We thought that some heavies would enter the ADRL SuperCar Showdown but we didn’t know that one would be the first man to officially enter the class! Michigander Chris Holbrook, a former IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champ and long time engine builder will campaign his Cobra Jet in the class this year and he is the first man to officially put his name on the list. This is good news if you are a fan of Ford products and it is bad news if you are everyone else. Holbrook has had his hands into Ford’s Cobra Jet program for a long time and he has helped to tune and set up some of the quickest and fastest Cobra Jets in the country. Names like Tasca and Bo Butner have all enlisted his services and they were a hell of a lot faster coming out of his shop than they were going in.

Our favorite quote from Holbrook in the ADRL press release announcing his participation came at the end of the piece and it points to both the potential and the level of competition that will happen in 2012. Holbrook said, ” The HRE team will be ready for them, though. Bo Butner will also be entering the Houston event and we’ll be hauling both cars in one trailer. We’re taking this very seriously. The Ford Motor Company is taking this very seriously. We certainly realize all the other racers and manufacturers will be taking it just as seriously, as well.”

This wasn’t a, “we’re planning on going out there and having some fun” type quote. Nope, this was a “people are watching and we need to get down there and kick some ass” kind of quote. From the fan and enthusiast perspective, be excited about that. Having the tone of serious competition, serious factory involvement, and serious desire to win, the release is a good sign.

So now we know the Fords are in it for sure. We just need a Challenger and a COPO to round this thing out and the real fun can begin!

Read the full release below!

When the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) announced entries would be accepted for its revolutionary new SuperCar Showdown category, requests were filed from all over the country to be a part of the season-opening CarSafe Dragpalooza VIII, to be held at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston on March 30-31.

However, even ADRL officials were shocked by the name listed on the first submission. Past Extreme Pro Stock star Chris Holbrook, a member of one of the most famous families in drag racing, will be a contestant in the first event to feature competition among the world’s quickest and fastest production automobiles.

“I couldn’t believe it!” exclaimed Tom Grooms, the ADRL’s Director of Competition. “Chris submitted his entry within minutes of our online announcement that we were accepting competitors for the class!” To Holbrook, that was part of his plan. “Ever since the ADRL announced the new SuperCar Showdown, we’ve planned to be a part of it,” said the 1999 “Mountain Motor” Pro Stock World Champion. “It’s the class we’ve been waiting for. It’s where we’re now directing our efforts.”

The owner and operator of Holbrook Racing Engines in Livonia, Michigan, Chris was raised in the sport of drag racing by his legendary father, Carl, whose relationship with the Ford Motor Company resulted in decades of National Event victories and World Records. When Chris first jumped behind the wheel of a Holbrook Racing Engines competition entry in 1995 at Norwalk, Ohio, he stunned the sport with a National Event title of his own in his very first event. The following season, Chris moved directly into Pro Stock Eliminator and, a mere three seasons later, earned the World Championship in the division.

With his father’s passing in 2000, Chris left the driver’s seat and concentrated on the daily operations of Holbrook Racing Engines. Although he last competed in 2003, the family business has continued to build racing powerplants for some of the winningest teams in drag racing.

“We still enjoy a very close relationship with Ford,” noted Holbrook, “and we’ve been involved with their Cobra Jet Mustang program since its inception.”

However, Holbrook doesn’t mean to infer ties to only the newest generation of the fabled Ford supercar; his father was selected to receive and compete in one of the first eight Cobra Jet Mustangs produced in 1968! The current Holbrook Racing Engines staff includes Dave Lyall, another of the original Ford Racing legends who was a pioneer in the Pro Stock division.

Holbrook has just completed a new 5.4-liter Cobra Jet engine equipped with a 2.3-liter supercharger which will be installed in his Ford Mustang for competition at the ADRL opener in Houston.
Holbrook’s sleek silver Mustang will sport the “Instant Action” name which has adorned all of his family’s racing entries for more than five decades. It will also carry sponsorship from the huge Varsity Ford dealership in Ann Arbor. Michigan’s largest retail volume Ford dealer and an outlet for Cobra Jet sales, Varsity has supported the Holbrook family racing efforts for more than a quarter-century.

“We are just now testing the engine on the dyno and we hope to be able to make runs at a track before the Houston event,” noted Holbrook. “We’re elated to be a part of the new SuperCar Showdown class and we wanted to be the first to support it. It’s the perfect category to resume my driving career and I couldn’t be more excited.”

It appears 2012 may be a season of “firsts” for Holbrook. On March 2nd, Bo Butner piloted a Holbrook Racing Engines-prepared Cobra Jet Mustang to an astonishing 8.99-second blast to become the first driver of a production automobile to record an elapsed time under nine seconds in the quarter-mile.

“That was a tremendous accomplishment for us,” said a proud Holbrook, “and the car ran as quick as 5.7 seconds in the eighth-mile. With weight restrictions in the SuperCar Showdown, I can already see the competition will be very close among different brands at Houston. The HRE team will be ready for them, though. Bo Butner will also be entering the Houston event and we’ll be hauling both cars in one trailer. We’re taking this very seriously. The Ford Motor Company is taking this very seriously. We certainly realize all the other racers and manufacturers will be taking it just as seriously, as well.”