Being Top Dog is always an honor, but it's a hard fought honor. Sean Glazar and the Extreme Motorsports Talon have been fighting to become Top Dog since day one. There's no argument that Quick Class racing is the most competitive class of racing. There's more entries in the Quick Class than all the other classes combined at any given race. Becoming Top Dog isn't always an easy task.
However, the Extreme Talon is no stranger to being at the top. On the cover of Turbo, April 2000, the DSM was at the top of the class with a scorching 9.57-sec. e.t. At the time, it was powered by turbocharged 4G63 engine making 663.2 hp with the aid of a single-fogger Nitrous Express nitrous kit. The car still ran with factory door panels and a factory dash and weighed in at a hefty 2,755 lbs. Since then, the car underwent a diet and has risen to the top seeded spot once again.
At the IDRC Maple Grove event on October 21, 2001, the Extreme Talon showed why Glazar's always a threat in Quick Class competition. The Talon tore off a scorching 8.875-sec. at 153.85 mph during competition, making it the first ever eight-second pass by a Quick Class car. Prior to the mind blowing run, Glazar already set the pace with a 9.02, 9.04 and 9.08 run on the quarter. Instead of basking in the glory of low nine-second passes and wait for the competition to catch up, he put the smack down with an eight-second pass.
After talking with Glazar, we found out the Talon is pretty much the same car as a year ago, except for the turbocharger. By playing with different turbine and compressor blades, the Extreme crew generated nearly 800 hp at the wheels. One of the reasons the Talon has consistently gone quicker is the constant R&D and testing to see if the changes work or don't.
Unlike many DSMs, the Extreme Talon runs a complete Haltech stand-alone, which has been beneficial to power production of the 4G63. Instead of relying on several piggyback computers, Glazar can tune the ignition and fuel maps with a laptop. This eliminates the restriction of tricking the fuel and ignition signals to the factory computer with the piggyback computers.
Due to the differing regulations between drag racing sanctioning bodies, Glazar has to alter the weight of the Talon by as much as 200 lbs between races (NIRA: 2,330 lbs vs. IDRC: 2535 lbs.). When the Talon ran its 8.875, it was still at a heavy 2535. Glazar says the difference was that the car actually ran down the track in a straight line instead of tracking left and right. Glazar says he's still trying to work the bugs out of the traction department as well as take care of some driveline issues.
At the current rate, he's destroying one transfer case a race and a transmission every couple of races. And despite popular rumors, the car's still using a factory transmission and not a race transmission with straight cut gears. Be on the lookout--if Extreme Motorsports team cures its driveline problems, it would be a major threat in Quick Class racing.