Dirt
Tim Slavens fires off stunning
3.643-second blast at Bradenton
By Josh Hachat
A
fter making a few changes and
trying a handful new things over the
winter, Tim Slavens and tuner Mark
Werdenhausen hoped to be within
striking distance of running in the 3.60s by Don-
ald Long’s Lights Out event in mid-February. On
a Friday test pass at the U.S. Street Nationals
in Bradenton, Florida, Slavens blew way past
striking distance.
Perhaps signifying what we can expect from
the Radial vs. the World class in 2019, Slavens
fired the opening salvo with a massive 3.643 at
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214.79 mph at Bradenton Motorsports Park in
his ’69 Camaro. It was a shocking blast from the
Marshfield, Missouri, native and sent a message
that 3.50s may be well within reach for the class
this year.
“Excited doesn’t really cover it,” said Slavens,
who credited the support of team owners Matt
and Anita Zimmerman, and Mark Michael. “Our
nickname has always been the underdog and after
that, we’re having people tell us they don’t think
we can run with that name anymore.”
Slavens certainly threw his name into the
crowded, competitive Radial vs. the World hat
with one incredible pass, but Werdenhausen and
Slavens aren’t about to make any bold procla-
mations yet. Werdenhausen joked he’ll let the
“keyboard racers do our talking for us,” but the
run caught everyone’s attention, especially as they
went into the weekend hoping to simply establish
a baseline for the year.
They added bigger injectors and a new Neal
Chance Racing torque converter over the winter,
but the potential of the car went up ten-fold in
less than four seconds on Friday.
“It gave me goosebumps when that number came
up,” Werdenhausen said. “Only a handful of people
have been in the .60s, and to put us in that group
of guys, it’s pretty special. We maxed out on the
injectors last year, so we put some bigger ones in.
As the year goes along, we’ll have the ability to
turn it up some more. With the new program from
Marty (Chance), I think there’s more to be gained.”
Werdenhausen said there’s still another 10
pounds of boost left, which bodes well for what
Issue 142
RVW’s New 3.60 Player