Pontiac Pavement Pounders Shootout - Atlanta Dragway, Part 2

Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, was the scene where hard-core racers supplied the Pontiacs, the tuning, and the driving skills as HPP's cameras captured the action this past summer. YearOne came out to play as well, providing sponsorship for this series of Pontiac Pavement Pounders Shootouts that were held in association with POCI and DAPA during the POCI Convention in Greenville, South Carolina. For this installment, we have a mix of vintage and modern Pontiacs, each with a unique induction system.

Erik Wiegand of White Plains, Maryland, entered the competition with his wheel-pulling '64 GTO clone. Featuring a Dominator-inducted, 467- cube engine and 13:1 compression, it's certainly no grocery getter, and consistent low-10-second e.t.'s prove it. Having dipped into the 9s in the past, what would the '64 be capable of on this hot, humid race day?

Patrick Butler of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was out to prove how easy it is to put a fuel-injected 346-cube LS1 Fourth-Gen into the 11s with precious few mods. Packing a custom nitrous setup, more converter, more rear gear, good tires, and little else, he is making his point--but what would today bring?

Mike Ford of Spartanburg, South Carolina, arrived with a race car that we haven't seen for many years--an '80 Sunbird. Remember when cars like this were on dragstrips everywhere? Fortified with a mild two-four-barrel, tunnel-rammed, 462-cube engine, Mike's racer is an exercise in how a favorable power-to-weight ratio can put a low-buck effort into the low-10s. How low? Keep reading.

Jim Thompson of Peachtree City, Georgia, was driving a PHS-documented '66 Ram Air GTO. Worth its weight in gold nowadays, he is still willing to flog this Pontiac on the track, albeit with a transplanted engine displacing 463 cubes and featuring a Tri-Power that puts the machine well into the 12s. Would he make it through the day without hurting his priceless Pontiac?

In the immortal words of Jackie Gleason, "Away we go!"