For years we’ve been wondering and waiting for someone, anyone, to figure out how to properly harness the power of a turbocharged Pro Mod and throw some numbers up.
Andy Jensen has been doing some mean, sub-3-second things in the 1/8-mile-only ADRL with his small-block turbo machine, but it’s Mike Moran who has grabbed back the “meanest turbo car” honors.
Running at the Clash of the Titans event at Houston Raceway last weekend Moran laid down a 6.01-second, 250-mph lap in his twin-turbo Monte Carlo Pro Mod. This is significant for a couple of reasons. First off, he becomes only the third person ever to make a 250-mph lap in a doorslammer, and like the title says, he can now brag of the quickest-ever turbo car in the quarter-mile.
That mph number indicates that the car is technically capable of going 5.80s probably; definitely into the 5.90s. Turbo cars back-half the race track better than just about any other combo. It’s the front half where you make your money. Battling tire shake and/or a soft setup has always been the big problem for turbo tuners.
It sucks that the lap was this late in the season as Mike will be waiting until the spring to starting launching more bombs in competition.
Are we on the cusp of the much anticipated (by fans) and much feared (by other racers) turbo era?
Time will tell.
