Mark Megahan
The year 1969 was an experience never to be repeated and that year’s Chevrolet Camaro was just as amazing. Nothing but pure muscle and not a computer chip or emissions device anywhere on board. They simply loved to guzzle up that 98 octane leaded super-fuel which used to fill the tank for around $0.36 per gallon. Station attendants would even check your oil and tires while they pumped it in for you. While the stock model was an untamed beast, this one built for nitro-fuel drag racing is a real monster.
Herb DaRula snags a 69 Camaro
Herb DaRula is one of the “biggest names in grudge racing.” They say not only is he a “multi-time grudge racer of the year honoree, and he’s ready to make his return to the no-time world.”
He’s doing it in a custom built 1969 Chevy Camaro chassis. That’s probably the only part that ever saw the factory. Herb comes from a racing family so puts cars together like Lego.
Herb loved the feel of Chevrolet ever since his uncles gave him “a pair of Novas.” He used them to win numerous races. He walked away from the racing life to spend time with his family in 2018 but just couldn’t get along without the smell of nitro in the air.
“My son MJ just turned 18, and he always went racing with me when he was a little boy. I stopped following racing entirely when I sold everything, but he kept following it. He graduated from high school early and just kept trying to get me back into racing, and it worked.” MJ is the reason he built the Camaro.
“He’s the reason I built this car and got back into it. I was going to start racing Pro Nitrous, but he really wanted me to start grudge racing. Racing this car is something that we can do together.”
He picked up the 1969 Camaro chassis totally bare from Precision Chassis. Someone else started a similar project and didn’t finish it. Underneath the body, the Chevy engineers of the Woodstock era would be totally baffled by just about everything else they see.
Monster lurking under the hood
From the bottom up, “you’ll find a set of Menscer Motorsports shocks, a Hammer Concepts and Designs rearend, and TBM Brakes.” Then, there’s the power-plant. “TRE Racing Engines built the 765 cubic-inch, 4.84-inch bore space monster that lives under the hood of the Camaro.”
Nothing will send you rocketing down the track faster than the nitrous oxide. “Nitrous is pumped into the engine through a Speedtech nitrous kit. Behind the TRE mill is an M&M Transmission lock-up torque converter and transmission.”
Ryan McCain personally tunes “tunes the Holley EFI system that controls the engine of the Camaro” and keeps it purring like it has a tiger in the tank.
“We started this car in January, so I had to use all the different shops I’ve worked with in the past to get it done this year. The car was wired by Rick at RaceWire Technologies and he did a great job. TNT Fabrication did a lot of work on the car, along with Robert Hayes Motorsports. I bounced this car around between shops because of how busy everyone was.”
They also want to give a big shout out to TNT for mounting the body and installing the rear end. “Robert Hayes Motorsports made the headers and did a lot of fab work on the car, too.”
The stunning orange and white paint job was laid down in classic Camaro style by Kip Coffman. DaRula plans on bringing it to “as many 4.84 shootouts as his schedule will allow.“
