1999 Chevrolet Camaro SS - The Judmobile

The idea behind the racing clutch is to get the most holding power in the smallest, lightest package. Since there are two separate clutch discs, there is twice the surface area and the weight is concentrated close to the center of the circle, decreasing the energy required to start and stop the discs from spinning.

The 8-inch flywheel mates to the smaller clutch discs and uses the stock bellhousing and starter. It acts like a smaller, lighter flywheel by reducing the amount of weight on the outside of the spinning circle in the same manner as the clutches.

Not to oversimplify it, but there are two adjustments on the East/West clutch. The base adjustment applies the clutch to get the car moving off the line or in the pits. It is made by turning a series of set screws that adds pounds of pressure per turn. The counter adjustment applies pressure above a certain rpm. Counter adds to base and is adjusted by adding or subtracting weight to the spinning mass using weighted nuts and bolts. If there is too much counter, the tires spin; if there is too little, the clutch burns. The two adjustments combine to make a magic combo that Jud didn't hit on the first run.

To further reduce reciprocating weight, Jud uses an Inland Empire 4-inch aluminum driveshaft. Racing ain't cheap.

To leave the line with a naturally aspirated stick shift car, Jud has a crazy ritual. First, he hit a switch on the dash to put the MSD into burnout mode. That set the rev limiter to 7,500 for the water box when he pressed the roll control button. After the burnout, he flipped the switch to launch. Once he lit the prestage light, he applied the brake to 250 pounds, set the roll control, and let the clutch out slightly to slowly roll the tires into the stage beam. With the stage light on, he decked the pedal. When the light turned green, he dumped the clutch and released the button at the same time.

During the final run, the clutch again allowed the engine to bounce off of the rev limiter at 10,000 rpm when Jud stabbed the clutch. But that's racing. We expect that had this clutch setup been tested before race day, it would have been easier to dial in, and Jud and the crew would have been in the 8s. Maybe next time.