Two well-known, and fast Chevys go head-to-head in an epic no-prep battle.
This no prep drag race action comes to us from the YouTube channel of the National No Prep Racing Association. It features an awesome matchup between the Fireball Camaro race car and the Goliath 2.0 1963 Nova driven by Daddy Dave. These are a pair of the best-known no-prep racers, and as you might expect, the action is incredible.
The Competitors
If you are unfamiliar with this Camaro and Nova, here is a quick rundown of the key details.
The Fireball Camaro in the far lane is campaigned by the same folks who created the 700 and 900 horsepower Fireball packages for the street-legal Camaro SS. However, there are no real similarities between their race car and their street cars. Under the hood of this beast is a 572 cubic-inch aluminum big block, fed by a pair of monster turbochargers. In hunting around online, we found that in its most powerful configuration, the engine of this 5th gen Chevy race car produces somewhere in the area of 4,500 horsepower.
The Goliath 2.0 Nova is campaigned by Daddy Dave of television’s Street Outlaws. Under the hood of this race-ready 1963 Chevy is a 540 cubic-inch aluminum big block, fed by a ProCharger F1x-12 supercharger, sending almost 2,300 horsepower to the beefy rear tires.
Based strictly on those power numbers, it seems like an easy win for the Camaro, but there is a reason that we decide the winner on a track – not on a dyno.
The Boosted Battle
After a set of massive, pro stock-style burnouts, the Camaro and Nova carefully stage at the starting line. When the green lights drop, the Fireball car in the far lane takes a small early lead and begins to pull away. Daddy Dave closes the gap as the two blast down the track, but the Camaro holds off the Nova, taking the win.
Like most no-prep races, we don’t get any track times, but the right lane gets the win light and that is all that matters here.
"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.
