Double the Wheels, Double the Fun - This Turbocharged S-10 Provided a Former Motocross Racer's First Venture Into the World of Drag-and-Drive at Sick Summer
After years of doing motocross as his hobby, Alex Zastrow decided to take the plunge into not only drag racing, but also into drag-and-drive.
Some might consider that a daunting prospect, but Alex chose to do alongside wife Courtney and daughter Adayla in his Chevrolet pick-up, as well as brother Derek in his 1992 Honda Civic.
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Starting with a 1995 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up, Alex went for the tried and true 5.3-liter LS swap. He did upgrade the camshaft, valve springs and head studs, and slapped a 78-millimeter VS Racing turbocharger in the mix for extra power production.
A Turbo 400 transmission and a Ford 9-inch rear end complete the driveline, and a Holley Terminator X ECU controls the mix.
Originally considering the Dial Your Own (DYO) class for his first drag-and-drive event, Alex and Derek instead decided on the unique Bullseye Challenge class at this year’s Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks. “Choosing Sick Summer was easy for me,” said Alex. “All four tracks are within three hours of my house.”
Alex started the week with a conservative 12.91 at 111 mph, a good bit off the ‘23’ ending number for the Bullseye of the day. By day two, Alex turned up the wick a bit to light the scoreboards at 11.72 with a 121 mph trap speed, his second-best run of the week.
The third day found Alex going the opposite direction, back in the twelves at 12.75. But by the final two days, Alex not only pepped the truck back up, but found himself getting much closer to the Bullseye numbers.
Day four found Alex turning in an 11.87 at 120 mph time slip, just four hundredths of-a-second off the Bullseye number of ‘83’ and securing the second spot for the day behind Dan Jenkins.
Day five would have Derek and Alex both making it back to Byron Dragway and making a pass, officially completing their first drag-and-drive event.
But for Alex, he would once again battle for a possible daily win, with his best run of the day being an 11.71 at 123 mph. That would net him second place on the ‘67’ Bullseye number, second to Tanner Windau, and also being his best pass of the week.
“Deciding whether to risk it for the time slip at every track, or save it for the street drives,” Alex mentioned when asked about his thought on the biggest challenge of a drag-and-drive.
“The truck is a very simple set up, so if it did break, parts would be easily accessible. Sick Summer was a great time; it was (my brother and I) first times on a drag and drive event.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Alex Zastrow.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com