Dirt
What’s your focus been for the 2016 season?
I’ve mainly been chasing the PDRA Pro Boost
championship. I’m trying to get my Jerry Bickelbuilt 2015 Camaro figured out, and I’m getting
real close. I can go down a nice, cool evening track
at 90-100°F, but I’m still struggling with a daytime 140°F track. I also have my X275 Mustang
and a no-prep Mustang. I’ll keep doing some
X275 races and no prep stuff, but mostly focusing
on PDRA with the Camaro.
What are the spe cs on the Camaro?
It’s got a 528 ci Hemi engine done by Carl
Stevens Jr at Xtreme Racing Engine with twin
Precision GEN2 94mm turbos on it and a Rossler
transmission. For engine management I’m running a BigStuff3 and I use a Hyperaktive boost
controller from Joe Oplawski. It’s a whole new
combination and we’re trying to get it figured
out since everything
about it is new, down to
the gear ratios.
Why do you think you’re
having trouble with it?
After sitting back and
looking at when I had
my Corvette running
at its best, it was with
Mickey Thompson tires
on it. I’m running Hoosiers on the rear now with
the Camaro, and I think
part of the problem is
the tire. I understand everyone else runs ‘em and
they know how to do it
well, but I did my best
on Mickey Thompson. I
want to try some of the
Big Bubba tires, so, we’re
going testing this weekend and that’s what we’ll
have on it.
You’re still running X275, what’s the setup on
that car?
The silver Mustang is my drag radial car, and
it’s got a Dart LS Next motor in it. Jeff Naiser
built it from the ground up and, man, it’s been
a good motor. We just freshened it up after putting about 75 runs on it, and we’re ready to go
for the rest of the season
now. That car also has
an 80mm GEN2 Precision turbo, Mark Micke
turbo glide transmission,
BigStuff3, and Hyperaktive controller. I do have
Mickey Thompsons on
this one, the 275 tires.
What’s your no prep car?
It used to be another
X275 car, my white Mustang, but I lightened it
up and put a big 98mm
GEN2 Precision turbo on
it for no prep. Jeff Naiser
built that motor, too,
which is a 406 ci small
block with billet aluminum heads he got from
Australia. It’s still a factory style suspension, and
when I do no prep we run the either the Mickey
Thompson 28.5x10.5 or 29.5x10.5 slicks.
They sure call you “Turbo” Todd Moyer for a reason. Who coined the nickname?
I’ve got those turbos and seven more sitting
around the shop! When I went turbo back in
Air Assist allows racers ability to lock the suspension
for the initial launch and release it when needed
’03, it was just a nickname that was given to me.
We were running Outlaw 10.5 then with my ’88
Camaro, and we turbo’ed it. The only people running turbo cars were Mike Murillo, Kenjo Kelley,
and a few others… I went to what they called the
dark side, and I’ve enjoyed it. There was a learning curve, but I really like the engine life you get
with the turbos.
So of your three cars, which do you prefer to
drive?
It doesn’t matter which one I’m in, I’m happy
no matter what. I just love drag racing. I think
I’m going to really enjoy the Camaro more when
I can get it to go down the hot tracks, though.
What’s the biggest difference between driving
the big tire car and the radial cars?
With the big tire, you’re always going to have
a certain amount of shake. It’s like playing cards:
you got to know when to hold ‘em and know when
to fold ‘em. Here, you’ve got to know when to lift,
or when to stay in it. But now, with the drag radials, it goes from being hooked up and then just
unhooks and you have to be careful then because
it’s like being on ice, you never know which way
it’s going go. You lift and get lightly back in it; if
you lift and stay out, whatever way it starts to
slide, it’ll keep on sliding.
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PHOTOS: JOE MCHUGH, IAN TOCHER
TODD MOYER