Doug Herbert Is Giving Away His Snap-On Top Fuel CarBe the first one on your block with a Top Fuel car in his garage. Businessman and Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert is giving away his Snap-on Racing dragster at the conclusion of the Auto Club Finals, Nov. 9, at Pomona, California. The car comes completely race-ready, and is almost 26 feet long and weighs 2,200 pounds-not the kind of car you'd drive or tow home.
"We don't know yet if we are going to give away this year's car or last year's car, but either way we know we're going to give away a complete, ready-to-run Top Fuel car that's run 4.5 seconds," says Herbert, who operates Doug Herbert Performance Parts in Cherryville, North Carolina.
According to Herbert, the car will be worth about $150,000, and it'll have everything. "We'll even start it. We'll also figure out a way to get the car to the winner. Whoever wins can take it home, come to our shop in Cherryville and pick it up, or we'll deliver it to their front door."
Entering is easy. Just go to www.herbertperformance.com, print an entry form, and mail it to the address provided. Anyone purchasing parts from Herbert is automatically entered. For those wishing to order parts, a free catalog is available by calling 800/444-7373.
Three finalists will be chosen at the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in October. They will receive VIP expense-paid trips to the Auto Club Finals.
"We wanted to do something exciting and give somebody a chance to win a Top Fuel car," Herbert said of the reasons behind this give-away. "Years ago, Super Shops gave cars away and it was a great promotion. I know when I was a kid, I went down and signed up for it, and I know I wasn't the only one. There was a big line."
To be a future Top Fuel owner, you must sign up by Monday, October 20, for the chance to take home Herbert's 320-mph race car. A complete list of rules is available on the Web site.
Musclecar of the Month '69 Chevrolet Camaro Pace CarSome musclecars are remembered for how quick they were, and some for how good they looked. Put Chevy's '69 Camaro Indianapolis 500 pace car replicas down in both categories.
The race in 1969 was the second Indy 500 paced by a Camaro, but Chevy hadn't done much in the way of special editions with its opportunity in 1967. Thus was born the regular production option Z11, a $37 striping package that turned a Camaro convertible into a pace car. That $37 price is just the start however, because the RS trim package (including hidden headlamps) and the SS trim package (including a Z/28-style cowl-induction hood and decklid spoiler) were mandatory options. The pace car also had its own special interior with orange and white houndstooth upholstery complementing the orange stripes and white paint. Buyers had a choice of either the 300-gross-horsepower, 350ci small-block or one of the three 396ci big-blocks with outputs ranging from 325 to 375 hp with aluminum cylinder heads and 11.0:1 compression. The car 1960-Indy-winner Jim Rathmann drove at the head of the '69 Indy field was powered by the 375hp 396, but the vast majority of the 3,675 replicas were 350-powered.
The '69 Camaro pace car was such a hit that when Chevy decided to build a 30th anniversary Camaro in '97, they adapted the pace car's orange-on-white graphics.
Quick FactsProduction total: 3,675Engine: 350ci or 396ci V-8Sticker price: $4,500
Top 10 ListLousiest Years for the Corvette[Photos 116-0310.SCUP 1A through 1J on CD and coded to text.]With the 50th anniversary year of the Corvette now winding down, you may be a bit exhausted by the constant (and mostly deserved) praise for Chevy's plastic wonder car. So, only in the interest of perspective, we offer the 10 worst years for the Corvette. And frankly, some of the worst years for the Corvette are better than the best years of other cars.