3.963 Off the Trailer: Ned's Viper sends a Warning Shot before Drag Week 2026

Ned spent the weekend at PDRA racing the Pro Mod Camaro, but hauled the Viper up there as well. He posted “Tomorrow (Sunday) is our final testing for Drag Week 2026!  We just pulled the Viper out of the Trailer and the crowd came down out of the bleachers and is already forming… everyone loves Drag and Drag!” 

Sadly he was put out in Round One of the race, but that meant they were able to focus on the Viper for testing…..

Big shoutout to Jay Warren of NC Promoder for staying behind to record the Sunday test session. There were lots of great runs made during the testing but all we are focused on was Ned. See the Video HERE.

Galot was prepped for ⅛ Mile so the team focused on the short track. Getting the best 60’ and pouring power in early is so important for Drag Week as it gives these big power cars the best opportunity to get a submittable pass.

Off the Trailer

Ned’s first run tripped the beams at 3.963 at 202.55 mph, this was off the trailer and the car’s first trip down the track. This should give you an idea of the outright potential this car holds. After getting the car cooled and turned around, he put down a 3.981 at 199 mph. As the temperature rose, the track seemed to stay together but the timing clocks malfunctioned on his third pass, resulting in no times being displayed. As the final pass of the day, in the heat, the Viper rocketed to a 3.953 at 203.28 mph for their quickest pass of the day. 

Ned gave us a great update from the day, saying: “We rented the track as our last session ended early because of thunderstorms and DA was 4100 feet up in the mountains at Bristol so we were not happy with our data. This weekend at Benson, North Carolina, our DA was closer to estimates Drag Week conditions at 1500 feet and the car produced the 8th mile results we are looking for with a 60 foot tuneup that should hold on pretty much any track. Most importantly, if we miss a run, we now have a hot track tuneup If we have to run a second pass later on any day. GALOT is only an 1/8 mile track so we did not get a chance to run it through the quarter but backed up our ET three times in a row and have made our highest mile per hour ever in the 1/8.  Also all the new modifications and cooling provisions worked better than expected. We are coming in very confident and absolutely aiming for 5’s every day and 5 second average!  Can’t wait!!!”

Quickest and Fastest in History

Hot Rod Drag Week 2026 is stacking up to be the Quickest and Fastest event in drag & drive history. Make sure you are following us here at Drag Drive Repeat to stay up to date with stats and stories from the week. 

Hot Rod Drag Week 2026

Sept 13-18

Sept 13-14, 18 Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, IL

Sept 15 Byron Dragway, Byron, IL

Sept 16 Cordova Dragway, Cordova, IL

Sept 17 World Wide Technology Raceway, East St Louis, IL