Drag racing is a sport of numbers. With that in mind, consider: 1/8-mile, 3.96 seconds, 186.23 mph, and at least nine track records. Now realize they all originated from a blown small-block and you can see why Jason Scruggs and his '63 'Vette have become somewhat legendary to Outlaw Pro Mod fans across the Southeast and Midwest.
"It wasn't easy, though," he says. "We broke a lot of stuff to run the numbers we've run."
Jason Scruggs has raced this Rick Jones-built '63 Corvette
since 1999, but its days are numbered as his primary ride.
Scruggs, 29, joined the outlaw trail in 1996, then upgraded in 1999 to the RJ Race Cars-built '63 Corvette shown here. His father, Mitchell, builds and tunes the potent small block they've made a name for themselves with. The engine is based on a 400-cubic-inch Brodix block with Brodix heads and a giant screw-type PSI supercharger huffing through a home-built manifold on top. In true outlaw fashion, though, Scruggs refuses to discuss things like weight, gear ratios, and blower overdrive. "That's all classified."
As
2004 began, Scruggs was getting busy with a brand-new car -- built late last
year by Tommy Mauney and this time powered by a Brad Anderson hemi. "We went
with the Mauney car this time because of chassis quality and its ability to
handle high horsepower," he explains. "I've seen his cars work for 10 years
in Top Sportsman and Pro Mod and not show any wear and tear. And that's saying
something."
In 1/4-mile testing with the new car in January at Bradenton, FL, Scruggs ran 3.89 at 190 mph at half-track before a Heim joint broke and ended his day with suspension damage. Regardless, to put that performance in perspective, Mitch Stott went 3.894 secs to the 1/8-mile marker a year earlier at Darlington, on his way to the world's first five-second doorslammer pass.
"We're expecting a lot out of the new car," Scruggs says. "We've just got to stay ahead of the curve. That's also why we've gone to the hemi. We love the small block, but it just wasn't going to be able to compete at the level we want to run."
While often appearing as part of a booked-in match-racing show on the many 1/8-mile tracks that dot the Southeast, Scruggs says he's happiest competing at hardcore outlaw events that draw fields of 20 cars or more. "I love the competition and winning a close race," he says.
Though he admits to considering it in the past, Scruggs has never entered an NHRA or IHRA Pro Mod race. Instead, he prefers the outlaw scene -- mainly because under a sanctioning body, "I don't like the idea that if I go fast, they're going to penalize me. If you run good, you've got to put up with all the belly achin'. The stuff I do now, as long as you've got doors; that's all that matters."
Actually, as long as he goes fast and draws the crowds, that's all that matters
to race promoters and track owners. And in a niche of the sport that rarely
draws traditional media attention, Scruggs has made a name for himself with
some of drag racing's most knowledgeable and discerning fans. "Everybody likes
a little notoriety, but we don't really go looking for it," he insists. "We
just race for fun. We just like to have a good time and run fast. That's the
bottom line."
Jason Scruggs FULL SCHEDULE Fifteen-year-old Jason Scruggs began his racing career in 1990 with a '68 Camaro, entering bracket races near his home in Sahillo, MS ("just outside of Tupelo"). Five years and several cars later, he'd graduated to Top Sportsman competition with a mountain-motored '95 Corvette. He even entered a few IHRA T/S national events along the way, but says the demands of competing at that level proved too much for his small family-operated team.
"I work as a cotton farmer with my dad (Mitchell) and we just didn't have the time it takes to get to a track on Thursday and stay until late on Sunday." Now concentrating on match races and a few outlaw Quick-8 meets each year, Scruggs usually begins his racing season in February, takes time off in April for planting the family's 18,000 acres, returns to the track about July, and quits again in September for harvesting. "We also own two cotton gins, a John Deere dealership, and a housing development company, so it's hard to balance everything," Scruggs says. He's also a stepfather to two young girls and is expecting a baby this July with his wife, Alice. "I've got three priorities in my life: family, racing, and business. Racing and business should really be reversed, I know, but lately it's been racing." |
PARTS LIST
 |
 |
||
|
|
||
 |
 |
Copyright 1999-2004, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source
