Three-Valve, ProCharger, Turbo, JPC Racing, Modular Depot

Vinnie Barber and Justin Burcham battle it out for Three-Valve supremecy.

The NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green, KY has been history for a few weeks but the talk is still buzzing about the happenings down there. One of the biggest highlights of the weekend was the match up between Vinnie Barber and Justin Burcham. Both racers run S197 Mustangs with Three-Valve engines. Some pre-race smack talk turned into a Best of Three match race that would reset the record books and give the fans something to cheer about.

The overview of the two cars, Vinnie Barber contracted Modular Depot to build a wild S197 and still retain the Three-Valve modular engine. The shop, led by Ken Bjonnes, obliged and began modifying and massaging the entire car. A full-cage was installed along with a parachute, then came a new motor for the wild project. BES built a 300ci engine with ported heads and custom camshafts. Naturally, the bottom end was filled with a billet crank, billet rods, and custom pistons. Modular Depot built a custom intake manifold and plumbed a custom turbo system, using a Precision 88mm turbocharger. Stock electronics were retained and Bjonnes used SCT to tune the beast.

Justin Burcham of JPC Racing brought his familiar True Street ride to the competition. The silver '05 Stang has the distinct honor of being the first 9 and 10 second S197 Mustang as well as the first 8-second ride. The team added a new engine for this outing, since they knew Bjonnes and Barber were coming loaded for bear. A Rich Groh Racing  (RGR) 322ci engine using a Boss block was installed in the car. A ProCharger F1A blower, JPC intake, RGR-ported heads, custom cams, and a healthy shot of nitrous from Nitrous Pro Flow are the go-fast goodies.

Vinnie Barber won the battle by taking two out of three races but Justin Burcham walked away with the quickest and fastest pass ever for a Three-Valve S197 car with an 8.52 at 161 mph. The two had so much fun that they are talking about having more match races against each other at various NMRA events in 2009.