This late-70s Camaro looks fairly stock, but it beats a first-gen in a great drag race.
This drag racing video comes to us from the YouTube channel of Dan Starr, who seemingly owns and drives this late-1970s Camaro. It doesn’t look like it would be an 11-second car, but it ran those numbers while outrunning a first generation Chevy muscle car.
The competitors
Unfortunately, there are no details on any of the videos of Starr’s Camaro, but it appears to be relatively stock with down to the steel wheels, with the exception of the cowl induction-style hood and some beefy rear tires. However, as soon as it leaves the starting line, it becomes evident that the engine is far more powerful than any of the mills offered in the later portion of the second generation.
In the far lane is a first-generation Chevrolet Camaro, also with no accompanying details, but it appears to have aftermarket wheels, so it likely has sticky tires out back as well.
If both cars were stock, the odds were be good that the older Camaro would cruise to victory, but these cars are both modified – and the newer car clearly has more power.
The generational battle
The video begins as the second-gen Camaro does a burnout in the uphill water box of Quarter City Motorsports Park in Ohio. After cleaning off the tires, the red Chevy is joined by a gold first-gen car at the starting line and when the green lights drop, the late-70s race car jumps out to an early lead.
The older car appears to stick with the 2g Camaro as they head down track, but the “Starr car” gets there first – running an 11.73 at 115 miles per hour to the first-gen car’s 12.45 at 108.
Crank up your speakers and enjoy this battle of classic Chevrolet Camaros.
"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.
