Mike Finnegan Crests the 1000 Rear-Wheel-Horse-Power as Blasphemi Gets Tuned Up for Next Drag-and-Drive
From being a pit reporter to filming multiple Roadkill episodes while in competition, Mike Finnegan has experienced almost every facet of a drag-and-drive event.
His 1955 Chevrolet, nicknamed ‘Blasphemi’ for the insertion of a Hemi between the frame rails, has completed in a few drag-and-drives, with Finnegan and co-pilot Tony Angelo snagging a win at Hot Rod Drag Week in the A/Gasser class in 2019.
After taking a few years away from the drag-and-drive scene, Finnegan’s return to drag-and-drive would be on Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2022.
Filming an episode of Roadkill with David Freiburger, they bought a third-generation Pontiac Trans Am off Craigslist, adding some speed parts including nitrous, completed the week, and then gave away the car at the awards ceremony.
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Finnegan made clear he wanted to return with Blasphemi, and the 2022 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week would be the target. However, this drag-and-drive experience wouldn’t be a duplicate of Finnegan and Angelo’s last collaboration.
Engine troubles put them out of competition early, but Finnegan and Angelo still tried to make the most of the week. At first, they tried to swap engines from Freiburger’s Gremlin ‘HemiGremmie’ but found things wouldn’t work on multiple details.
So, Finnegan and Angelo decided to rebuild the original Hemi at a nearby shop, getting it done in time for the final day of Hot Rod Drag Week, which ended up being a rain out.
Since that time, Finnegan has made strides to get the ’55 Chevrolet ready for its next drag-and-drive outing, which many have speculated will be Hot Rod Drag Week this year.
His most recent video had Finnegan visiting noted tuner and engine builder Pete Harrell of Harrell Engine and Dyno to give the Hemi a tune-up, as well as trying to get the car back to the 4-digit horsepower area it had once occupied.
Over two days, several changes in parts and tune-ups were made, and although Finnegan and Harrell surpassed the 1000 rear-wheel-horse-power mark, the video had an interesting conclusion.
Finnegan’s latest video can be viewed here:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Logan Tarrant and Mike Finnegan.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com