If a racer only has one race where they can raise a stink on and off the track by performing well above expectations and upsetting the apple cart of the regulars, there’s only one logical event to accomplish the mission.
As Stevie “Fast” Jackson, the iconic doorslammer racer and two-time NHRA champion, sees it, there’s no other event like the NHRA U.S. Nationals to show up and show out at.
Jackson will be racing at the NHRA U.S. Nationals with his Shadow 3.0, a car initially built to race in the Drag Radial arena, has raced with big tires before, qualifying No. 4 at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Modified.
Jackson said he has lofty goals headed into the Labor Day weekend extravaganza.
“The Shadow 3.0 was designed to be the quickest door car in the world, and it is the quickest radial tire car in the world,” Jackson said. “It’s already made some impressive runs, but it still needs to be sorted out on big tires. If you’re going to go to a one-off race, if you’re going to go try to poke your nose in somebody’s business, that’s the race that you go to do that.”
Motion Raceworks sponsors Jackson’s efforts, and he’s racing as a support car for Sidnei Frigo’s Artivinco team, a team for which he’s the crew chief.
“I like the challenge of racing and tuning at the same event,” Jackson said. “It’s not something that I would want to do all the time, for sure. But to come out and just run one race, I like it. We’ve got a lot of experience in NHRA. We’ve had some pretty good success quarter-mile racing, and I’m excited to showcase what our engines are capable of and have some fun.”
Jackson stopped driving NHRA Pro Modified to focus on his tuning role with Frigo. He’s also been working hard on developing new engine combinations for his Killin’ Time Racing [KTR] brand.
“We’ve been using the Shadow, as well as Sydnei Frigo’s Artivinco racing car, as the development piece for our new engine package that’s available to our KTR customers for sale and lease,” Jackson said. “We initially had some hiccups with the Shadow and tore up some stuff. But we only lease engine package components for sale if they’re proven or completely sorted out.
“We don’t sell and allow our customers to fund our research and development. So, when we do R&D at KTR, we do it in-house. We use it on our house cars. And then when it’s perfect, ready, and the absolute best package that your money can buy, that’s when we start selling it.”
Jackson said the NHRA U.S. Nationals will mark the debut of the Shadow Series racing engine, a combination that’s already been proven in the small-tire arena.
“We’re having success with it,” Jackson said. “But as anything, it takes a little time to refine it. You run through some hiccups and bumps, and we will use this as a moment to showcase a well-refined piece that’s sold at a fair price when it is put in a perfectly designed race car and driven by somebody who knows what they’re doing.
Jackson said Frigo’s support was the determining factor in bringing the Shadow 3.0.
“His first reaction was, ‘Heck yeah, let’s bring it on. The more the merrier,” Jackson confirmed. “That’s what racing with KTR is like. We’re a family. We’ve always been a family. Our customers, we sit down at a dinner table together, and we choose to do business with people like that. So I’m just blessed to have customers and employees around me that are a family. When you work here, you’re a family. When you race with us when you’re a family. When you’re a customer, you’re family, and it’s hard to cultivate that type of relationship. It takes time, and that’s what we’re building as a company, and that’s what we’re building as a race team.”
Jackson said his long-range plans for KTR are to prove to the doorslammer racing world that winning can be done with integrity.
“I believe that you can race, have integrity, and win,” Jackson said. “That’s what KTR is about; we’re the good guys. We’re out here to show that you can run by the rules. You can not have backdoor dealings and tactics. You can not run crap that you’re not supposed to run and still win. You can run a business ethically how it’s supposed to be run, have a family environment, and still be competitive. That’s what we’re about.”
But there’s a bigger plan Jackson has, and one day would love to get the opportunity to make it happen.
“I want to go nitro, Top Fuel, or Funny Car racing,” Jackson admitted. “I keep saying this, and you keep writing about it, but I want to get in one of those stinky yellow fuel-burning cars.”
But until then, he’s all for taking his Shadow 3.0 out to Indy and making it stinky for those who cross his path on the race track.
