Only the controller (arrow) gives any indication that the 'Vette's engine is nitrous equipped.

The NOS system used on the ‘Vette is a “dry” system which means the nitrous is injected upstream of the fuel injector nozzles. On Barklage’s car the nozzle is installed at the “Y” of the cold air filter box at the front of the engine.

Immediately after the kit installation was completed Barklage drove the car to Gateway International Raceway which is a 100-mile trip one way to track test the 'Vette. He made a couple of passes "motor only" just to establish a baseline. The 'Vette, which weighed in at just over 3400 lbs, ran a best of 13.13/108. Then Barklage turned the bottles on, armed the system and returned to the track. This time the best speed and elapsed time he could record was a 12.34/116.

"The tires that came with the car are on the rear," said Barklage, "and I was spinning them pretty hard. I think with some better tires and a little tuning I can get this thing to run in the 11-second zone.

"I really like having the kit on my 'Vette. I've used up a lot of bottles of nitrous driving this car around on the streets and I can't see where it has hurt the motor, gas mileage or anything else. This nitrous kit was just a really cool bolt-on speed part."

In the meantime, if you happen to be cruising around Eldon, MO and come up next to a blond-haired young man in a red 'Vette you might want to think twice about doing any stoplight racing with him unless you happen to be carrying you own "gas" on board.