Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos courtesy of Randy Adler Jr.
Randy Adler Jr. has had an appreciation for classic cars for a long time.
He fondly remembers the first time he rode in the passenger’s seat of the 1976 Trans Am that his father and NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod racer Randy Adler Sr. inherited from his father, and getting his first 1979 Camaro when he was 16 years old.
He drove it on the street for a while before selling it and purchasing another 1979 Camaro that featured a 496 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet engine and nitrous and helped him fly to 9-second passes in NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp, Bracket and No Prep categories.
But ready to go in a different direction, Adler Jr. sold that car and purchased another 1979 Camaro that he is preparing to race in NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street and PDRA Top Sportsman. Additionally, his father will race it in index categories near their home in Illinois.
“We had been looking for about five months, and we found this one about a month ago on Facebook Marketplace,” said Adler Jr. “It was actually being sold by a friend, and my dad, Randy, and mom, Alisa, came with me to look at it. As soon as we walked in the garage door and saw it, we knew we wanted it.”
The car, built by Pat Bennett, is gray with black stripes, and has a Mark Williams rear end. It will be powered by a 615 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet built around a Dart block by Adler Jr.’s uncle, Rob Adler, who owns A-Team Speed Shop. Adorning the top of the engine will be Pro-Filer heads and a Pro Systems carburetor. The combination will be made even more monstrous with a nitrous system, and Adler Jr. is in the process of choosing one. A Coan Powerglide transmission with a Reid transmission case will help put a plentiful amount of power down.
Adler Jr. said the car needs to be wired, and he will look at where weight needs to be placed. Tim McAmis Performance Parts will make a molded seat to snugly fit Adler. Jr. and his father, and Adler Jr. plans to have mounts welded onto his car to accommodate ProJack stands. A new set of Hoosier tires will be wrapped around the back wheels.
With the move to this car, Adler Jr. will be going from running 9s in the quarter-mile to 4s in the eighth-mile, and he is currently gathering all of the required safety gear from Gearhead Solutions.
“The elapsed-time is a massive jump for me, and anytime you make a massive jump like this in racing, you have to respect the car and what it’s capable of,” said Adler Jr.
As winter turns to spring, he will begin making test passes in his car and go through the process of obtaining his NHRA competition license. He hopes to be ready to make his ARP Nitrous Pro Street debut at the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, May 4-7, 2023 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois.
“Our goal for the season is to be at the races, get comfortable in the new car and enjoy racing,” said Adler Jr., who works alongside his father at his father’s company, A-Team Flooring, Inc. “We won’t be trying to set records right away, but if we can win a few rounds, that would be great. I really want to thank my mom and dad, who are my heroes. They have always wanted to see me succeed, and I couldn’t be more appreciative. I also want to thank my friends, including Jack Foster, Kyle Mackey and David Luppino, who will continue to crew for me. I’m really looking forward to this.”
Photos courtesy of Randy Adler Jr.
Randy Adler Jr. has had an appreciation for classic cars for a long time.
He fondly remembers the first time he rode in the passenger’s seat of the 1976 Trans Am that his father and NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod racer Randy Adler Sr. inherited from his father, and getting his first 1979 Camaro when he was 16 years old.
He drove it on the street for a while before selling it and purchasing another 1979 Camaro that featured a 496 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet engine and nitrous and helped him fly to 9-second passes in NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp, Bracket and No Prep categories.
But ready to go in a different direction, Adler Jr. sold that car and purchased another 1979 Camaro that he is preparing to race in NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street and PDRA Top Sportsman. Additionally, his father will race it in index categories near their home in Illinois.
“We had been looking for about five months, and we found this one about a month ago on Facebook Marketplace,” said Adler Jr. “It was actually being sold by a friend, and my dad, Randy, and mom, Alisa, came with me to look at it. As soon as we walked in the garage door and saw it, we knew we wanted it.”
The car, built by Pat Bennett, is gray with black stripes, and has a Mark Williams rear end. It will be powered by a 615 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet built around a Dart block by Adler Jr.’s uncle, Rob Adler, who owns A-Team Speed Shop. Adorning the top of the engine will be Pro-Filer heads and a Pro Systems carburetor. The combination will be made even more monstrous with a nitrous system, and Adler Jr. is in the process of choosing one. A Coan Powerglide transmission with a Reid transmission case will help put a plentiful amount of power down.
Adler Jr. said the car needs to be wired, and he will look at where weight needs to be placed. Tim McAmis Performance Parts will make a molded seat to snugly fit Adler. Jr. and his father, and Adler Jr. plans to have mounts welded onto his car to accommodate ProJack stands. A new set of Hoosier tires will be wrapped around the back wheels.
With the move to this car, Adler Jr. will be going from running 9s in the quarter-mile to 4s in the eighth-mile, and he is currently gathering all of the required safety gear from Gearhead Solutions.
“The elapsed-time is a massive jump for me, and anytime you make a massive jump like this in racing, you have to respect the car and what it’s capable of,” said Adler Jr.
As winter turns to spring, he will begin making test passes in his car and go through the process of obtaining his NHRA competition license. He hopes to be ready to make his ARP Nitrous Pro Street debut at the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, May 4-7, 2023 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois.
“Our goal for the season is to be at the races, get comfortable in the new car and enjoy racing,” said Adler Jr., who works alongside his father at his father’s company, A-Team Flooring, Inc. “We won’t be trying to set records right away, but if we can win a few rounds, that would be great. I really want to thank my mom and dad, who are my heroes. They have always wanted to see me succeed, and I couldn’t be more appreciative. I also want to thank my friends, including Jack Foster, Kyle Mackey and David Luppino, who will continue to crew for me. I’m really looking forward to this.”