S197 Mustang GT Drag Racing Shootout - Three-Valve Throwdown

'05 Mustang GT
Peter DEL Pino, Miami, FL
10.47/139.66

Plainly put, Peter Del Pino gave it his all at the shootout. Knowing he had a bad transmis-sion in his Mustang, he ripped off three lightning-quick passes and recorded top speed of the event. With a best pass being a 10.47 in his opening salvo, Del Pino surely would have given Steven Spaulding's Mustang a run for its money if the tranny was right. Either way, Del Pino made the gutsy call to run the entire event as is, and we couldn't have been happier.

The '05 GT features a stock-displacement Three-Valve beefed up with CP pistons and Manley rods. Del Pino ditched the stock heads for a set of massaged Boss 330s, which came from Al Pappito's shop, Boss 330 Racing, whom also handled the engine build. Increased power comes in the form of a ProCharger F1A centrifugal blower pushing 20 pounds of boost, along with an extra 75 hp added on top thanks to the Zex nitrous system. Like Spaulding's Stang, Del Pino's is show-worthy as well. You can hardly find the rollcage, and if he gets bored in the staging lanes, he can always watch a movie on the in-dash DVD player.

'05 Mustang GT
Lidio Iacobelli, Mt. Clemens, MI
10.94/125.17

Lidio Iacobelli normally drives his '05 GT in street trim on Enkei 20-inch rims. What looks like a stock GT with a set of wheels quickly embarrasses anyone who takes this Mustang lightly. Why, you ask? How about Iacobelli having a car that rips off high 10- and low-11-second elapsed times with ease. Pretty wicked, isn't it?

Like Mike Bowen and Sixth-Place finisher Justin Burcham, Iacobelli was also a return visitor to a MM&FF shootout. After swapping out the stock pistons and rods for Diamond slugs and Eagle connecting rods, Iacobelli had the stock heads cleaned up before he bolted on a Vortech V-2 S-Trim blower and a methanol injection kit. Iacobelli tuned the car himself with an SCT tuner, then got behind the wheel and ran a 10.94-second best at a speed of 125 mph. On the outside, his ride is pretty basic with its factory black paint, though he did bolt on a 3dCarbon wing and front clip to enhance the visual appeal.