I taught myself to build engines, rear ends, transmissions, do minor paint and body work, tune the nitrous, and practical wiring. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears have been spent on the car over the years.
The Nova is a member of the family to me. I taught myself to work on all aspects of the car while transforming it from a bone-stock granny mobile into a stout street cruiser, then into a strong street/strip bruiser, and finally a dedicated heads-up race car. “My Nova is my high school car, so I have a long history with it. Watson has spent 20 years working on his 73 Nova as a self taught racer and builder. Watson said “Without the Hoosier tire the cars would not be nearly as fast.” More recently Good Year Racing has entered the tire wars with a new 8.5 tire to compete with Hoosier.
Hoosier was first to come on board making a huge impact in traction advantage. Several tire manufacturers have jumped on board with the rise of interest and participation in the 8.5 class. We really had to work to put the power down in the beginning”. He said “We didn’t have the killer Hoosier tire back then when it all started. Watson got into 8.5 tire racing when it was in its infancy at Ohio Valley Dragway in Louisville. The Nova is powered by a 434 cubic inch small block Chevy with a single plate of nitrous backed by a Bradco converter and powerglide transmission. So I have had to make what I have work in order to compete.” So far Watson has run a best time of 5.43 127 mph in 1/8th mile competition. Not many choose to go with a leaf spring set up but I refuse to cut the car up for ladder bars. It’s a stock suspension leaf spring car. My learning curve has been tuning the chassis. Fans come to the pits looking everywhere for some trick part but there is none.” While the predominate car of choice for this class has been the Mustang, Watson said “The most interesting thing about my car is that it’s not a Mustang. I just tell them years of learning and tuning. “I get a ton of fans begging to know how I get the Nova down the track so quickly on a tiny tire and stock suspension. So what makes this car different? According to Watson, it’s all about perseverance and determination. When the light turns green this unsuspecting Nova stands all original 3200 lbs on the bumper and disappears down the strip in a hurry. It has a stock front suspension, leaf springs, Caltracs, factory 10 bolt rear, and 90% of its original street equipment. This car however is tells quite another story on the race track.
#73 nova stock engine license#
Watson’s 1973 Nova appears at first look to be an average street driven car sporting a valid license plate. Originating in Kentucky as a low budget solution for racing, the class has grown from mild to wild in competitive ingenuity surprising both fans and fellow racers alike. Like other Outlaw series, the 8.5 refers to tire size and in this class an extremely small tire measuring just 26 x 8.5”. Craig Watson of “2 Quick Nova’s” Racing is amongst a growing number of racers pursuing the small tire wars in a unique and upcoming class called Outlaw 8.5.
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