Getting thousands of horsepower through a clutch, down through the tires, and onto the track is a precarious and explosive balancing act. Variables that make for the right combination can shift in split seconds and overpower the grip of the tires just as fast. While the Champion Speed Shop went out in the first round on Sunday with a 7.08 against Howard Haight’s winning 6.09, the racing action could not have been better for the on their feet crowd at Beech Bend Raceway Park. Adam Sorokin was in, slightly off, but never out of the throttle as he grabbed a few handfuls of the 3000 horsepower small block Chevy. Sorokin got out on Haight, lost traction, but kept the car in the lane – driving sprint car style for some flat track sideways top fuel thunder out on the drag strip. The race was over for the Champion Speed Shop, but the crew prepared the Streamliner for a return time-only run that followed Round Two of Top Fuel Eliminations. This time Sorokin ran an arrow straight 6.05 second quarter mile at 239 with-a-five miles per hour. The team was ultimately one run short the pack, but brought the combination closer to getting out in front of it. Next stop, South San Francisco, California.
Oil is an inevitable part of the front engine top fuel dragster experience. The answer to the question of what happens when the oil hits the windscreen of the Streamliner was answered by Adam Sorokin and unparalleled high velocity driving prowess at 236 miles per hour. Sorokin said the car was on a hard charge and wanted to keep going, when a sheet of green slime on the windscreen got him out of the throttle and shutting the show down. Sorokin kept the Streaminer in a straight line on the top end of Beech Bend Raceway by looking out the left side canopy porthole and maintining close, but constant distance away from the passing guardrail. At 236 miles per hour. Sorokin got the chutes out and lit up the clocks with an oiled-in 6.11 elapsed time, besting the morning qualifying session run of 6.27 at 199 mph. When in Beech Bend it’s not the humidity that gets you, it’s the nitromethane.
The Champion Speed Shop has made it to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the NHRA Reunion, and clicked off a 6.15 at 204 mph in the 90-plus degree heat during a an afternoon qualifying session at Beech Bend Raceway Park. With one eye clouded in with humidity and nitromethane and the other on the track, driver Adam Sorokin left a hair early on the tree in the right lane. Howard Haight is shown here on his way to a 6.07 run at 245 mph blast in the left lane. The Champion crew is now readying the car for the second round of qualifying for the top fuel dragster field, set to run on what is forecasted to be a slightly cooler Saturday top fuel qualifying session.
The Champion Speed Shop is fine-tuning the Chevrolet-powered Special in preparation to motor far further south than South San Francisco for the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green Kentucky, June 19-21. Putting together an all-new race car and getting the fresh clutch and tire combination to mesh with almost three thousand horsepower can be a little tricky – especially when races last a mere 5.96 seconds each. Even with two test sessions and two races in the past, the Special has had less than five minutes of actual on-track measured run time. Bowling Green, Kentucky will be the next stop on the road towards quicker and faster quarter mile assaults. The entire crew is geared up for the drag race, and will once again bring a Chevrolet and nitromethane to the lush grounds of Beech Bend Raceway Park.
“It’s like going to Churchill Downs to drag race. Bowling Green is truly beautiful, and unlike any other drag strip. It’s one of my favorite races of the year”, said driver Adam Sorokin.
Thanks to the miracle of modern technology we’re able to present this inside the cockpit video of driver Adam Sorokin on a complete run in the Champion Speed Shop small block Chevy front engine Top Fuel dragster at the 2009 Rod and Kulture Dragfest. Seeing is very much believing. This short movie occurs in real time, and covers the entire run. First comes engine start to burn out, backup, and staging into the lights. Once the bulb goes green, Adam puts the screws to the Chevy for the run. 5.99 seconds later he hits the parachutes, and puts on the whoa from 235 miles per hour to make the turnout road.
The long haul to the Bakersfield started before sunrise on Friday at the Champion Speed Shop world headquarters in South San Francisco. The Special and trailer were already under way. The Champion Speed Shop 1934 Ford pickup’s blown small block Chevrolet was idling ready. Crew members motored towards Famoso Raceway from all points on the California map. A little over a month after the return of the small block Chevy on nitromethane to the March Meet, the Destination was once again the same. Bakersfield, California. This time it was Dragfest. (more…)
The Champion Speed Shop has gone out of the running with a blazing 240 mile per hour blast in eliminations at the March Meet. “It hooked up and went, but we didn’t have enough for him”, said driver Adam Sorokin of his 6.12 second run against opponent Shannon Stuart. The loss followed a valiant effort in which the team brought the completely new streamlined Special from testing to first round eliminations with methodical precision, only three days after landing on the hallowed ground of Famoso Raceway. The South San Francisco crew will certainly refine the small block Chevy combination in the coming racing season. While the weekend may be over, the saga of the Champion Speed Shop has clearly begun again.
Bakersfield, California – The Champion Speed Shop Special lit up the clocks with a 6.15 second run at 234 miles per hour in second round March Meet qualifying. “It’s getting better every time. The car hasn’t slowed down yet”, said hotshoe Adam Sorokin after the clean and straight run down Famoso Raceway. One more round of qualifying is on deck before eliminations begin on Sunday. Update: The team is in the number eight slot with a 6.06 second run in final round qualifying.
The Champion Speed Shop is ready for second round qualifying with Famoso raceway basking under a Bakersfield sun and cloudless sky. We figured it was a good time to deliver a warmup from yesterday and a preview of today. The launch window for top fuel action is currently scheduled for a 12:30 PM. Click over to the video for a few seconds of the small block Chevy huffing some nitro.
The collective force of the Champion Speed Shop has motored the small block Chevy powered Streamliner through first round qualifying at the March Meet. Driver Adam Sorokin reports the car got out of the gate and delivered a stout midrange hit. Sorokin hung with the Chevrolet all the way out for a clean run. While the incremental numbers for the run look good, a no time condition resulted when Brett Harris drifted across the centerline and tripped up the clocks. A post-run teardown of the Chevrolet revealed a healthy engine, and the team is now preparing the car for the first session of Saturday qualifying.
Getting thousands of horsepower through a clutch, down through the tires, and onto the track is a precarious and explosive balancing act. Variables that make for the right combination can shift in split seconds and overpower the grip of the tires just as fast. While the Champion Speed Shop went out in the first round on Sunday with a 7.08 against Howard Haight’s winning 6.09, the racing action could not have been better for the on their feet crowd at Beech Bend Raceway Park. Adam Sorokin was in, slightly off, but never out of the throttle as he grabbed a few handfuls of the 3000 horsepower small block Chevy. Sorokin got out on Haight, lost traction, but kept the car in the lane – driving sprint car style for some flat track sideways top fuel thunder out on the drag strip. The race was over for the Champion Speed Shop, but the crew prepared the Streamliner for a return time-only run that followed Round Two of Top Fuel Eliminations. This time Sorokin ran an arrow straight 6.05 second quarter mile at 239 with-a-five miles per hour. The team was ultimately one run short the pack, but brought the combination closer to getting out in front of it. Next stop, South San Francisco, California.
Oil is an inevitable part of the front engine top fuel dragster experience. The answer to the question of what happens when the oil hits the windscreen of the Streamliner was answered by Adam Sorokin and unparalleled high velocity driving prowess at 236 miles per hour. Sorokin said the car was on a hard charge and wanted to keep going, when a sheet of green slime on the windscreen got him out of the throttle and shutting the show down. Sorokin kept the Streaminer in a straight line on the top end of Beech Bend Raceway by looking out the left side canopy porthole and maintining close, but constant distance away from the passing guardrail. At 236 miles per hour. Sorokin got the chutes out and lit up the clocks with an oiled-in 6.11 elapsed time, besting the morning qualifying session run of 6.27 at 199 mph. When in Beech Bend it’s not the humidity that gets you, it’s the nitromethane.
The Champion Speed Shop is fine-tuning the Chevrolet-powered Special in preparation to motor far further south than South San Francisco for the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green Kentucky, June 19-21. Putting together an all-new race car and getting the fresh clutch and tire combination to mesh with almost three thousand horsepower can be a little tricky – especially when races last a mere 5.96 seconds each. Even with two test sessions and two races in the past, the Special has had less than five minutes of actual on-track measured run time. Bowling Green, Kentucky will be the next stop on the road towards quicker and faster quarter mile assaults. The entire crew is geared up for the drag race, and will once again bring a Chevrolet and nitromethane to the lush grounds of Beech Bend Raceway Park.
Bakersfield, California – The Champion Speed Shop Special lit up the clocks with a 6.15 second run at 234 miles per hour in second round March Meet qualifying. “It’s getting better every time. The car hasn’t slowed down yet”, said hotshoe Adam Sorokin after the clean and straight run down Famoso Raceway. One more round of qualifying is on deck before eliminations begin on Sunday. 
The collective force of the Champion Speed Shop has motored the small block Chevy powered Streamliner through first round qualifying at the March Meet. Driver Adam Sorokin reports the car got out of the gate and delivered a stout midrange hit. Sorokin hung with the Chevrolet all the way out for a clean run. While the incremental numbers for the run look good, a no time condition resulted when Brett Harris drifted across the centerline and tripped up the clocks. A post-run teardown of the Chevrolet revealed a healthy engine, and the team is now preparing the car for the first session of Saturday qualifying.