Bottled LSX gets this Firebird down the track in a hurry, but we don’t get times or trap speeds.
The video above comes to us from the Vengeance Racing YouTube channel and it features the shops “Nitrous Grudge Racing Car”, which is a fourth generation Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. As a grudge racer, the details on the build and the track times are kept secret, but there is no doubt that this is one wicked-fast drag car. Anyone looking to line up with this beast in a no-times grudge battle had better make sure to bring their A-game.
The Car
If you are not familiar with grudge racing, secrecy is common, as drivers don’t want other drivers knowing what they have or what their car runs. We know that this is a fourth generation Firebird powered by a built LSX engine from Vengeance Racing fitted with a serious nitrous setup. The engine has a FAST LSXR 102 intake and a big billet throttle body, but we can’t see much else about the engine.
We can see that this Firebird has lightweight front wheels and tires, sticky tires out back and a parachute, but for the most part, the exterior looks pretty stock. However, the sound of the bottled LS engine makes it very clear that this car is far from stock.
Hitting the Track
During the course of the 95-second video above, we get to watch this silver fourth generation Pontiac Firebird make a handful of test hits. Each run begins with a nice burnout, followed by a hard launch and at least part of the run down the track. We don’t see any of the full runs, as the team likely wants to prevent anyone from figuring out what this car turns in the quarter-mile.
The Firebird leaves like a missile, pulling the wheels off of the ground as it rips away from the line and down the track. If we had to guess, we would say that this Pontiac is covering the quarter-mile in the 9-second range, but that is purely speculation.
"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.
