Virginia based racer Randy Snoddy was a guy who could regularly be found at IHRA events up and down the eastern seaboard in the 1980s. His 1966 Corvette was the kind of car that you see once and don’t forget, especially if you are a fan of things that are awesome. Snoddy ran this car in the Modified Production category of IHRA’s Modified Eliminator (think Comp eliminator for a similar scene) and we have seen it classed in the B or C/MP classes in different videos. We’re guessing Randy moved some weight in and out of the car to put it in the class he wanted. Anyway this video was shot at Bristol in what we’re guessing is the late 1980s and it features the Corvette screaming its way to 9-second elapsed times in the neatest way possible.
The combo in the car was a 296ci small block Chevy engine that had a 10,500 rpm shift light chip, and a Doug Nash five speed transmission. This is a quarter mile race but we have also see video of the car running at places like Eastside Speedway in Virginia which is an eighth mile track. The sounds it makes coming out of the hole and as Randy grabs each successive gear are spectacular. There are cars at the strip that rev like this one and run quicker now but there’s something about the rawness of this Corvette that we love. The way that it hikes the left front and how it pops the front end up with the gear changes. Chassis technology is better today but it has engineered all the “English” out of cars like this. We like the torqued over look, the “on the edge feel” that drag machines like this one exude. Not to mention the thing is beautiful and while it wore several paint jobs on its life, we’re partial to this one.
We watched the video a couple of times, especially the launch when you hear the RPMs just sweep to the simply fantastic level they are at when Randy lets the clutch out. That sound is just so much of a wild shriek that we can’t get enough of it. This is great stuff! The only thing that’s a let down? Randy didn’t win the round of racing.
I don’t think there is anything better sounding in racing than a high revving NA small block. The sound is almost musical.