Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 30
Dirt
Keith Mayers’ one-of-a-kind
’85 Porsche 944
By Ainsley Jocobs
I
n a drag racing world densely popu-
lated by American muscle, Keith Mayers
has proved that his little Porsche is a potent
player and that German cars have plenty
of their own power, too.
“I was painting cars for a guy that did a lot of
imports, and there was a BMW I had been con-
sidering,” recalls Mayers of his mid-‘90s career.
“There was a Porsche there, too, and I have loved
them since I was a kid so I talked the owner into
letting me have it.” Mayers wasted no time in
stripping down the ’85 Porsche 944 and selling
off all the viable components. Then, armed with
a VCR and television set that he rolled into his
garage, he watched video after video to learn how
to build a race car.
Soon, Mayers had the car back-halved and
stuffed a 396 ci big-block engine in. “I only cut
up what I needed to drop the motor in, and it
still had power windows and stock suspension
up front,” he notes of the unique combination.
Mayers originally intended to run NHRA Su-
per Street with his home-built Porsche, and also
dabbled in some footbrake classes. “My first year
out with it around ’96 or ’97 I wound up winning
a championship.”
Since its early days, Mayers’s 944 has seen
quite a few different engine combinations but
currently runs a 565 ci big-block Chevy-based
bullet with a Powerglide transmission and a Ford
9” out back. An all-aluminum big block is in the
works, and the car runs consistent 10.90s in the
quarter-mile. It also has a few little touches that
show off Mayers’s fun personality, including a
sunroof, CD player, and even a dancing hula girl
on the dash. “She makes the decisions,” laughs
Mayers. “If she’s nodding her head, she’s telling
me to hit the brakes at the stripe.”
Bouncing between Delaware and the Eastern
Shore of Maryland, 51-year-old Mayers has ac-
cumulated an impressive track record with his
Porsche over the nearly 25 years he has been
competing with it. He has no problem being the
odd man out with his German-engineered drag
car, and has taken every opportunity to disprove
the naysayers with his aerodynamically advan-
taged entry.
Mayers has earned multiple IHRA champion-
ship titles, including the 2005 and 2009 seasons,
and racked up nearly a dozen national event wins.
Footbrake and bracket races with prizes paying
out upwards of $10,000 have all seen Mayers
and his Porsche posing proudly in the winner’s
circle, and he’s also found tremendous success
in the Mid Atlantic .90 Association – including
world titles three years in a row.
Even more impressive was Mayers’s recent
winning streak where he won 33 consecutive
rounds across multiple races. He took home the
Wally at the 2018 NHRA Southern Nationals in
Commerce, Georgia, for the Super Street category,
and went on to win the 11.50 index class with his
small-block-powered ’67 Dodge Coronet at a
Mid Atlantic race in Maple Grove, Pennsylvania,
where he doubled up by winning with the Porsche
that day as well.
Mayers’s innovation and Porsche-pioneering
spirit haven’t gone unnoticed. Companies such as
Weldon High Performance Racing Pumps have
partnered with Mayers for product testing and
development, such as with the Weldon 16250-A
Carb Series and 19420-A fuel pumps.
“When I went to a bigger motor a few years
back, I found myself running out of fuel. I found
a Weldon pump for sale, put it in, and it solved
the problem,” explains Mayers of how the working
relationship got started. Eventually, the pump
needed to be replaced and Weldon worked with
Mayers to find a replacement to work in his tight-
fit location. “They have been great about getting
me what I need, and I ain’t had a lick of trouble
with their products. Now I know I‘ll have plenty
of fuel supply for when I move to the 632 ci alu-
minum motor, too.”
Looking ahead, Mayers is content to stick to
NHRA Super Street as long as he’s got his wife,
Etta, by his side and support from his friends and
fellow racers like Gerald Pierce and Jeff Fisher.
Running against high-dollar cars with an uncon-
ventional ride and an open trailer pulled by a ’99
Ford F350 pickup truck may cause less-secure
folks to feel down on themselves, but Mayers
knows his homemade German hot rod has the
goods to go up against any American muscle –
and win.
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Issue 140
Porsche Power