Pontiac Firehawk Wins Rounds at No Prep Mayhem with Mega Wheelies

This Pontiac can hook: big wheelies for the firechicken.

Conventional drag-racing wisdom says something like “Giant wheelies lose races.” Apparently, nobody ever told this racer that, as evidenced by going rounds with his wheelie-popping machine at Kansas International Dragway’s No Prep Mayhem. In his all-black 2000 Pontiac Firehawk, the driver found every minute measure of grip for the rear tires. That sent the nose skyward, but he still outran the True Street competition in the first two rounds.

We find an awful lot of things to like about this video. Not only are the trio of wheelies completely spectacular, the driver also clearly enjoys himself. Whenever 1320 Video comes across him, he’s smiling and cracking jokes about the wild rides. That includes a second wheelie that found him smashing through the gears with a view only of clouds. The Firehawk wandered pretty far out of the groove toward the right wall, but he drove through it to win the round.

The driver claims to have tried everything in his playbook to tie the nose down. Nothing works at all, but the Firehawk still runs hard. He bests a pretty first-gen Camaro in Round 1. After that, he trounces a bitchin’ flat black Ford Falcon gasser in the second round. He eventually succumbs to a hard-running, turbocharged GMC Sonoma in Round 3. However, he comes away all smiles.

“If I can’t come out and win the events and all the money, at least I have an exhibition car,” the driver told 1320. “I’m having fun, that’s what it’s all about.”

The Firehawk still runs an LS engine with a nitrous setup and a Turbo 400 transmission. Traditionally, True Street competitors must complete a 30-mile cruise just before racing without making alterations to the car. It descends from the original Pump Gas Drags and similar events, including the much-longer Hot Rod Drag Week, that demand cars be capable of street driving before attacking the quarter-mile.