Wallace Racing is on the Cutting Edge of T/D Technology

Tim Wallace Sr. and Jr. have been actively pounding the quartermile for years. Senior was a West Coast Pro Mod heavy hitter while Junior wheeled a Jr. Dragster. Winning came early when he captured the Firebird (Idaho not Arizona) track championship in 2001 at the age of nine.

After a brief respite from competition, father and son returned big time in 2012. Junior was fitted for an American Race Cars 245-inch Top Dragster powered by a single-carb, 598-inch DRCE engine. Racing in hometown Boise, Idaho’s thin air (corrected altitude in the 5,000- to 6,000-foot range) the power adder-free rail maxed out at a credible 7.24/184 mph. To be competitive in T/D competition though, more steam was required.

After weighing performance options, Wallace Sr. elected to build a blower motor for the car. Instead of opting for a traditional Roots-type supercharger, he contacted Joe Hessling at Advanced Product Design (APD) who constructed a ProCharger Race Drive engine for the dragster. This is an innovation from ProCharger in Lenexa, Kansas.

The ProCharger engine combination has proven itself worthy on the East Coast in the Top Dragster and sportsman wars, however, there has not been a great deal of movement towards this particular design out west. The Wallace Family Racing decided they would be on the tip of the spear when it comes to ProCharger engines on the left coast.

The elder Wallace goes all out or not at all, so when ordering the engine, he went over the top in performance and aesthetics. The 540-incher is not huge by today’s standards, if it was naturally aspirated, but with the ProCharger Race Drive it’s plenty big. Aesthetics include the block, heads and intake and all of the external components including the transmission case are polished— yes— polished. You can shave using the cylinder block as a mirror, no lie.

This is just not a shine and sit race car, it’s a legitimate Top Sportsman and Super Pro campaigner. Wallace’s dragster became the first Super Pro car to top 200 mph at Idaho’s Firebird and routinely has elapse times in the 6.80 range. “We just have the small gear set in the drive unit right now to get a firm grip on the tune-up, but APD makes some much bigger sets that will spin the blower faster,” the elder Wallace told us. This will give Junior a much faster ride.

The ProCharger is a unique setup, but has been around for some time. Nevertheless, with all concepts there is always innovation and development. The compressor resembles the compressor side of a turbocharger this hasn’t changed from the original setup; the change comes in the drive system. Rather than a belt drive, this compressor is driven by a modified dampener, which is mounted to the crankshaft. This rubberized dampener allows for a smoother progression of the airflow from the blower into the engine as engine rpms increase. Moreover, the compressor setup is designed to eliminate the amount of heat transfer from the engine or exhaust to the compressor. This allows a much cooler and denser air charge to be forced into the engine.

A set of quick-change gears on the back of the compressor, similar to those in a sprint car rearend, gives the tuner the ability to change the airflow through induction system. The taller the gear the more rpms are driven to the compressor; hence, more air into the engine, more air and more fuel, more power and quicker, faster runs.

Fuel and compressed air are mixed in a blow-through carburetor. The Wallaces prefer to use alcohol, which acts as a cooling agent as well. Summertime temperatures in Idaho often climb well above 100°F, so this fuel’s cooling effect is a considerable asset.

Tim Sr. has started to get a firm hold on the tune-up, keeping it in the 6.80 range at just over 200 mph. This has paid off with Junior making it to the final round of Super Pro at one of the four days of the Pepsi Nightfire Nationals this past August, along with being the number two qualifier in Top Dragster at the same event. In addition, Junior was in the hunt for the overall event title until Jack Beckman took him out in round one on Sunday. (Yes, that Jack Beckman.) The car was also voted Best Engineered at Firebird’s NHRA Division Six event.

The Wallaces are convinced that this combination is the way to go for Top Dragster racing. According to Wallace Sr., “It is designed to be much easier on parts and it is much easier to adjust than a Roots-type system.”

---

TECH SHEET

2012 American Race Cars 245-inch wheelbase Paint by Todd’s Extreme Paint

Rearend: Mark Williams 9.5 sheet metal

Rear Brakes: Mosier dual-caliper brakes

Rear Shock: Penske

Engine: 540-ci with ProCharger built by Joe Hessling at Advanced Product Design

Fuel and Oil Lines: XRP hoses

Headers: Fab Shop

Transmission: Hughes Extreme Powerglide

Shifter: B&M Pro Bandit

Delay Box: Elite 500

Ignition: MSD Digital

Data Collection: Racepak

Alternator: East Coast Alternator

Gauges: Auto Meter

Tires: Hoosier

Rear Wheels: Weld beadlocks

Safety: Simpson

---