GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Indiana Ford Dealer Drew Skillman showed off the power of the 50th Anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet, winning the SAMTech.edu Factory Stock Showdown at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Skillman, along his father Bill, rolled into Gainesville with a pair of Factory Stock Showdown Cobra Jets that were the class of the field. Drew drives the team’s all-new 50th Anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet, while Bill handles duties in the 2014 Mustang Cobra Jet.

Confident, but tired from endless days and nights preparing his all-new Ray Skillman Ford-backed Cobra Jet, Drew qualified 5th and drove a perfect race to take the Gatornationals win, the points lead, and claim the commemorative gold “Wally” trophy.

Bill carried the momentum from his recent NMCA win into Gainesville, running a 7.74 to put his Cobra Jet atop the quickest Factory Stock field in history. Amazingly, this was the first all-7-second field with a bump of 7.92.

Meanwhile, Drew Skillman, a past winner in NHRA Pro Stock, Stock, and Super Stock, secured his first Factory Stock Showdown win with a solid and methodical performance from his Cobra Jet. “This is a true factory 50th Anniversary car, and we did our own work to it to finish it the way we wanted,” said Drew. “I knew we had a great race car—the unknown was racing on NHRA prep since this was our first event. But the track was great and we were able to roll the power in and produce great numbers. The tire is the biggest obstacle,” he stated. It’s because Factory Stock Showdown cars make over 1,300 horsepower, weight 3,475 with driver, and rely on 9x30-inch tires.

“You only get three qualifying runs. So, if you miss the setup on the first one you’re chasing the field. You have to make the first run count, so our plan was to get down with a solid pass” said Drew. “Our first run was a 7.90. We were the second pair out so we didn’t know what the track would hold. The 7.90 would get us in the show and that was our game plan. On the second run I ran 7.85 by getting more aggressive on the starting line. On the third hit we got too aggressive and we did a big wheelie. It buzzed the rear tires in the wheelie, and we’ll lose .040 or more when it does that. So it should have been a mid-70 probably a 7.75,”

The Field

A total of 31 Factory Stockers rolled into Gainesville, looking to qualify for the 16-car field. The field consisted of 11 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, 17 Chevrolet COPO Camaros and three Dodge Drag Pak Challengers.

After three rounds of qualifying the Cobra Jets held down the top five spots, with Bill Skillman setting the pace at 7.74 at 172.96 mph. Bill was trailed by Carl Tasca (7.75/178.24); Chris Holbrook (7.77/178.05); Randy Eakins (7.78/178.64); and Drew Skillman (7.82/175.11). Kevin Skinner rounded out the Mustang contingent, slotting in the 14th position with a 7.90 at 173 mph. Other notables were Watson Racing drivers Paul Roderick, who failed to qualify with a 7.96, but ran a speed of 179.33 mph, former event winner Chuck Watson, who ran 8.06 at 175, but struggled with traction, and Don Fezell, who clocked an impressive 8.12 at 166 mph with his 5.4L-powered 2008 Cobra Jet.

Eliminations

Drew Skillman was poised and ready for the show. “Our team worked hard, was prepared, and had good enough cars to win the race,” said Drew who defeated the COPO Camaro of Leonard Libersher in round one, running a best-of-the-session 7.75 at 175 mph. Skillman then faced his father in round two, with the duo producing the quickest side-by-side race in Factory Stock Showdown history.

“We ended up having to race each other in the second round. You feel confident when you have cars like that and we put on a nice show.” Drew launched first by a slim .001 margin (.041 to .042) and the pair remained locked in battle all the way down track. Drew was a tad quicker, producing a 7.733 to edge out his father’s 7.736 for a razor-thin .004-second margin of victory.

“That was the great showing for this class,” said Drew about the race with his dad. “We share our data and we cut a light within a thought of each other. I was looking over in high gear and he was coming. We’re both very competitive so I knew it would be a great race.”

Drew faced Randy Taylor in the semi-finals, who had the top-running COPO Camaro. “We’re still learning, and we worked on the tune up for the semi-final match with Randy. Our new Holbrook Racing engine didn’t have any dyno runs on it, so we’re trying different things each pass. Our goal was to get to the final, and we needed to win this round for that to happen.”

Drew produced his best reaction time of eliminations, dropping a .024 tree on the Chevy driver and ran the quickest pass of the event, a 7.71 at 176.44. The semi-final win set up the run for the gold with COPO driver Stephen Bell.

“The 7.71 was a nice pass, so I was calm and comfortable before the final,” Drew said about his race with Bell. “I knew we needed to make a good clean pass. NHRA prepped the track and we were ready. I’m extremely OCD, so I get in the car and my belts go on the same every time. I fire the engine and operate the switches the same each run, too. I do a standard, quick burnout, and I keep it [the engine] below 7,000 rpm. Despite being only 9-inches wide, the Mickey Thompson tires don’t take much heat. It’s actually a [NHRA Stock Eliminator] 9-inch tire and it holds it own. I’m really happy with how the tires work.

“Everything goes away when I get into the car and fire the engine. My buddy Anthony pulls me up [to the line], I raise the RPM and bump in as shallow as possible. Launch RPM is anywhere between idle and 7,000,” he said in jest, not wanting to give away his actual launch rpm. “Then I powerbrake, go on the two-step and let it go when the tree flashes,” he said.

Drew launched his Ray Skillman Cobra Jet first, taking a .042-to-.075 holeshot against Bell. From there, Drew clicked the transmission through the gears, driving away from the Chevy and running 7.736 at 176.70 for the win. Bell ran a 7.887, also at 176 mph.

“Once I got in high [gear] I didn’t see him, so I was waiting to cross the stripe. I was really happy we could get the reward for all our hard work over the winter. It was a mad dash to add the second car and to develop a program on a car we’ve never seen before. Everyone is so pumped up. It makes the endless 7-days-a-week work worth it. There’s always a relief when you win, because the team does its job and you did your job.

“But more than just our team, the people at Ford Performance have done an excellent job developing the 50th Anniversary Mustang Cobra Jet. The people at Watson Racing, they did a great job too. With a little refining you have a winning car right off the bat. If you’re looking to get into this class, the Cobra Jet is a great option. Of course, Chris Holbrook did a fantastic job on the engines. He gave us fantastic horsepower to work with and I feel the other Holbrook cars like Kevin Skinner and Chris’ own car will be right there with us,” he added.

“Next we head to Charlotte, so we have to get ready for that event. This is a tough series, there are a lot of guys who have the potential to go really fast. I take the professional mannerisms I learned in Pro Stock into this class—we’re here to win. We’re going to treat it professional, but we’re there to have fun too, that’s what the class needs.”

Along with Skillman, credit goes to Ford drivers Jeff Harrington, who qualified his 2014 Cobra Jet on the pole in Stock Eliminator, but lost in the second round, and Anthony Bongiovanni, who after qualifying 8th in Super Stock, drove his 2014 Mustang Cobra Jet to a semi-final finish.