From Burnout Winner to Drag-and-Drive Competitor, Nick Latow is Bringing a Unique Dodge Van to Sick Week 2024
Burnouts are an essential part of almost every drag strip pass, but on drag-and-drive events we don’t stop there. The trailer burnout is one that has caught on at nearly each and every event, but as epic as they can be, it still falls a little short of burnout competitions.
But there are different levels of burnout competitions, and Nick Latow has been successful at several, including the Cleetus and Cars events. But Nick has also kept his eye on the drag-and-drive community, and this 1994 Dodge van is Nick’s ticket into it.
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“I have had a blast doing the burnout contests for the last several years, but I miss drag racing,” said Nick. “Been following the drag-and-drive stuff for years, and have always wanted to be a part of it, so I figured we would take a stab at it.”
The 2004 Chevy Express van that won five Cleetus and Cars burnout contests was considered for a minute, but Nick ended up going with a clean slate in the form of a 1994 Dodge B250 van.
To give the van some spunk, Nick had Mike Ford build a 548 cubic inch big block Chevrolet mill, and he’s put it through its paces on the burnout circuit for three years before installing in the new van. Built to be able to survive burnout contests, Nick thought it would be up to the task of a drag-and-drive.
The 10:1 compression engine sports a hydraulic roller cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder heads, and a Quick Fuel Technologies 1050 cfm carburetor. The big block does have a Nitrous Oxide Systems Cheater plate kit, but Nick doesn’t know if he will be employing it yet. The factory 36-gallon gas tank will supply to go juice with the help of a drop-in fuel pump module from Holley.
Although he normally employs a FTI Performance Powerglide transmission for burnout contests, Nick contacted FTI for a Turbo 400 3-speed automatic for his Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive debut.
A full floating Dana 60 rear end out of an 80s Dodge B350 motorhome sporting a 3.54 gear ratio will deliver the ponies to the rear wheels, and a set of Arkon Off-road 20-inch diameter x 10-inch width DaVincis wheels from Custom Offsets are the rolling stock, with Mickey Thompson 305/35/20 radials on the rear to get things hooked up.
A Holley 12.3-inch pro dash will be mounted center of the dash, and Nick installed a roll bar and four Racequip seats for safety and to take friends along for the fun.
To make the van stand out, the ‘Plumber’s Crack’ van got some colors thanks to Priime Vinyl in Sarasota, Florida. “They designed and installed the wrap,” said Nick. “I’m a plumber by trade, so this name is very fitting.” Latow Brothers Plumbing has been a family-owned plumbing company since 1978, and Nick decided to blend his new hobby with a nod to his daily work.
“December 10th was the last burnout with everything still in the Chevy Express van, so this was built in basically two months. I’m going to be running the Dial-Your-Own class, and I’m expecting it to run low to mid eleven-second times on the engine.”
And after Sick Week is complete, Nick already has another avenue for the new van. “After we get back from Sick Week, the van gets the fuel cell installed and switched back to methanol for the burnout stuff.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Nick Latow.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com