LOST RUBBER

Legendary outlaw doorslammer racer Jason Scruggs streaks through the eighth-mile traps after a stout 3.602-second, 214.31mph pass in his Jerry Bickel-built’ 69 Camaro in the heat of Pro Extreme qualifying for the PDRA Memphis Drags. While earning a runner-up finish in Memphis and displaying his ability to produce consistent 3.6- and mid 3.5-second runs, the Mississippi-native and his father, Mitchell, actually spent the days leading up to final qualifying and elimination rounds in testing.“ We’ ve been trying a lot of things,” said Scruggs.“ To try and run at the front, or maybe even get a little bit of advantage, you have to be trying things all the time. We’ re not afraid to experiment. On Thursday during testing in Memphis, we had an engine in the car that we’ d never ran before – totally different piston, totally different camshaft design that I’ d never ran. Unfortunately, it didn’ t work so good and we blew the blower off it about half-track and caught the car on fire. But that’ s the name of the game. You’ ve gotta be trying stuff and keep moving forward. It’ s the only way we’ ve gotten these cars to run 3.40s at almost 230 mph.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE McHUGH Memphis International Raceway | Millington, Tennessee | Friday, August 12, 2016

110 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 113