No Artificial Air or Chemicals - Jason Tabscott Defies the Odds for 8-Second Blasts in His Small-Block Camaro
In a world that shows more and more ways to create big power with turbochargers and blower, and even nitrous, there are a group of racers that continue to create horsepower on air and fuel alone.
One of the quickest naturally-aspirated rides in the drag-and-drive world is Jason Tabscott, who regularly cranks out single-digits passes in his small tire 1970 Camaro.
Tabscott got his start at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2015, behind the wheel of a 1975 Camaro that averaged out a 9.62 for the second spot behind Danny Roberts in the Street Race Small Block Naturally Aspirated class.
After that event was complete, Tabscott’s Camaro was stolen, and unfortunately never recovered.
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Fast forward one year, and Tabscott had replaced the 1975 Camaro with a silver 1970 model. He wasted no time in bettering his previous average, posting a 9.49 to win Street Race Small Block Naturally Aspirated over last year’s top man, Danny Roberts.
This would lead to seven more class wins, including the 2022 Hot Rod Drag Week All Motor Small Block class with an 8.69 average.
Tabscott’s Camaro gets the job done with a Gen-1 old school small block, displacing 427 cubic inches and based on a Dart block.
Dart 15-degree cylinder get the air and fuel mixture from a custom experimental Mopar-based intake and a big Holley Dominator carburetor.
Classified amounts of power and compression, “enough to make grown men cry” according to Tabscott, pass through a home-built Turbo 400 3-speed transmission with a Gear Vendor Overdrive on the back. It all ends at a Strange 9-inch housing with a 4.30 gearset.
Tabscott plans to return to Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2023, hoping to better last year’s 8.76 average. “I’m shooting for 8.50s every day, and or finish with an 8.50s average,” said Tabscott. “Finishing is ALWAYS the challenge. Anything can happen. For us, just getting to the event is a challenge,” Tabscott admitted, who will start his ninth year of drag-and-drive events with his wife Amanda as his co-pilot.
- Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks.