The Original Snot Rocket Mustang is Coming Back at Sick Week, With Six-Second Potential
Multiple times in 2023 we’ve reported about Brett LaSala and his success / victories with the ‘Snot Rocket’ 2012 Ford Mustang.
But that low six-second rocket ship was preceded by a slightly tamer OG ‘Snot Rocket’ Mustang, a 2013 model that is now in the hands of Zach Meyers.
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For Zach, a Mustang enthusiast of several years, the chance to wheel the original LaSala Mustang would be a step up from another quick street and strip Mustang he owns, a 2018 Mustang GT.
“I purchased it new,” said Zach. “The goal was a nine-second street car. That’s how it all starts.”
The Mustang, which earned the nickname ‘Checkers’ because of its carbon fiber hood, trunk, and doors accented by silver on the rest of the car, got Zach into the seven-second zone several times.
“It has held a couple of 10R80 (automatic overdrive) micro records,” Zach said.
Thanks to a sleeved RPG-built 5.2-liter powerplant with a 3.8-liter Whipple supercharger, ‘Checkers’ put down 1400 rear wheel horsepower and clocked a best of 7.8 at 176 mph at a 3800-pound race weight.
Then the original ‘Snot Rocket’ became available.
“I purchased the car from Brett LaSala in January of 2022,” Zach said. “At that time the car was a carry-over of the car Brett raced the previous couple years.”
After some time to get acquainted with the new ride, Zach entered the Mustang in FL2K October of 2022.
“It performed awesome with consistent 7.3-second passes, but we were outgunned in eliminations by Garrett Mitchell’s El Camino,” he said.
He moved on to the ModNationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park, and through a tropical storm and cool temperatures, Zach managed to run a personal best of 7.16 at 200 mph in an elimination victory.
But that run would bring as much heartache as hoorah.
“The crankshaft snout snapped off a little before the finish line stripe,” Zach said. “That caused an oil fire that burned all the electrical and plumbing and paint.”
Zach escaped the inferno, but the car needed a little more than a good cleaning, which is where Snot Rocket 1.5 began.
After nearly a year in the build, Snot Rocket 1.5 is ready for Zach to tackle the next target, Sick Week 2024 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
To go into battle with a solid plan, Fast Forward Race Engines was chosen for a build based on a Predator block, stuffed with Manley pistons and aluminum connecting rods. GT350 cylinder heads get a huge amount of air from twin Precision 76/75 turbochargers.
“Brett completely rewired the car with a Motec PDM30, Motec M150 computer, and Motec C1212 display,” said Zach. “The car needed more chassis, so this was the perfect time to upgrade to a SFI 25.3-spec chassis, as well as add a fire suppression system and many other upgrades.”
Despite Sick Week being his first drag-and-drive event, Zach will go into it with high hopes and some familiar faces.
“It’s awesome people, awesome cars, and a fun automotive/racing challenge,” Zach said about Sick Week. “How does it get any better?”
Good friend Joe Goodnough, a well-known Florida tuner, will be joining Zach as his co-pilot, and Zach’s wife Tasha and kids are in Sick Ward, and will be able to enjoy their first Sick Week as well.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of KWS Images, 1320 Video and Zach Meyers.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com