This week’s Drag Race Monday video features a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro taking on a couple of other classic Chevy cars on an 8th mile drag strip. The yellow Camaro is marked as “S/Pro” and “S/G,” which, we will guess is NHRA code for Pro Stock and Super Gas. The times this car is running seems way too slow (comparatively) for a Pro Stock car, nor does it looks as absolutely bonkers as an all-out Pro Stock car. The tub chassis back end and radius’d fenders do look the part, but I think that’s where the “tubing” ends, as this thing doesn’t look like a tube frame monster. However, this thing is dead on the money for a Super Gas vehicle, which is one of the lower tiers of the NHRA racing classes, where the rule are flexible, but don’t allow the use of “exotic fuels,” which can be interpreted as you will. We’re guessing that level of performance isn’t happening on 91 or 93 octane, whatever it may be using. We don’t have any further details on any of these cars, but in the case of the bright yellow 1967 Camaro – there is no question that is has been heavily modified to dominate the drag strip.
In the first portion of the video, we watch the 1967 Camaro do a burnout and stage against a Chevy II Nova. The Chevy II redlit the start, giving the Camaro an easy win, but the 1967 F Body still laid down an awesome 8th mile time of just 5.98 seconds. On the second run, the Camaro takes on a 1971 Nova and while the newer Chevy in the near lane has the starting line advantage – the 1st gen Camaro runs him down on the big end, turning in an ET of just 5.95 seconds. If we use some rough, drag racing math, all of these cars are running low-10 second passes down the 1320, or maybe just cracking into the 9 second range.
"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.
