Mason Dixon Dragway – When guys back in the day were looking for ways to go faster, they started stripping cars down with some of them having little more than an engine and frame rails along with a seat to sit in (the birth of the term “rails”). That was soon refined into purpose-built rail dragsters. While most folks out there are only familiar with today’s extra long wheelbase dragsters, there are still some restored examples of the old ones out there to remember the roots of the class. And then there’s the vintage dragster of Rick Sturz. When asked how he got the desire to have one of these dragsters, Sturz revealed, “My friend Kevin’s dad had a front engine when we were kids.” His childhood desire obviously came true! Outer appearances would suggest it’s a nostalgic survivor of years gone by, but closer examination reveals it’s actually new. Sturz gives credit for that to Lance Rice of Rice Performance who built it new after doing a lot of chassis research. The car is based on a late 50s chassis design, but has safety updates to made it certible.

The car is powered by a 331 cu.in. Hemi, industrial engine which runs on gas. Inside the engine are Ross Pistons and an Isky cam and on top rests a 6-71 blower to help pull air in. Sturz estimates the power to be “only” 600 hp. We’ll build another engine when I get real comfortable with this one.” Sturz shared the car was originally going to have a flathead engine in it, but it just “grew and grew and grew and turned into this.” The engine is backed by a “shorty-glide” that transfers power to the wheels through a 9-inch rear. According to Sturz, “It’s a blast to drive, it likes to stand up in the air. It’s so short, (104-inch wheelbase) it’s a handful. It’s only a year old, so we’re still working the kinks out of it and figuring out how to keep it on the ground. It does go straight.” To date, his best run has been a 6.08 E.T. in the eighth mile.

Along with giving credit to Rice Performance, Sturz also recognized noted vintage expert E.J. Kowalski, saying, as he laughed, “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have it together because I don’t trust my welds! I’ve been running E.J. Kowalski’s events for awhile.”

The dragster is not the only vintage racer Sturz has. Equally enthusiastic about the other car, Sturz explained, “We pulled that out of a barn, the guy’s father had put it away in 1962. The top was cut off and made into a roadster and when they tore the barn down, they found the top. I’m going to Bonneville with E.J. and we’re going to use that as a push vehicle. We put lights on it, it’s street legal, so we’re going to use it as the return in Bonneville. It’s a lot of fun doing this vintage stuff. I used to drag race regular. It’s about the people. Plus you get to have your adrenaline rush.”