Big Turbo vs. Blown Camaro No Prep Race Almost Ends in Disaster for a '69 Chevy

These kinds of races are the main specialty of the National No Prep Racing Association YouTube channel, and whenever there’s something new, it brings with it the thrills of seeing which of the drivers manages to hold it together best. And, sometimes, the near misses are obvious, while other times, it takes a while to grasp the subtlety of averting an impending disaster.

Basically, that’s what probably happened here. But first things, first, let’s meet the contestants and understand the setting because none of them will disappoint. This battle took place during the third round of the big tire class at the “Battle at the Alamo No Prep” event held at the Alamo City Motorplex in Marion, Texas back in February.

It’s one of those great setups for ensuring both (relative) safety for the drivers, thanks to a professional drag strip and the crowd-pleasing shenanigans of a no-prep surface that’s at the mercy of the weather elements (that time of the year the degrees went down fast, for sure).

The meeting sees Cody Baker’s blown white 1969 Chevrolet Camaro that’s affectionately known as “Shake N Bake” go up against an equally beautiful and just as 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, albeit of the big turbo and crimson variety. The latter belongs to James “Birdman” Finney, a no prep racer that had a rather notorious crash last year in his traditional Pontiac Firebird and returned to the stage with this new GM ride in 2021.

Both were coming from successful battles in the first and second rounds, and before the action kicks off, we also see their test runs after a quick walkaround of the Birdman Camaro. It’s safe to say that both drivers greatly put everything into perspective with these warmups, Finney’s Chevy even lifting the front wheels before the blown Shake N Bake had its own chance to shine from the 3:50 mark.

Naturally, the most important part is the race itself; it comes in from the nine-minute mark after the usual show they both put up in a cloud of smoke (7:30, just because we never get tired of burnouts). Both Camaros take off like a bolt of lightning, and the race seems pretty evenly matched just past the Christmas tree, but it’s only a fleeting judgment since the Birdman almost loses control of his Camaro just before the end of the skirmish.