Mustang Mach 1 And SVT Cobra Drag Racing Shootout - Fanatical Four-Valve Fisticuffs

2nd Place
Roy Cole
Avoca, MI
'03 Mach 1

We have to give Roy Cole a lot of credit for ending up where he did at the end of the day. For starters, he was the only participant in the shootout who did not use forced induction as a power adder. Instead, he relied on a couple of guns to get the job done. Even though he had difficulty with the second stage of the nitrous fading on and off at the top end, he was able to utilize the laughing gas enough to score a Second-Place finish. Roy beefed up the Mach 1's short-block with some forged components before working over the top end, adding a quadruple set of rumbling camshafts and plumbing in the nitrous system.

Another advantage afforded to Roy was his Mach 1 being the lightest car running in the shootout. He took it easy on the first run of the day, keeping the juice system in the "off" position. He then let it all hang out on the second run, with his 11.32-second best being a scant 0.02 of a second behind the top 11.30-second run of Matthew Wadel. Roy hooked and booked to a 1.59-second 60-foot time, the best out of everyone in the joint. We were left to wonder how quick Roy could have gone if he got the second stage to work. He says mid-10s, so maybe we'll have him back for another shootout down the road.

3rd Place
Eric Schaefer
Hillsborough, NJ'04 Mach 1

Eric Schaefer completed the 1-2-3 sweep of the Mach 1s with an 11.46-second best. He spent most of the day trying to perfect the tune-up in his Mach 1, as he had only a couple of days to get the powerplant ready for the shootout. Even though the car was running out of fuel at high rpm, forcing him to use Fifth gear at the finish line as a safety measure, he was able to make a strong showing. Powering his Mach is the accompanying Four-Valve, though the 4.6L had its cylinders punched out an extra 0.030. Eric was one of the few who utilized a centrifugal blower to make power-in his case, a ProCharger D1SC blowing in 15 pounds of boost. As the day progressed, Eric got quicker and quicker, eventually landing in Third Place with the aforementioned 11.46-second pass. Except for the first run, a 12.65, he stayed in the 11-second zone.

4th Place
Kevin Harvey
Mooresville, NC
'99 Cobra

Kevin Harvey hails from NASCAR country, and he almost didn't make it to our shootout. In the photo to the right, you see him holding the trash-a piston from the motor he fragged a few days before the event. A couple of all-night thrashings and no sleep enabled Kevin to show up and represent the Cobra contingent. He slapped on a ProCharger P1SC blower and utilized the ensuing 14 pounds of boost to break into the 11-second zone on his last pass of the day. In addition to seeing action on the dragstrip, Kevin also tosses the Cobra through corners at open-track events near his home. Instead of ditching the IRS, he beefed it up and, to the shock of those in attendance, had the fourth best 60-foot out of everyone there (Roy Cole had the top three), with a 1.669. Not too shabby!