Watch a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 owner celebrate the delivery of his supercharged muscle car with a big, nasty burnout.
This week’s Burnout Friday video features a new owner celebrating the arrival of his 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with a burnout. It sounds like this Camaro ZL1 is fitted with the automatic transmission, based on how smoothly the driver gets the tires spinning without any obvious rev into gear. It also sounds like there is a smooth automatic shift a few seconds into the burnout, but in the end, the gearbox doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that this 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is brand new, having been purchased at Lawrence Hall Chevrolet in Abilene, Texas. The owner has picked up his new supercharged muscle car and to celebrate, the dealership has given him the greenlight to roast the rear tires in front of the showroom. GM would probably ask that you add a few break-in miles before doing a big, high-RPM burnout, but the owner clearly doesn’t care.
The burnout begins as soon as the video begins, with the black 2017 Camaro ZL1 quickly getting the rear tires spinning. Within about 3 seconds, there is smoke shrouding the rear wheels and tires. By the 6-second mark, the smoke is so thick and so plentiful that we cant see most of the rear of the car and by the 10-second mark, the smoke has enveloped the entire Camaro.
The driver lets off of the throttle around the 12-second mark and the cameraman walks around the supercharged Camaro ZL1, giving us a look at the smoke flowing up through the hood vents and filling the huge parking lot. Finally, as the new ZL1 rolls away, we get a close look at the pile of rubber built up during this short smokeshow.
"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.
