. , Videos , Dodge Chris Krug has what we think might be the most bad-ass late-90's Dodge Caravan in the world. Like us, he apparently thought the 150-hp V6 just wasn't enough and added some supplemental power via a 1,000-hp helicopter jet engine. But he left the original piston powerplant in place to retain its street-legal status. It's not easy to describe the rapidity at which Krug's green Caravan explodes off the line and down the track. It's seriously disconcerting to watch almost two tons of toddler-hauling mediocrity running an 11.17-second quarter mile with flames shooting out the back hatch. The black and white soccer ball sticker on the liftgate only further cements the surreal feeling that this van is just not right. The turbine is government surplus and the flames are courtesy of judicious use of fuel sprayed into the helicopter engine's exhaust. Though the pyrotechnics make for a good show, Krug says they provide no boost...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Dodge Challenger Super Stock shown from 2006 SEMA Show Just like in the '60s, some people will take their new 2008 Dodge Challengers to the drags. Chrysler is reportedly ready to make this very easy for new Challenger owners. Allpar is reporting that within a few weeks, there will issue forth from Chrysler a Super Stock special version of the Challenger. The intended application is Stock Eliminator drag racing, and the cars get their own VINs and lots of lightening. Powering drivers down the strip will be versions of the Hemi and 5.9 liter Magnum V8s, twisting through manual or automatic boxes. Jettisoning things like wipers, HVAC, sound deadening and seats make for a Challenger that's definitely not road-ready, but much lighter for track applications. 800 pounds have reportedly been trimmed out of the car through the omission of equipment and special composite body parts. Mechanicals have been modified to better suit the...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Etc. , Videos The good news: he's alive. The bad news: he's a little busted up. John Force's dragster (yeah, that John Force , the one with the Driving Force tv show about him and his hawt drag racing daughters) went out of...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Videos , Australia Most people attending drag races expect to see cars accelerate to breakneck speeds in a matter of mere seconds. However, as sick as it sounds, there's always the excitement one gets from seeing a car crash...
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