Big Red History 2014

Big Red History 2014

The Spring of 2014 was a huge achievement for RJ and the whole Big Red family. Mojave tends to bring out RJ’s biggest amount of support, since it’s in Southern California and so is Big Red’s team/family. So when Big Red finished a mechanically challenging weekend with a new class record of 232.4 mph in the 1.5-mile Mojave Magnum, it was a cause for celebration! The June 2014 issue of Hot Rod was Big Red’s second appearance on the cover. Chevrolet enlisted the magazine to test the brand-new 2014 Z/28 and pit it against any car of its choice. RJ received the call to compete against the new Camaro, and he accepted. Team Big Red took the car all the way to Alabama to run at Barber Motorsports Park against the 2014 Z/28 and a 2013 Boss 302 Mustang. It was really cold that day, around 42 degrees, and a massive ice storm had come through the day before, creating horrible track conditions. Although the Z/28 had a faster lap time around the track, Big Red’s top speed was 11-mph faster than the Z/28 — while the Boss Mustang wasn’t even close. The lap times were: Z/28: 1.36.17 / Boss: 1.40.50 / Big Red: 1.41.84. Big Red held its own in a competition with the modern-day track warriors. In the process, RJ dropped off a tire on a corner and Big Red had an off-track visit with a soft barrier that crumpled the driver’s fender. Nothing a hammer and some racing tape couldn’t fix. Rubbing’s racing! Even with a damaged fender, Big Red looked great for her second appearance on the cover of Hot Rod magazine

Bonneville was rained out for Speed Week, so Big Red wasn’t going to get a chance to stretch her legs on the salt for 2014. Then RJ received an invitation to run in Mike Cook’s Shootout being held on September 12th at Bonneville. Mike’s event is an FIA-sanctioned event, so it can record international speed records. Part of the course was still wet, so the usual five-mile Speed Week course was only a couple of miles. It was a small, invitation-only event, which gave RJ and the team plenty of runs. The film crew took advantage of the extra runs. There were a few mechanical and cooling issues that they overcame long enough to lay down a 228-mph run. It was the fastest Big Red had run on the salt, but not over 250 mph like they’d hoped. RJ would just have to bring Big Red back to the salt another time. Big Red was still in Land-Speed mode when November rolled around, so it made sense to run at El Mirage and try for a new record. The crew learned a lot at Bonneville, but there were still some cooling issues to overcome. Every event is another filming opportunity for documentary footage, so the crew and RJ were all under the microscope. But they were getting used to the camera and microphone in their faces. RJ was able to get Big Red up to 208.963 mph. They would have to come back for another shot at the record of 225 mph.

Big Red History 2014
camaro classic car

The Spring of 2014 was a huge achievement for RJ and the whole Big Red family. Mojave tends to bring out RJ’s biggest amount of support, since it’s in Southern California and so is Big Red’s team/family. So when Big Red finished a mechanically challenging weekend with a new class record of 232.4 mph in the 1.5-mile Mojave Magnum, it was a cause for celebration! The June 2014 issue of Hot Rod was Big Red’s second appearance on the cover. Chevrolet enlisted the magazine to test the brand-new 2014 Z/28 and pit it against any car of its choice. RJ received the call to compete against the new Camaro, and he accepted. 

Team Big Red took the car all the way to Alabama to run at Barber Motorsports Park against the 2014 Z/28 and a 2013 Boss 302 Mustang. It was really cold that day, around 42 degrees, and a massive ice storm had come through the day before, creating horrible track conditions. Although the Z/28 had a faster lap time around the track, Big Red’s top speed was 11-mph faster than the Z/28 — while the Boss Mustang wasn’t even close. The lap times were: Z/28: 1.36.17 / Boss: 1.40.50 / Big Red: 1.41.84. Big Red held its own in a competition with the modern-day track warriors.

In the process, RJ dropped off a tire on a corner and Big Red had an off-track visit with a soft barrier that crumpled the driver’s fender. Nothing a hammer and some racing tape couldn’t fix. Rubbing’s racing! Even with a damaged fender, Big Red looked great for her second appearance on the cover of Hot Rod magazine

Bonneville was rained out for Speed Week, so Big Red wasn’t going to get a chance to stretch her legs on the salt for 2014. Then RJ received an invitation to run in Mike Cook’s Shootout being held on September 12th at Bonneville. Mike’s event is an FIA-sanctioned event, so it can record international speed records. Part of the course was still wet, so the usual five-mile Speed Week course was only a couple of miles. It was a small, invitation-only event, which gave RJ and the team plenty of runs. The film crew took advantage of the extra runs. There were a few mechanical and cooling issues that they overcame long enough to lay down a 228-mph run. It was the fastest Big Red had run on the salt, but not over 250 mph like they’d hoped. RJ would just have to bring Big Red back to the salt another time. Big Red was still in Land-Speed mode when November rolled around, so it made sense to run at El Mirage and try for a new record. 

camaro classic car

The crew learned a lot at Bonneville, but there were still some cooling issues to overcome. Every event is another filming opportunity for documentary footage, so the crew and RJ were all under the microscope. But they were getting used to the camera and microphone in their faces. RJ was able to get Big Red up to 208.963 mph. They would have to come back for another shot at the record of 225 mph.

big red camaro drivers
Big Red Camaro Car
camaro racing history