Over the past few days, we’ve been mesmerized by the exciting quarter-mile action that took place during the densely packed Summit Midwest Drags event. All sorts of competitors gathered for an explosive string of drag races spread over four days and in between three strips. Best of all, the racers had to drive their cars to each racetrack with nothing but a trailer (and the stuff that fit inside) attached to the back.
It’s probably one of the greatest quarter-mile events of this first half of 2021, not only because of all the above but also because we’ve seen all sorts of interesting drag racing monsters line up for this road trip/racetrack event. From Cleetus McFarland’s all-new twin-turbo Chevrolet El Camino to vintage and modern foes, anything goes.
That includes a mesmerizingly menacing matte-black 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass (probably a Supreme from the fourth generation, if we’re not mistaken) that could easily qualify as a sleeper car if not for a few telltale signs. Such as the bulging hood, the asymmetrical side exhausts, or the meaty rear tires.
Naturally, the main course for the presentation (at the 2:09 mark) is represented by the engine swap, as the Olds now features an 85mm turbocharged S500 kit attached to an old-school 468ci (7.7L) Big Block Chevy engine. So, no LS for this one, which might be for the better... most of the time, at least.
The good folks over at Drag Racing and Car Stuff have an entire crop of quarter-mile runs focused on the Olds, including a nice solo pass from the three-minute mark to put things into the low nine-second perspective (9.09s at 148 mph/238 kph). But, of course, we’re mostly interested in what happens when there’s an opponent in the other lane.
Well, this Cutlass has its work cut out for it, especially since we noticed the driver tends to go for a staggered start in most cases. Still, the Oldsmobile outclasses its initial vintage opponents (from the 0:40 and 1:30 marks, a Camaro SS and Nova as far as we can tell) without any issues, posting low nine-second passes each time.
Things don’t get much tougher against a previous-generation Chevy Corvette (race at 3:55), but that was probably a smokescreen for the real attractions. First, at the 4:20 mark, the Oldsmobile meets an equally all-black (but glossy) 1980s coupe, and that one teaches it the first lesson of the day with a little wheelie and the 9.63s to 9.73-second win.
Then it’s time for a blown Chevy Camaro SS to arrive in the left lane and go for a surprise win as it dipped just below the nine-second threshold. We really didn’t expect to see it post an 8.99s ET, but it did, and the Oldsmobile could only provide a 9.08-second pass in return...
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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