M
any years earlier,
however, Stack’s
father had purchased
a brand-new 1986
Chevrolet Monte
Carlo SS. When
Stack turned 16,
his father gifted it
to the young man
and handed over
the keys. “I started
driving it and racing
it – it was only natural,” says
Stack, who was actually mostly a
stereo enthusiast at first. “Well,
not long after, the motor blew
up because my dad hadn’t taken
care of it.”
Stack did what any other
self-respecting 16-year-old
would do – he researched his
options. His father, however,
knew that swapping in a differ-
70 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
ent motor could hurt the value of
the classic car, and insisted his son
install a 302 ci crate engine from
Chevrolet. “I put it in under the
shade tree in my grandmother’s
back yard,” reminisces Stack of
his youthful days spent wrenching
on his Chevy. “That motor, being
fresh and new, had a whole lot
more power than it did before, so
I started getting into street racing
and couldn’t outrun anybody, but
I wasn’t ashamed of that.”
When a small fender bender oc-
curred not long after, Stack found
himself in an interesting situation.
As the other driver had been
at fault, he received a check for
$1,500. “Well, it didn’t do much
damage to my car, and there was
a speed shop across the street so I
spent every single penny on per-
formance parts,” he laughs. Stack
suddenly found himself the proud
owner of a nitrous oxide kit, a new
cam, intake, a different carb, and
miscellaneous other items.
After he graduated high school,
Stack acquired a little pick-up to
drive every day so that he could be
more aggressive with his Monte
Carlo’s situation. He built a 408 ci
engine and installed it in secret,
without his parents ever knowing.
It wasn’t until around 1995 that
he started bracket racing in a foot-
brake class, but was hooked and
did a little work on the engine to
make his car faster.
“I was running what is now
6.0 – back then it was 6.2 – at the
track close to my house,” notes
Stack, who stuck with the class
until around 2003. From there,
he found a new home for his small
block nitrous combination; he
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SHANE STACK