Image Courtesy Peterson Fluid Systems’ Facebook Page

Winning the Unlimited class in Drag Week competition is no small feat; there are only a few players each year, sucked in by the allure of trying to be the baddest man in the world with a truly street-driven vehicle. In 2013 — and again in 2015 — Michigan’s Tom Bailey outlasted all of the competition to take home the big prize, and the bragging rights, as the baddest man in the land in a true street-driven vehicle.

His 2015 average elapsed time was 6.78 over the course of the five-day event, .05 better than his showing in 2013. That goes to show just how difficult the torture test of Drag Week is — the Steve Morris dyno mule engine (a duplicate of that in Bailey’s machine) cranked off well over 3,600 horsepower on the SME dyno previous to the event.

Helping the engine to perform so well is a full complement of running gear from Peterson Fluid Systems, including the company’s R4 five stage drag dry sump pump, their 7-inch drag oil tank, and their spline drive crank mandrel system.

Oiling is critical in a drag-race engine, even more so when that engine puts out the kind of power Bailey’s bullet is capable of producing — while remaining completely streetable.

The R4 dry sump pump system offers 1.4-inch-thick rotors in each scavenge stage that are designed to help the engine achieve maximum vacuum and horsepower, and are especially important in an application like this where an aluminum block and connecting rods are used.

“Anything you can do to keep the oil where you want it, near the pump pickup and getting back to the oil tank, is going to help you. De-aerated oil lubricates better than oil that has a ton air whipped into it. A crankcase is theorized to contain hurricane force winds at high engine RPM, so anything that can be done to take the air out of there is going to aid in oil control,” explains Peterson’s Mike Morten.

For more information on the complete lineup of parts from Peterson Fluid Systems, check out their website.