Just like Babe Ruth, Jamie Hancock called his shot.
Shortly after sending the internet into a frenzy Friday evening with his record-setting 3.603 blast at the Holley EFI Outlaw Street Car Reunion, Hancock said he was going to go quicker. And he did.
During the special Radial vs. the World Home Run Derby event to close out the night in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Hancock uncorked a 3.599 pass at 198.17 mph. The run is the quickest nitrous door car pass in history, regardless of tire size.
“The pass felt amazing, obviously,” Hancock said. “We knew it was strong, (it was) the fastest 60-foot anyone’s ever been on nitrous, period, let alone a radial. Then two passes in a row, the quickest nitrous pass in the world. First nitrous car in the 3.50’s, I mean, we’re ecstatic.”
The pass stood up throughout the final qualifying session, crowning Hancock as the Home Run Derby champion, and netting him $2,500 in cash and a custom Louisville Slugger baseball bat from event promoter Tyler Crossnoe.
Hancock is no stranger to records, either. Boasting a 959ci Pat Musi engine, he was also the first nitrous radial car to dip into the 3.60s when he ran a 3.687 last year at the inaugural Sweet 16 in Valdosta, Georgia. That’s something Hancock is especially proud of.
“It’s awesome. Our team right here, we work our butts off. We are a low budget team, and we do everything we can to make this thing fast. Words can’t describe how I feel about this,” Hancock said.
In the process, Hancock is further disproving the notion that nitrous cars are no longer capable of competing in the highly competitive world of RvW. Following on the heels of Marcus Birt’s recent 3.604, which was the nitrous door car world record prior to Friday night, nitrous cars now hold the third and fourth quickest passes in the class.
“It shows they got a little bit of life left in them,” Hancock said. “Especially when you’re running in a class with turbos and blowers, we got some more left in it.”
Hancock’s 3.59 gives him the No. 1 qualifying position for Saturday eliminations. He’s followed by Tim Slavens at No. 2 (3.660), Mark Micke No. 3 (3.662), Jack Greene in fourth (3.672), and Paolo Giust rounding out the top five (3.684).