Video: The May Mojave Mile, Big Red Style

The title of The Fastest Mile in the West no doubt goes to the Mojave Mile, a standing mile competition held at the Mojave Air and Space Port airfield in Mojave, California multiple times a year. While competition is always tough at the all-out mile events, there is no competitor like Big Red, the iconic ’69 Camaro racecar, to take on the challenge of reaching the fastest speed possible in just 5,280 feet.

As the first event of the 2012 season for Big Red, we’re sure to see quite a bit of footage from the March Mojave Mile in the soon-to-be-released documentary by Josh Oliver. But in the meantime, a sneak peek of the footage of Big Red at the famous event has been uploaded to the Big Red YouTube channel. Check it out above.

RJ Gottlieb sitting at the starting line for the 2012 May Mojave Mile event. Images: Dan Gottlieb, Big Red Facebook page

The Mojave Mile hasn’t been taking place for very long, but for the past three years, the standing-mile events at the Mojave airfield have lured supercars, mad pro-touring machines, hot rods, sports cars, bikes and anything in between to the sizzling desert asphalt to see who can reach the fastest speed in just one mile.

Among the most famous of the competitors at this year’s first Mojave Mile run was Big Red.

With Big Red fitted with its “Monster Motor,” a 598ci big-block Brodix-based powerhouse that burbles to the tune of about 1,300hp and 1,050ft-lbs of torque with a mild 150-shot nitrous setup, RJ Gottlieb laid down the fastest time of the event. Shared with a ‘97 Viper, Big Red was able to hit a top speed of 218.3mph.

While the famous Camaro is fully capable of reaching and maintaining speeds of over 220mph, crosswinds and declining air quality at the event prevented Big Red from hitting the elusive Mojave Mile track time. But don’t you fret! Big Red will be back at it this weekend at the Mojave airfield for the Mojave Magnum, a 1.5-mile sprint to top speed.

We can’t wait to see how Big Red does at this weekend’s event and look forward to seeing Oliver’s documentary on the famous car soon. Be sure to stay tuned for our in depth look at the legend that is Big Red coming your way soon.