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| Dragzilla History
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Dragzilla is a 1956 Chevy 150 2-door station wagon. It has an all steel body with a fiberglass front end. The total weight of this drag racing giant is 3080 lbs, including the big block Chevy engine and without the weight of the driver.
Best E.T. without nitrous oxide, (a chemical injected into the fuel line at any point during the race as a speed booster), is 5.64 seconds in the 1/8 th mile race. Meaning that the race car travels a distance of 1/8 th mile in around 5 seconds. This Chevy station wagon style originally came out in 1956 with a 6-cylinder engine and a 3-speed transmission.
Dragzilla, after fourteen years of modifications, now has a 565 Big Block Chevy engine and a Powerglide transmission. Dragzilla can carry a wheelie down the 1/8 th of a mile race track for at least 60 feet. That means that the race car has enough power to push from the rear end at the start of the race to lift the front end of the car off of the ground around 3 to 4 feet for 60 feet.
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Driver History |
The driver is Lester Johnson who started racing in 1993 at the age of 30. Lester started creating the legend that would someday become Dragzilla in the basement of his home in Cynthiana, KY. By 1993, the 1956 Chevy Station Wagon was completed. Dragzilla was soon to become the “Godzilla” of the “Drag Racing” scene. In 1995, just two years after Dragzilla made its first pass down the track, Lester had already won the Points Championship at Mountain Park Dragway in Clay City, KY.
Over the years, Lester has won at least one time all of the big annual races at Mountain Park Dragway. Among the races that Lester has won are Bluegrass Nationals, Spring and Summer Championship, and King of the Bluegrass. At these annual races, racers gather from all over to compete against the Best of Kentucky in the thrilling sport. Some of the fastest cars in the tri-state area are entered in MP Dragway’s annual races to test their speed with some of the elite in drag racing. Winning these races brings lots of pride and experience, along with the joy of your family seeing your victory. And of course the money! Among the many races that Lester has profited from since 1993, his best single weekend at the track, money wise anyway, was in Memphis, TN. at the “Million Dollar Race”. In 2003 Lester won $30,000 by eliminating the race to six cars at the “Million Dollar Race”.
Lester has made racing a second living. Racing Dragzilla has brought a lot of positives to his life including several close racing friends. Some of his competitive racing friends include:
*Chris Garrett (Danny Garrett Racing)
*Cheyenne Stanley
*Josh Baker (Baker Family Racing)
*Brooke Warren (BW Motorsports)
Dragzilla is always a hit with the children as they watch Lester roar down the asphalt. Dragzilla, with its decorative paint job and loud engine, puts a smile on the kids faces every time. They anticipate him racing and popping his famous 60 feet wheelies.
Lester and Dragzilla plan on being the popular drag racing duo in Kentucky for many years to come. Lester will continue to make passes down the race track and amaze the many fans that Dragzilla has come to know in the past 15 years.
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