There is no doubt that drag racing is an addiction for many — even most — of its participants. The NMCA Xtreme Street team of car owner Jason Waterman and powertrain owner and driver Dave Fiscus is no exception to this rule. Waterman, affectionately known as “Cheeseburger” by friends and foes alike, is driven by a hunger for the dragstrip and its allure that consumes just about all of his waking hours.
Warteman has tuned many Mustangs and other cars over the years, from Zack Posey and Tony Akins in the old NMRA BFGoodrich Drag Radial class to Ultra Street class-wrecker Shawn Pevlor’s nitrous-assisted Mustang to working closely on Martin Connelley’s race-winning efforts over the last couple of seasons. It’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about a thing or two when it comes to getting a high-powered small-tire Mustang to dance the strip. He’s even been behind the wheel himself, although not much in recent years. p“I used to drive it way back in the day, but I realized that I’m better at tuning than I am at driving, so I let someone else drive. I’m a racing addict — I have to race. My drive for racing is so strong that I wear people out. I wore my first driver out. I ran Shawn pretty ragged for a while,” said Waterman.
Recently, he’s been working with Dave Fiscus on tuning a unique vehicle in the world of small-tire racing, as Fiscus is well-known in the Grand National world and had been racing his own car in 235-style action at 3,500 pounds race-ready. Fiscus is currently building an all-new chassis at Tin Soldier Race Cars in Kentucky, with an eye toward X275 class domination upon its return. Waterman’s own Tin Soldier-built Mustang chassis was sitting in the garage with no drivetrain in it, as he had lent the existing nitrous engine to Martin Connelley for Connelley’s two-class assault on Lights Out 11.