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Roadkill's Mike Finnegan Preps His ’55 Chevy Gasser for HOT ROD Drag Week
Finnegan's Chevy Gasser, "Blasphemi," just received new upgrades, so the Roadkill co-host spent a day at the track dialing it in.Jesse KiserWriter, PhotographerSep 12, 2024
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HOT ROD Drag Week 2024 is right around the corner, and Mike Finnegan, Roadkill co-host and 2019 Hot Rod Drag Week Gasser class champion, isn't wasting any time. He just wrapped a day of dragstrip testing for this year's event in "Blasphemi," his 1955 Chevy. He holds the Drag Week Gasser class record with an 8.90 average, but isn’t content to rest on his laurels. "Lately we haven't gone very fast, because we just keep changing things," said Mike. "So now, let's stop changing things and actually test before Drag Week, so we can try to have our stuff together before we show up."
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Finnegan and his crew have been busy since we last saw the car. He added coil-on-plug ignition to the same Blower Shop 8-71 blown Hemi, along with a dry-sump oiling system, new front suspension, and a new fiberglass one-piece front end. Mike said he was considering something new for the straight-axle front suspension when an unfortunate event finally encouraged him to change it. "It was like the universe was trying to tell me to do it," he said.
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The incident happened during a race earlier this year. After packing his parachute on the shoulder of a return road, he slammed into a short metal pole sticking out of the ground as he made his way back to the pit. He couldn’t see the pole past the large hoodscoop, and the resulting damage consisted of multiple bent parts in the straight-axle front suspension.
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When he got home, he worked with Scott's Hotrods in Tennessee to design a custom front suspension and crossmember. "I called him and said, I know you don't normally do this, but I'd like to build a one-off front end with a lot of travel and a really just ridiculous crossmember that looks out of place. They did just that, and it came out awesome," said Mike.
The first thing everyone wants to know is whether the crossmember hit the ground after a wheelie. No—when the suspension fully bottomed-out, there will still be four inches of ground clearance. The ultra-low crossmember and long A-arms, combined with Viking coil-overs, allow for eight inches of total wheel travel.
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"On one of the first passes we made today, we wheelied, and from the driver's seat, I thought it was a four-foot wheelie, but it was only about a foot," said Mike. "Because the wheels droop so much, it’s an interesting sensation. Though the front suspension is new, Blasphemi still retains the Jim Meyer Racing Gasser chassis we saw the guys install nearly 10 years ago on an episode of Roadkill.
In the process of making these changes, Mike also wanted to eliminate the hoodscoop so he could see through the windshield better. Taking it off left a massive hole in the hood, so he called Dennis Taylor, a fellow Drag Week racer and Hot Rod Garage host Alex Taylor's dad. Dennis had a spare Tri-Five one-piece front end for his racecar that he donated to the cause. "That thing is way better than the one I had,” said Mike. "Dennis is a Renaissance man; he makes his own molds and hand-lays it himself."
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Under the new front end is the same 528ci Hemi from 2019, an engine that has been rebuilt a few times. It’s the same engine that took Blasphemi to a class win at Drag Week 2019. This year, Finnegan is back to a T-56-based six-speed transmission. It's been upgraded with a G-Force gearset and rebuilt with new parts from Tick Performance. "It’s got all the goodies in there to survive clutch-dumping with 1,000 lb-ft of torque," said Mike. The clutch is from Mantic and is surrounded by a QuickTime bellhousing and activated by a new Tick Performance hydraulic throwout bearing. Out back are the same Quick Performance 9-inch and ladder bars.
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Mike’s test session happened at Mooresville Dragway in Mooresville, North Carolina. Eric "Biggun" Yost is a longtime Drag Week and HOT ROD Top Speed event winner. He owns and operates Customs by Biggun and has helped Mike over the years with chassis upgrades. He now owns the Dragway and invited Mike up for a day of testing. Tuner and engine builder Pete Harrell of Harrell Engine & Dyno was also on hand. Tony Angelo made the trek down to North Carolina for tuning, too. He will be Mike's co-driver for Drag Week.
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The team made multiple adjustments and improvements to get the car dialed for Drag Week. "The first goal is always just to finish, and we're getting better at that," said Mike. They just recently finished their first Midwest Drags, and Mike said it was, the most difficult drag-and-drive events he’s ever done. "My second goal for Drag Week is to run an 8-second pass every day," said Mike. Time will tell, but considering that Blasphemi’s best pass so far is an 8.52 at 161 mph, the car certainly is capable.
