At the recent Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, America's premier drag racing muscle cars met on a four-wide drag strip to do battle. This is the first time these vehicles have competed under this format and, for fans of American muscle, is a massively exciting and important spectacle.
Lined up against three Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Bill Skillman must have certainly felt outnumbered and intimidated sitting behind the wheel of his Ford Cobra Jet. Then again, this is no ordinary Mustang; the Cobra Jet packs a muscular supercharged 5.2-liter Coyote V8 under its hood and is capable of blitzing the quarter-mile in the mid-eight second range.
Despite a less-than-ideal start, the Mustang rockets off the start line with gusto, charging toward the finish line at an astonishing speed. Unfortunately, the black-painted Camaro alongside Dearborn's finest suffers a setback, spinning its tires as the competition takes off. Just the red cars remain in contention, but it seems the Camaros are no match for the motivated Skillman and his Mustang.
In spite of his massively delayed reaction time (0.127 compared to the quickest 0.001), Bill Skillman's Mustang Cobra Jet crosses the finish line first, in a blistering 7.818 seconds at 178.97 mph. Following closely behind was David Barton's Camaro, finishing with a still-impressive 8.072 seconds at 175.98 mph.
Dodge fans may be wondering where their much-loved Challenger Drag Pak is; the Wild Turkey Engineering Dodge Drag managed 7.792 seconds at 180.21 mph in the first round. Despite his remarkable victory, Skillman displayed exemplary sportsmanship, extending his admiration for his competition.
"They crushed me, I was pitiful on the tree all day today, but I got a fast hot rod here. We struggled mightily when we got here but they just kept picking away at it today and they did a wonderful job," he noted.
This is undoubtedly a moment of pride for both the Blue Oval and Skillman, who himself is a part of the Ford family. Bearing the dealership name on its sides, the Mustang Cobra Jet is as much a beacon of American muscle as it is a clever marketing trick; Indiana-based Ray Skillman Ford will undoubtedly benefit from this win. An avid Ford man, the victorious wheelman admitted that beating the other brands is always good - but not the most important thing.
"You know what, I love racing with all these guys that are out here. It's a bunch of great guys. I don't care if it's Camaros, Dodges, Fords, or whatever. It's great," added Skillman. To negate his slow starts, perhaps Skillman should opt to swap his mighty Mustang for the all-electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. Thanks to its 1,400-hp electric motors, the silent drag racer will easily negate any delayed off-the-line reactions courtesy of its instantaneous torque delivery.