KEVIN RIVENBARK
SETS THE
WORLD ON FIRE
■
KEVIN RIVENBARK still only has a hand-
ful of runs on radial tires, which means
record-breaking performances like the one he
put together at Lights Out 10 continue to defy
conventional wisdom.
His ProCharger-boosted, ProLine-powered
’69 Camaro has been nothing short of incredible
in its short Radial vs. the World existence. The
latest proof was when Rivenbark set the RvW
record with a mind-blowing 3.613 at 205.01 mph
during qualifying, the latest near-flawless run
for a car that just made its first radial runs in
early February.
“When we left, I knew it was good,” Riven-
bark says. “I was just hoping the back end was
going to be there. When it left I was like, ‘Oh
boy, here we go.’ We were shooting for a .62, .61.
We didn’t know if it would go .61, but it’s been
a wonderful track.”
Rivenbark didn’t have the finish he wanted
in Valdosta, going red in the semifinals against
eventual winner Alex Laughlin, but it has all
come together magnificently for Rivenbark,
who was eager to try the ProCharger set-up in
the Camaro.
Coupled with ProLine’s Hemi power and Fuel-
Tech’s top-notch electronic fuel injection, as well
the expertise of tuner Steve Petty and ProLine
co-founder Eric Dillard, and it’s been a dream
come true for Rivenbark.
“I can’t say enough about those ProCharger
guys,” Rivenbark boasts. “They’ve worked their
tails off. I think they’ve always had a great prod-
uct, and between them and Eric and Steve and all
the ProLine guys, they’ve put a hell of a package
together.”
Still, not many could have imagined it could
have worked this well, this quickly. At the U.S.
Street Nationals in Orlando in late January,
Rivenbark went a stunning 3.613 at 207.37 for
the quickest and fastest eighth-mile pass for a
ProCharger-boosted car. But that was with his
normal Pro Mod set-up, as the team outfitted
the Camaro with radials shortly after.
Since then, he has made one outstanding pass
after another on radials. The team eased into the
setup, going from 4.08 to 3.88 and then 3.71 in
just the third-ever pass on radials during testing.
Every run got steadily better, leading into
the record-breaking pass and Rivenbark lived
in the 3.60s at SGMP. He said that’s a tribute
to the team working with him. Every aspect of
the process, from the ProCharger to ProLine’s
involvement to FuelTech’s EFI to the tutelage
of Petty, has flowed together well and the im-
mediate results have proven that. “We’ve been
creeping up on every pass, getting quicker and
quicker,” Rivenbark says. “This car has been down
every pass since we’ve put radials on. It’s been a
dream come true.”
Rivenbark started RvW qualifying at Lights
Out 10 with an impressive 3.669 at 207.80 to
take the No. 1 spot in Wednesday’s opening
qualifying session before Tim Slavens broke the
RvW record with his 3.621 at 217.74 pass. But
Rivenbark followed on Friday with the shot heard
around the world. He went .919 to the 60-foot
and 2.41 to 330-foot mark before finishing off
the record-breaking run with a 3.613 at 205.01.
Rivenbark went 3.698 at 203.09 to open elimi-
nations, following with a pair 3.669s to advance
into the semis. He went red by .006 to negate a
run of 3.662, but Rivenbark, without question,
is a fan of this set-up.
“It’s a different feeling,” Rivenbark says. “A
roots car at .940 is a lot more violent than this
.919. It’s so smooth. You can tell it’s on a hit,
but it doesn’t jerk you like a roots car. This has
always been a bad car by itself, but putting in a
ProCharger and having Petty tune it, we’ll be a
deadly force.” – JOSH HACHAT
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
■ KEVIN RIVENBARK
April 2019
DragIllustrated.com
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