10 Quickest LSX-Powered Cars of 2008

There was great speculation throughout 2008 that we'd finally see the first six second pass in a LSx-powered car. 2007 had ended with a quickest racers running in the 7.6's with the promise to run even faster. 2008 was also a year of transition, as we saw most seven and low eight-second racers switch over to 6-bolt engine block and cylinder heads. 2008 was the first year that any of the racers ran over 200 MPH, and the first year that any of the racers finally bumped up against the 25.5 chassis certification.

The following article lists and discusses the ten quickest LSx-powered cars of 2008. This list is not a list of the ten quickest LSx cars of all time, but is list of the quickest times ran in 2008. We want to congratulate all the racers who were out there running in the sevens and eights in 2008, and hope that the 2009 season will be as safe and even safer for these diehard racers most of whom will soon be running close to 200 mph.

1) 7.23@205 MPH, Paul Major, 2001 Corvette Z06
Paul's Z06 lead the pack in 2008, laying down several 7.2 passes during the year and running a personal best of 7.23@205 MPH at the Shakedown. Paul's 454 cid engine was built by PCHS Racing Engines and uses a Warhawk block topped with Performance Induction Specialties heads. Paul's primary combination during the year used twin 91 mm turbos, though he also ran a smaller set of turbos and a different LSX longblock in order to fit the rules for the 2008 LSX Shootout. Contrary to some rumors, Paul is sticking with an LSX engine for now and is close to dropping the Warhawk engine back into the car. Paul is looking to be the first LSx-powered car in the 6's. Good luck Paul!


2) 7.51@190 MPH, Tom Kempf, 2000 Camaro Z/28
Long time LSX racer Tom ripped off a 7.51 on drag radials and raised the bar in the LSX world in 2008. Tom's car was powered by a Billy Briggs built 427 cid utilizing a GMPP LSX block and ETP canted valve heads. His turbo of choice was a PTE standard wheel 106mm turbo. Tom recently sold the car to Michael Vee in Melbourne, Australia, but is rumored to be working on another drag radial car for the 2009 season. Tom's Camaro was tuned by Matt Harlan.


3) 7.53@193 MPH, Steven Fereday, 2000 Camaro Z/28
Steven piloted the black LMR Camaro to a best of 7.53@193mph in 2008. This car, recently sold and shipped off to new owner Saeed Al Hajrii in Qatar, is powered by a 408 cid engine built by LME in Houston, Texas. LME used an LSX block and ETP 265 CC cylinder heads and a 106mm billet turbo from Precision Turbo. Steven and the gang at LMR plan to campaign a stock suspended twin turbo LSX-based car in 2009 at various races.


4) 7.59@191 MPH, Phil Thomas, 2000 Mustang
Phil is one of the few people on the list who fabbed up most of the car by himself. His 2000 Mustang, nicknamed The Renegade, uses a Virginia Speed-built 438 cid engine. An LSX block was used and Shawn Miller touched up a set of ETP LS7 heads before bolting them on. A Precision 106mm turbo was used during the race season. 2008 started off very strong with The Renegade running an 8.2@167mph on it's first full pass. The 7.59 pass was the actually the car's fifth pass and was run again on 315 Mickey Thompson drag radials. Phil indicated that his 2009 plans include additional head porting, more compression, and a new intake manifold. He is looking to run 6.90 - 7.20 at upwards of 217 MPH.



5) 7.68@198.5 MPH, Jim Filipowski, 1993 Camaro
Jim "Powski" Filipowski is a new member of the LSx top 10 list, but he's no stranger to going fast. Jim's been racing his sano 1993 Camaro and several predecessor cars since 1987. Jim's '93 Camaro is powered by an Uratchko Racing Engines built 400 cid power plant. Using an LSX block and 12 degree AllPro Hurricane cylinder heads, this combo is topped off with one of
Jim's signature CSU blow-through carbureted setups. His 2009 plans are to run the car as much as possible and put some heat on some of the long time players in the LSX scene. Jim's car ran extremely strong MPH in 2008 so he will be a forced to reckon with this year.


6) 7.71@191 MPH , Steve Turley, 1998 Camaro Z/28
Longtime LSx drag radial racer Steve Turley found the sweet spot with his chassis tuning in 2008, and his Camaro ran like it was on rails in 2008, and made countless 7 second passes throughout the year. Half of the racing duo known as the Ohio Boys, Steve clicked off a 7.71@191 mph in August and never looked back. Powered last year with a Briggs Performance 408 cid using an ERL LS2 block, Steven plans to race in 2009 with a new engine displacing 427 cid and a few new tricks, with a goal to run 7.4's or even faster. Mike Brown tunes all of their cars.


7) 7.72@195 MPH, Tom Smith, 1999 Formula
Tom's Formula primarily races North of the border in various events as he hails from Ontario Canada. This car is powered by a 408 cid engine built and tuned by Redline Performance Division out of Scarborough Ontario. Redline used an LSX block and ETP LS7-style cylinder heads to build this seven second bird. Plans in 2009 include plans to attend some Milan events and re-attend the LSX Shootout, which he missed in 2008, but whose car did race in the 2007 race. Wade Stevens tunes the car.


8) 7.76@190 MPH , Mike Brown, 1998 Trans Am
The other half of the Ohio Boys, Mike Brown raced the heaviest and the most streetable car in the top 10 list. Mike competed in a number of races including several NMCA True Street races which you might includes a 30 mile drive. Mike cranked off an his outstanding 7.76 pass during testing before the 2nd annual LSX Shootout but transmission problems kept him from making rounds at the race. His Trans Am was powered by Briggs Performance 402 cid engine using an ERL LS2 block along with AllPro heads. Mike also has the distinction of having the fastest and quickest combination using a hydraulic camshaft. 2009 plans include running more cubes and incorporating some new tricks that are only known to the boys from Ohio.


9) 8.06@175 , Mark Koehler, 2000 Trans Am
Mark Koehler would get the rookie of the year award if there was one for the top 10 group. Starting off with some mid 9 second passes, he managed to work his way down to an 8.06@175 mph by the end of 2008. Mark's 2008 setup was a W2W hydraulic 364 cid engine and a 101 mm turbo at the end of the racing season. His plans in 2009 are to debut a larger 447 cid LSX engine with TEA Trickflow 245 heads built by Kurt Urban Performance, which will be fed by a 106mm Precision turbo. He hopes to consistently run in the 7.8's with an eye to run even quicker by year end - still utilizing a hydraulic camshaft. Mark would also get an award for having the nicest show-quality 7 second LSx on the planet.


10) 8.16@166, Martin Cox, 2000 Camaro
2008 saw several strong nitrous cars duking it out for first place, but it was Martin Cox's black Camaro that cranked off the first 8.1 pass by a nitrous-powered LSX setup, this past November at his local track. Built and tuned by RPM Performance which he co-owns, Martin's car is powered by a W2W 427ci LSX-based engine topped with ETP cylinder Heads. Martin's car nitrous setup is composed of a ProFlo two-stage plate and a direct port kit, though only two stages were used on the car's best pass. His car was for sale recently on www.RacingJunk.com, as Martin plans to run outlaw drag radial with a 2002 WS6 he purchased from Brady McNew.


11) 8.26@168, Mike Kostick, 2000 WS6
Mike Kostick's black WS6 had a very strong 2008, starting off with a previous best of 8.95 in 2007 and subsequently running a string of 8.4 passes by mid-season. He capped off the year with a sterling 8.26@168 mph pass during which he let off as he was racing in a local 8.20 index class. Mike's WS6 is powered by a ET Performance built 430 cid engine utilizing an LSX block and their canted valve cylinder heads. Mike's fogger is snorting between 350 to 400 hp of nitrous right now and routinely cuts 1.2 60 ft times. 2009 plans to are to run the first 7 second nitrous pass and to compete in local and national events. Mike's WS6 is tuned by Don Bailey.