Drag Radial has arguably become the hottest class in the country, and now with the forced induction cars routinely surpassing 190 MPH and ET’s in the 7.40’s in the quarter mile safety has become a major concern. A discussionHERE is ongoing regarding safety and other issues related to the Drag Radial class.

SFI certifications and licensing requirements have become major issues for ¼ mile racing where cars can run faster than 7.50. For the drivers they must have an advanced ET NHRA competition license to race on NHRA tracks, and a car certified to 25.2 SFI Spec which has a maximum weight of 3200 lbs. Most of these type of cars are heavier (3300-3400 lbs) and certified to 25.5 which is not legal beyond 7.50 at that weight. In fact the World Street Challenge has issued a press release stating that Drag Radial will in effect be an index class set at 7.50, and now David Wolfe and Big Daddy have said they will not attend.

Earlier this year Shannon Wren took his twin turbo Mustang to the Memphis Mid-South Street Shootout and ran three 200 mph passes in a row, with a best ET of 7.41 to set the bar, winning the event in the process. Right behind him was Tommy Brewer with a pair of 7.43’s lifting on one pass after hitting the rev limiter, then blowing a hole in the cylinder head on the next pass at 1000 feet. They went on to runner up behind Wren after an all night thrash. With both of these cars clearly capable of 7.30’s one of the big questions is where can they do it. I know Shannon made the trip specifically to run 200 as this was the first ¼ mile race of the year, and now with the WSC1 putting a cap on ET and David Hance lowering the weights for his Shakedown at E Town to comply with the NHRA rules we have to wonder what’s in store for the future of Drag Radial racing.

Shannon Wren and Steve Petty at the 2008 US Nationals in Bradenton Florida

This is a shot of the most controversial part in Drag Radial racing. The Wolfe Torque arm, or TCD ( torque control device), here removed from Shannon’s car for the Memphis Mid-South race. Some claim the removal of this device led to Shannon’s poor 1/8 mile performance, running off pace 5.0’s and 1.35 60’s. He won the race anyway.

The fastest pass in the land.

Larry Carpenter and Jimmy Lopez’ Trans Am may be the next big thing to complain about in this often controversial class.

Troy Pirez has one of the top nitrous cars going.

Surprisingly simple compared to some other cars out there.

Tony Ridenour in “The Spider” on his way to winning the 2007 Snowbird’s setting a record at the time for nitrous cars with a 7.66

The bottom side of John Balinski’s car.

Another player in the turbo field is the Racing Innovations “Grim Reaper” Mustang. This car has been 7.53.

Ritchie Stine asked me not show their suspension design, something about patents.

This is the tops of the nitrous field now. This is from Ritchie Stine at the Memphis race.

Shane Stack, one of the best in the business.

Tommy Brewer