This week’s Drag Race Monday video features the 1972 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport featured in the TV show Street Outlaws. This car is better known as the Monza Split Bumper Camaro due to the fact that it is driven by Jerry “Monza” Johnston, who came onto the street racing scene with his built Chevy Monza. More recently, he has made a name for himself in the world of street racing and no-prep racing with this murdered out 1972 Camaro. Said Camaro is powered by a nitrous-injected, 528 cubic inch big block Chevy V8. In this video, we watch as Monza sleeps at the starting line then dances his way to a win.
If you are unfamiliar with no-prep racing, the idea is to race on an a drag strip that has not been treated or coated with resin to increase grip. This makes the racing more like what street racers would deal like on the surface of a public road. In theory, this no-prep drag racing allows similar action to street racing, but in the safe confines of a drag strip – rather than out on the open road.
The problem with this no-prep racing is that the racing surface can be very slick, which is obvious in the clip below.
After the Monza Camaro and the Nova in the near lane do their burnouts and stage, the video jumps ahead to the two cars taking the green light. Both cars are slow to launch, but the Camaro sits longer – moving out well after the Nova. However, the big block Camaro quickly jumps into the lead when the Nova loses traction right at the line and when the Nova nearly went sideways around the halftrack mark, the Camaro was able to drive to an “easy” win.
"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.
