JD GOES NITRO

John ‘JD’ Shepherd’s drag racing career has seen some changes in recent years, beginning with the blown Hemi–powered ‘Hell Razor’ front-engine dragster (FED) purchased several years back. The Hell Razor FED was a real-deal American race car, built in 1967 by Bernier and Hoitt, and, as cool as it was, JD felt the need to go quicker, stepping up into his current blown Hemi–powered ‘Backdraft’ FED. You can probably see where this is going, considering that he’s just taken steps to go even quicker still, with the aid of nitro. “I only set out to purchase the motor out of the ‘Phoenix’, but ended up buying the whole deal … as you do,” JD said of his most recent purchase. “The chassis is with Grant Downing at Paralax Race Cars and has been assessed. It is going to need a considerable amount of repairs, and, if finances permit, my aim is to have the car ready for the 2020/’21 season.” In the meantime, JD is thinking of running the nitro engine in the Backdraft FED just to get a handle on how to run nitro. “Hopefully, my crew doesn’t run for the hills!” he laughed, but we’re quietly confident that they’ll be up for the challenge. Stepping from a 8-71-blown 417-cube Donovan to a 500ci nitro-sucking Brad Anderson will be a big jump, but perhaps one made easier by running the engine in the dragster before bolting it back into the funny car. Thankfully, he’s got the right people on board, such as fellow racer and Hemi guru Raymond Smyth, as well as the ever-reliable crew of Tania, Andrew, Carol and Carole, and crew chief Phil. Watch this space, as, regardless of whether the team switch to nitro power sooner or later, there are big things happening.