Over forty Cobra Jet owners participated in the 2nd annual Ford Racing Cobra Jet Showdown presented by Diversified Products Marketing. Held in conjunction with the August 23-26th National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) event at Milan Dragway in Milan, MI the Cobra Jet Showdown was a homecoming for the Cobra Jet’s built nearby at the Automotive Alliance plant in Flat Rock, MI.
To ensure all Cobra Jet owners could participate three classes were available; two heads-up classes, and a Competition Index (CIC) class that featured a staggered start:
- CJ-TS (Top Stock): Stocker trim Cobra Jets utilizing the 5.4L w/2.3L Supercharger, 5.0L w/2.9L* Supercharger
- SS-CJ (Super Stock): 4.0-liter supercharged Cobra Jet’s in NHRA Super Stock trim
- CJ-CIC: Competition index for engine combinations that are not included in heads-up classes
In the 2012 Cobra Jet Showdown Top Stock class, twelve cars competed in the first round with local racing legend Chris Holbrook of Holbrook Racing Engines scoring the final round win over Gary Richards of PC Richards Racing. While Richards had the better reaction time, Holbrook’s 9.021 et @ 150.05 mph was just enough to defeat Richard’s 9.135 et @ 148.50 mph.
SS-CJ (Super Stock)
Fifteen 2010 Cobra Jets with the 4.0L supercharger combo competed in the Cobra Jet Showdown Super Stock class.* Greenwood, Indiana Ford dealer Bill Skillman waded through three rounds of racing and in the finals faced Cranston, Rhode Island Ford dealer Carl Tasca.* Carl Tasca’s 777 Cobra Jet has dipped into the 7 second zone but had to add weight to compete in the Super Stock class. In the final round Skillman left first and powered down the track to a winning 8.216 et @ 167.22 mph compared to Tasca’s 8.246 et @ 168.47 mph.
CJ-CIC (CIC Index)
In the 2012 Cobra Jet Showdown CIC class, a mix of Cobra Jet engine combinations entered the staggered start class. Combos included some of the new 2013 Cobra Jets with both Supercharged and Naturally Aspirated entries along with the 4.6L N/A and 352 pushrod engines. 2011 Cobra Jet Showdown CIC champion Charley Downing of Downing Farms Racing was favored to repeat with his stick shifted 4.6L naturally aspirated combo. Downing trailered “YO KEN” Miele, Rock Haas and Anthony Fetch of the PC Richards team to score the CIC class win.
