Walker to Debut Radical New El Camino in Vegas
Courtesy of Walker Racing
LAS VEGAS, NV – After starting with an actual 1974 El Camino production car and modifying it into a low 6-second, 230 MPH Pro Street machine over the course of two decades, Randy Walker was long overdue for a new ride.
He’s taken care of that situation in a big way with a radical new ’74 El Camino from Matheis Race Cars. After a round-the-clock thrash to finish the car and transport it from the St. Louis, MO area to Las Vegas, Walker and the Walker Racing Group will debut the car at this weekend’s Super Chevy / PSCA Pro Street combo event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“We’re on the road to Las Vegas now, and will arrive sometime Friday,” said Randy Walker. “We drove from Palm Springs, CA to St. Louis and arrived on Saturday, and we’ve been working with Rob Matheis to put the finishing touches on the car. We’re driving nonstop back to Vegas right now, but we’ll be there racing this weekend.”
The new car, painted in candy burgundy and black and named “Super Rat 2” in honor of the “Super Rat” fuel altered last campaigned by Randy and Duane Walker’s father in 1969, incorporates all of the latest and greatest Pro Modified designs, materials, and technologies to create an exceptionally light machine.
“We designed and built the new body ourselves, so we were able to get creative with the El Camino bodylines as well as focus on keeping it light,” Walker said. “Then working with Rob Matheis was an excellent choice and we couldn’t be happier with the way the car turned out. It’s stunningly lighter, narrower, and shorter in height than our previous car. We now feel we’re equipped to compete with the best cars on the West Coast.”
The car was built in order to be more competitive in the Walker team’s mainstay PSCA Pro Street class, but also to compete in NHRA Get Screened America Pro Modified competition and any outlaw doorslammer event on the West Coast.
For now, the Walker team will run the same engine combination they saw success with last season, an 822 cubic inch unit tuned by Pro Modified pioneer Charles Carpenter. Carpenter will be back with the team again in 2011, and will be on hand for the car’s maiden voyage this weekend. As the season progresses, Walker hopes to potentially upgrade to a new 5.300 bore space engine with the help of new sponsors.
“We’re exploring a few options with new sponsors for this season,” said Walker. “We have a meeting with one of our potential new marketing partners this weekend in Vegas, so we’re extremely excited to have them there along with the new car. We know we’re going to have a few bugs to work out, but we’re optimistic and can’t wait to hit the track.”
Walker Racing Group would like to extend a special thanks to Walker Autoworks; Walker Tucson Properties; Charles & Mike Carpenter; Paul Albino and Total Induction Tuning Solutions; Rob Matheis and Matheis Race Cars; Thenix Industries; Tom Bogner at Lucas Oil; David Sumek at Lenco; Josh Solis at Tru Karbon Components; and Pat Norcia at Ram Clutches.
For more information about Walker Racing Group, please visit www.walkerracinggroup.com
