This week’s Drag Race Monday video features an absolutely wicked 1963 Chevrolet Corvette race car. We join this bad ride as it participates in a no prep, big tire event at the Texas Motorplex.
The video begins with the 1963 ‘Vette making a test run against a Fox Body Mustang. Oddly, the Ford doesn’t move when the green light drops, but the Corvette rocketed off the line. Unfortunately, the Chevy dances towards the center line and the driver has to lift. The launch shows the potential of this blown Chevy race car.
After that first run, the camera man speaks with Bruce Darby, the driver of the white 1963 Corvette race car, at which point we learn that the guy who drives the car really doesn’t know anything about it. He knows that it is blown and he thinks that it is a 508 cubic inch big block. The car’s nickname of The Alcoholic leads me to believe that it is an alcohol engine.
In any case, the first elimination run shows the blown ’63 Alcoholic Corvette taking on an SN95 Mustang that is also clearly supercharged. We get to see the Vette perform a huge burnout, followed by the race between these two American performance cars. The start is pretty even, but the Corvette quickly walks away as the Mustang loses traction.
The Corvette takes the “W,” but on that first run, the car got loose and wound up on the two left side wheels.
After checking with the driver, the action turned back to the track for the second elimination round. This time it is the blown C2 Corvette against a blown C5 Corvette. The two ‘Vettes get away from the line nicely, but when the ’63 smoked the tires around the 330 mark – the win went to the newer Chevy.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
