Ditching 235s for Bigger Rubber, Can Matt Moore Replicate Success?
The 1989 Ford Mustang of Matt Moore has been on a tear the last nine months, picking up wins at both Sick Week and Rocky Mountain Race Week.
At Sick Week, Matt pushed the 235 tires to times he never thought possible, with a 4.68 average and a 4.60 best past in competition that surpassed his personal best - even on larger tires.
Despite the success on the 26-inch tall x 8.5-inch width 235 tire, Matt has new goals for the rest of the 2024 season, and they involve a different tire to the tiny radials.
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“I'm really digging the slick-tire stuff,” he said. “So, we are going to do some front side no-prep stuff. We had slicks on the car all last year except for RMRW, Sick Week and a couple of other events.”
The Saturday Night No Prep Series at Bonne Terre Drag Strip in Bonne Terre, Missouri starts on April 8th, and Matt has been testing the car on slicks already for the season opener.
“We took a trip to Sikeston to get a handle back on the slicks,” said Matt, who made the trip with fellow drag-and-drive runner Doug Sandweg.
“We struggled a bit with the new power, convertor and four link changes. Trying to go fast at Sick Week also left us with an over powered car.”
After struggling to even get to 60 foot, Matt and crew managed a 4.95 at 151 mph with a 1.21 60 foot on the low prep surface.
But Matt plans to to turn the heat back up for drag-and-drive and that involves a 275 tire and a new bullet for RMRW.
“We are taking May off to get the new motor ready for RMRW 1.0,” Matt said. “We are planning to go sixes at 200mph. That's the goal.”
To help get him there, a duplicate 388 cubic inch LS combination is being built, with a better crankshaft, top fuel-style hoops, better lifters, and some rowdy valvetrain by Gwatney and Kuntz.
“And we may switch to a 106-mm turbocharger from BTR,” said Matt. “I think we are done on 235s. We did what we wanted, we won twice in Rowdy Radial in the same year.”
Check out Matt’s latest pass on the slicks below:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks and Matt Moore.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com