{"id":18574,"date":"2025-07-11T09:14:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T13:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/competitionplus.com\/?p=18574"},"modified":"2025-07-11T09:17:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T13:17:46","slug":"project-1675-hits-stride-with-semifinal-finish-consistent-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/competitionplus.com\/project-1675-hits-stride-with-semifinal-finish-consistent-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"PROJECT 1675 HITS STRIDE WITH SEMIFINAL FINISH, CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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PART 1 – PROJECT 1675<\/a>
PART 2 – PROJECT 1675<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Project 1675, a collaborative effort between Blackbird Performance and Colorado racer Kevin Burnett, has completed three events with promising results as the team continues to test a crate-style Gen3 Hemi powerplant in a Top Dragster chassis.<\/p>


Burnett and Project 1675 now have a national event round win and a semifinal finish \u2014 out of 24 cars \u2014 at the NHRA Division 5 event in Earlville, Iowa, to show for their efforts.<\/p>


The program, designed to bring a more cost-effective and reliable option to fast bracket racing, is powered by a 1,675-horsepower Gen3 Hemi built by Blackbird Performance. It is the first car to utilize this package outside of Factory Stock and Factory X competition. In the team\u2019s debut at the rain-plagued NHRA Division 5 double-divisional in St. Louis, they addressed torque converter and airflow issues that had limited early performance.<\/p>


\u201cSt. Louis was a learning experience,\u201d Blackbird\u2019s Geoff Turk said. \u201cWe knew the torque converter was too tight, and we had to fix the air delivery to the blower \u2014 it just wasn\u2019t efficient.\u201d<\/p>


The team installed a looser converter and a redesigned air scoop, based on a Factory X prototype, to solve airflow issues. The scoop was mounted behind the cockpit, an area previously prone to swirling air and heat coming off the radiator.<\/p>


\u201cWe had a scoop design from another project that we\u2019d helped with,\u201d Turk said. \u201cWe adapted it and fabricated brackets to fit this dragster, and the improvement was clear right away.\u201d<\/p>


Those upgrades were in place when Burnett arrived at the national event in Joliet, where the car ran consistently in the mid-6.60s. An early belt-drive issue was resolved after the first qualifying attempt.<\/p>


\u201cHe qualified mid-pack \u2014 I think 12th or 13th out of 27 \u2014 but we felt good about the car after fixing the belt,\u201d Turk said. \u201cHe went rounds and drove well.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Geoff Turk, Kevin Burnett and crewmember Keaton Vester.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Turk believes the project is now on the right path.<\/p>


\u201cIt\u2019s clear the car\u2019s more competitive now,\u201d he said. \u201cThe upgrades made a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>


The team also reviewed data from a previous double-breakout loss at St. Louis, where Burnett dialed a 6.47 and ran 6.457, while his opponent broke out by just .0012. Both drivers missed their dials by razor-thin margins.<\/p>


\u201cIn that race, Burnett was going 212 and his opponent was going 222,\u201d Turk said. \u201cIt showed we\u2019re close \u2014 fast enough to be competitive but still efficient.\u201d<\/p>


That balance remains the project\u2019s goal: to offer a durable and repeatable setup without relying on exotic or costly components to win in fast bracket racing.<\/p>


\u201cWe\u2019re running 6.30s to 6.50s efficiently,\u201d Turk said. \u201cThat\u2019s a sweet spot \u2014 fast enough to be competitive but more economical than chasing 6.10s.\u201d<\/p>


The dragster\u2019s consistent performance against faster competitors suggests that outright speed isn\u2019t always the deciding factor in bracket racing. Many winners in the class run mid-6-second passes, focusing on precision over power.<\/p>


\u201cRunning mid-6s takes away a lot of the advantage from guys dialed in the 6.10 to 6.20 range,\u201d Turk said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re doing it with repeatability and lower cost.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Then came the breakthrough event in Earlville.<\/p>


Burnett advanced to the semifinals, delivering a near-perfect reaction time of .0005 in the penultimate round. A malfunction in the intercooler pump caused a slight slowdown, contributing to a narrow loss.<\/p>


\u201cHe still went 6.70 at 195, which is impressive given the water-flow issue,\u201d Turk said. \u201cThe guy who beat him went on to win the event.\u201d<\/p>


Burnett said he\u2019s encouraged by how quickly the program has come together \u2014 though there\u2019s still work to be done getting the dragster and engine fully dialed in.<\/p>


\u201cIt actually comes together pretty well,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cWe\u2019re still just kind of on the edge of what the chassis wants to take right now, so we\u2019re still doing some chassis tuning and that kind of thing, just to get the car to be calm enough to leave the starting line.\u201d<\/p>


He noted that matching the engine to the chassis is often the biggest challenge.<\/p>


\u201cGetting the chassis and the engine on the same page almost always seems to be the biggest challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more power you put to them, the more finicky they get, as far as tire shake and that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Burnett, typically guarded about his racing secrets, has grown more comfortable touting the combination\u2019s strengths.<\/p>


\u201cIt\u2019s reasonably easy to operate,\u201d he said of the 1,675-horsepower setup. \u201cThe engine produces great power. And reasonably low maintenance, as far as anything other than the normal oil change and checking the valves.\u201d<\/p>


He added: \u201cI believe this is turning into a really good combination \u2014 and something that could be really good for someone in a Top Dragster, or even a Top Sportsman. I think we\u2019re going to be competitive with pretty well most anybody at any given race.\u201d<\/p>


As the team wraps this phase of Project 1675, the plan is to finalize data analysis before potentially expanding the platform. Another version of the car could be in development soon.<\/p>


\u201cThis might be the last outing for this edition of the project,\u201d Turk said. \u201cFrom here, we may move on to another build with similar goals.\u201d<\/p>


Project 1675 has already shown that pairing a crate-style Gen3 Hemi with a dragster platform can deliver bracket-competitive performance at a lower operating cost. As the NHRA season continues, its performance benchmark could shape how smaller teams approach Top Dragster racing in the future.<\/p>


Looking ahead, Burnett plans to race at Brainerd, then Indianapolis, before returning to Earlville later this season.<\/p>


\u201cWe\u2019re just pushing forward and looking forward to much more racing,\u201d he said.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

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