 |
Jeff Lutz’s Mad Max Camaro carries a Drag Week championship and a years-old speed record, plus an equally well-earned reputation for spectacular mechanical failures. Rick Ware Racing bought the car in 2026 and built a new twin-turbo Noonan Hemi specifically to chase the elusive five-second average. The comeback lasted exactly one scored pass.
At the 2026 NHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, the 3,500-horsepower Yeti Chevelle went head-to-head with Mike Gondziola’s Terminator and Sander Spelt’s Bunker Junker through a full weekend of Pro Modified eliminations. The coverage runs from Thursday test-and-tune through Saturday’s final round. It’s proof that regional Pro Mod racing delivers just as much spectacle as any national event.
Jeff Lutz has a pattern: flat black paint, twin-turbo big-blocks, 1957 Chevrolets, and Drag Week wins to back it all up. His newest build, unveiled at the Tri-Five Nationals, keeps the 540-cubic-inch big-block he has used before but steps up from 88mm to 98mm turbos in pursuit of roughly 3,500 horsepower. Read on to see how the new car fits the formula that made his two Mad Max ’57s and his Drag Week-winning Camaro famous.
A C7 Corvette-bodied Pro Mod once trapped 249.49 mph in 5.73 seconds and earned a “new world record” claim that stood as one of the class’s benchmark runs, even though the record books have since moved well past it. Underneath that recognizable street-car silhouette sits a purpose-built tube chassis carrying an estimated 3,000-plus horsepower. Read on to find out how a Corvette-shaped race car keeps closing the gap with dedicated dragsters.