Actually there’s about twenty or so seconds of video with the team handing over the car to Adam Sorokin for the second full qualifying pass on the hemi-powered dragster. For the second time in as many rounds, the car in the other lane suffered mechanical breakage, handing Sorokin a second single qualifying pass at Famoso. While these occurrences may give rise to unsubstantiated rumors of some sort of mechanically disruptive secret weapon hidden under the carbon-fiber body panels, the new car may in fact be so incredible that it simply disables worthy opponents before they even get a chance to run. What really happened though, is what you see here. Sorokin took the car down track and into the show with a 7.63 second ET pass at 207 mph. Click on the video above or head on over to the Champion Speed Shop YouTube channel for more videos.

More: Champion Speed Shop YouTube Channel

South San Francisco, California USA – More nitromethane through the pipes is always a good thing. Just ask the Champion Speed Shop, who will field not one but two supercharged front engine top fuel dragsters for the 2010 drag racing season. The South San Francisco crew will run with an all-new Van Dyke Motorsports hemi-powered Retroliner entry in the NHRA Heritage Series points battle, and retain the Chevrolet-powered flip-top canopy Special for select vintage drag racing events. This unique situation makes driver Adam Sorokin the only man in drag racing to have a choice between a top fuel Chevy or nitro-huffing hemi to hammer down the full 1320 feet of the quarter mile.

The latest Champion Speed Shop creation features a Rodeck hemi engine between the Neil and Parks frame rails. The Guy Ruchonnet body panels wear a paint treatment that only Art Himsl himself could create. The car is ready to put the twist to the Hoosier tires, and driver Adam Sorokin is ready for twice nitromethane behind the wheel of a machine that hearkens back to the late sixties while running quicker, faster, and safer than ever before.

“This thing is really beautiful”, said Sorokin of the new hemi-powered car.

The psychedelic-era Art Himsl paintwork was still curing on the panels when the team rolled up to Sacramento Raceway for testing just one Sunday before from the final round of top fuel eliminations at the 52nd running of the Bakersfield March Meet. The team and car will descend onto the legendary patch this weekend March 5th, 6th, and 7th 2010.

Information on the 52nd running of the legendary March Meet March 5th, 6th, and 7th at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield can be found here: Be There!

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Photos Dennis Barraza, Adam Sorokin and the Champion Speed Shop lens crew.

The reward for a hot day in the sun at Sacramento Raceway is a long cool night of top fuel drag racing. Eight cars lined up in the field from afternoon qualifying set first round of eliminations at dusk. From eight would come only four, then two in the final round at 10 p.m. Adam Sorokin took a round one 5.88-second quickest ET yet at 215 mph victory over Williamson, who crossed over the center line for a foul. Second round eliminations appeared at first to be the last for the Champion Speed Shop against Brett Harris, but again the center line was breached. Sorokin would challenge Rick White for the top fuel Governor’s Cup.

Both teams tore their cars down to the engine block in a thrash to get their machines back together again for a final round slated for 10 p.m. On one side was the small block Chevy, on the other was a Chrysler hemi. Adam Sorokin and Rick White paired up under the stars where a fraction of a second can win, or in this case, end a race before it starts. One thousandth of a second was all the clocks needed to turn a green light to red for Sorokin. Rick White took his hemi-powered dragster downtrack for the win light with a 5.72 elapsed time at 264 mph blast.

Making it to the final against the record-setting Neil and White entry was a victory in itself for the Champion Speed Shop team, who clicked off the best yet elapsed time at the same race track where only months before the crew made the first ever shakedown runs with the all-new small block Chevy combination.

“I feel like we left here winners big time”, said Adam Sorokin of the weekend spent reaching for the Governor’s Cup. Next stop South San Francisco, for a return to Bakersfield for the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion.

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