ANDY JENSEN

so in the Supercharged group and Fredy Scriba in the Nitrous / Turbo group . While the Supercharged final round between Mike Decker Jr . and Derek Ward was postponed to late July due to curfew , the Nitrous / Turbo contingent completed its eliminations , with Jensen defeating Scriba in the final round .

Jensen was first off the line in his single-turbo , small-block-powered ’ 68 Camaro , and though both drivers had nearly identical 60-foot times , Jensen powered ahead to finish with a 3.673-second pass at 204.23 MPH for the win . Scriba slowed to a 4.223 at 129.07 .

“ I was choked up . It was a pretty big deal ,” Jensen says of his win . “ We ’ ve had a pretty good car in the past but struggled for the past few years . I ’ ve always run an oddball combination and I do that because it ’ s what ’ s interesting to me , and the fans , to be honest . I could buy a Noonan and screw-charger or a Musi 959 , but I just have no interest in that . To me , the fun is taking a bunch of homemade junk and trying to run with the store-bought stuff . It ’ s difficult . You really can ’ t ask anybody for help because nobody knows anything about it . It ’ s a lot harder way to go , but it ’ s more satisfying when you win . It may not be a smart way to do it , but it ’ s the way I ’ ve chosen .”

Jensen burst onto the NEOPMA scene in 2003 when he won the championship with his streetdriven , nitrous-fed , small-block ’ 67 Corvette . He switched to a single-turbo setup for 2004 , and he went on to win the next two championships and a fourth in 2007 .

“ I built my first single-turbo small-block car because I had a bunch of small-block nitrous junk laying around ,” Jensen says . “ I could afford one turbo , so that ’ s what I bought , and I ’ ve just run it ever since . We get a weight break for it , which is kind of nice . The car is a little less maintenance with the weight break .”

The next evolution in Jensen ’ s program came in 2008 when he built his first methanol-burning turbo car , a McAmis-built ’ 68 Camaro with a 5-speed and a clutch . At that time , he also built two new engines in the basement of his house . He continues to run those same engines today .

“ I built them for 30 grand apiece ,” Jensen says . “ They ’ re just aluminum small blocks with cast heads . We ’ ve ran pretty well for having a bunch of wore out stuff . I designed and built them myself . They ’ re still competitive . But they ’ re tired . Sooner or later , I ’ m bringing this thing home in a bucket and I know it . It ’ s just hanging together .”

From 2008 through 2021 , Jensen ran his clutch-equipped , single-turbo , small-block Camaro in various Pro Mod series and events along the East Coast . In 2008 , he broke the eighth-mile 3-second barrier for turbo cars . The next year , he made the first 5-second pass by a small-blockpowered door car . He racked up a pair of Pro Mod championships in the Cecil County Dragway series in 2017 and 2018 , then changes in the tires he used led to a dry spell .

Realizing that his preferred clutch setup wasn ’ t going to work with the current tires on the market , Jensen decided to put together a new car with a torque converter . He bought Jim Sartori ’ s roots-blown ’ 68 Camaro and swapped in his preferred combination , along with the converter , a Ty-Drive , and Haltech electronics . All those changes meant the 2022 season was mostly a learning opportunity for Jensen and his team .

“ I had to learn a lot of stuff , and at 58 years old , it ’ s not as easy as it was when I was 38 years old ,” Jensen laughs . “ By the end of last year we said , ‘ OK , we got a bunch of stuff wrong here .’ I made some changes over the winter , and now we ’ re starting to show some signs of life here early in the season .”

Jensen points out that he ’ s had some help along the way as he ’ s navigated the changes that led to his first Pro Mod win since 2018 and first NEOPMA win since 2008 .

“ I get technical advice from Uncle John Burris , who is a wealth of knowledge on how to make power with a turbocharger ,” Jensen begins . “ Longtime friend Kevin McCurdy has been giving me some suspension advice on how to make this Hoosier tire work . Patrick Barnhill has been key in getting me up to speed on how to use the Haltech electronics . I certainly couldn ’ t have won this race without their help .”

Jensen also credited his loyal crew for their efforts . His team includes his fiancée , Tiffany Tankalavage , Mark Montesano , Frank Tankalavage , and Jim Wohlford .

“ My crew deserved that win ,” Jensen says . “ Generally , when you struggle for a long period of time , you ’ ll find out who your real dedicated friends are . These guys came home from the track disappointed almost every outing for three years and they ’ re still here . I ’ ve got a pretty fantastic crew , so it made me feel good to get them a winner ’ s circle picture .” DI

42 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 183