CLOSE-UP
Scott Palmer
A Good
Kind
of Bad
C
assville, Missouri’s favorite
son, Scott Palmer, amongst drag
racing’s most beloved characters,
has been pushing the boundaries
on the eighth- and quarter-mile for over two
decades, but the current NHRA Top Fuel Dragster pilot took it to an entirely new level on May
28th. During the first-ever Outlaw 440 event at
Sikeston, Missouri’s Jeffers Motorsports Park,
Palmer unveiled his new Studezilla Top Fuel
Pro Mod – a 1953 Studebaker with the drivetrain out of his 311.13 mph dragster. “People
don’t want to believe me, but it is literally the
exact stuff we run in the dragster,” says Palmer.
“Same 102-gallon fuel pump, five-disc clutch
management system and cannon, 12” Chrisman
rearend, AJ camshaft, AJ heads, setback blower
and 90% nitro.” The car also features a bolt-in
solid rear suspension. “There’s not a single part
on the car that we can’t run on the dragster
right now, and that’s exactly how I wanted it,”
continues Palmer, who believes the car is capable of a 3.35-3.45-second pass in the eighthmile at 235-250 mph. Incredibly, Palmer had
the utmost confidence in his mount prior to the
first outing. “I was strapped in the car, looking
out the window at all my crew right before we
started it and they were just so nervous,” says
Palmer. “You just can’t imagine how nervous
they were. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t. I just
don’t really get nervous. Honestly, I’m a big Evil
Knievel fan, and right as we were getting ready
to start the car up, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, this
must be how Evil felt before he jumped Snake
River’. You know – it’s either going to go really
good, or really bad. No in-between.” Fortunately
for Palmer, along with his longtime crew, the car
performed flawlessly for the sizable crowd in attendance, complete with header flames over the
roof and a deafening roar generally reserved for
NHRA national events. “For everyone on this
team – my girlfriend and crew chief Ashley Frye
especially – I’m glad everything went well and
we’re going to be able to do it a lot more. They
deserve it. I’ll tell you this – it’s the coolest thing
I’ve ever stabbed the gas on,” concludes Palmer.
DI DI DI
“It’s nasty.” - WES BUCK
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON DUNN
Dr ag Illustr ated
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