This week’s Drag Race video is a battle of impressive sleepers, with a mid 1980s Chevrolet Caprice 2-door racing down the quarter mile against a twin turbocharged Lincoln Mark VII.
Really, the Lincoln was designed to be a go-fast car, but that is definitely not true of the Chevrolet Caprice in the near lane. However, the owner of this particular family coupester has swapped in an LS1 engine with enough gusto to get the 2-door Chevy down the track in a serious hurry.
Based just on the video description, you might expect that the twin turbocharged Lincoln would be able to knock off the LS1 Chevrolet Caprice, but the big Chevy gets out first and manages to stay in front through the big end of the track.
In the end, the LS1 Caprice runs a 12.89 at 102 miles per hour while the Lincoln runs a slower 13.26 – but hits a speed of 111 miles per hour in the quarter mile. According to the guy who posted the video, the Lincoln missed a shift somewhere during the race, but it looks to me like the big Chevy in the near lane just plain out hustled the Lincoln down the drag strip.
Crank up your speakers to hear this LS1 Caprice roar!
"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.
