When Gary Gardella Jr. isn't campaigning his Ecko/DC Sports Drag Civic he runs County Line Auto Body with his father, Gary Sr., and they applied the blue, green, and white paint scheme. And since DriverFX.com is the title sponsor of the car CG Airworks splashed that logo prominently across the flanks. Out back the World team went with a pro-mod style wing that offers greater straight-line stability and easy downforce corrections with an adjustable spill plate.
Will this car be the first FWD into the 7-second/200mph club? Did it already hit the mark? Did someone else beat it to the punch? Why am I wearing a leopard skin thong? I can't really explain any of this with the exception of the thong and that's another story altogether. Suffice to say that the DriverFX/World Racing Celica represents a huge leap forward in FWD drag race technology while I am prevented from making any kind of leaps with my thong on.
Fast Facts
Owner Christian Rado
Ride 2002 Toyota Celica GT-S
Hometown Reading, PA
Daily Grind Electronics manufacturer and race team owner
Under The Hood 2.7L Toyota 3RZ-FE four-cylinder engine with 9.1 compression ratio; 980 hp @ 7,700 rpm, 740 @ 4,700 lb-ft of torque; Toyota 3RZ-FE factory crankshaft; LC Engineering oil pan; JE custom pistons and rings; TRD custom titanium connecting rods, headwork, valves, valve springs, and retainers; TRD custom camshafts with LC Engineering cam gears; Toyota 3RZ-FE factory valve cover; TRD custom intake manifold, fuel rail, and throttle body; Weldon fuel regulator and two 2035 fuel pumps; Eight Bosch 1600cc injectors; TRD custom exhaust manifold; Turbonetics Y2K turbocharger, Godzilla blow-off valve, and New Gen wastegate; Spearco air-to-liquid intercooler; C&R Racing radiator; Ken's Kustom exhaust piping; Fortin five-speed sequential transmission, G-Force Engineering Long Shifter, Ken's Kustom shift linkage; Tilton triple plate carbon/carbon clutch; MoTeC CDI box ignition
Stiff Stuff Penske custom 8100 shocks with Eibach springs
Rollers Weld Racing 15x12.5 front and 15x4.5 rear wheels; Goodyear 30x12.5x15 front and skinny rear tires
Stoppers Mark Williams carbon disc brakes
Outside Frank's Custom Fiberglass custom carbon fiber body with integrated TRD side skirts; County Line Auto Body paint; CG Airworks graphics; BoStudios design
Inside Nomex-covered custom carbon kevlar shell with a body molded Indy-style seat; Autometer gauges; Momo steering wheel, shift knob and pedal set
Ice Motec M880 fuel management system; World Electronics TDC-1 boost controller
Props Mom and Dad Rado and the entire Rado clan and the whole World Electronics staff; the World Racing team of Jason Szabo, Keith Goslin, Eric Plebani, Thad Haines, Anthony Clemente, Tyler Tanaka and Kathy Pierson and all of the people at Turbonetics Spearco Inc., Kenny and Kerri Kissinger of Ken's Kustom Chassis; Frank Isgro of Frank's Custom Fiberglass; Gary Gardella Sr. and Jr. of County Line Auto Body; Curt Gerenda of CG's Airbrush; Bruce Kleckner and all of the people at Penske Racing Shocks; Joe Akin and Gary Biggs and the rest of the Kicker Crew; Matt Zuber of MOMO; Rob Cardona of C&R Racing; Ara, George, Lou, and Kevin of Bullish Racing; Tom, Gary, Sheldon, and the rest of the guys at Toyota Racing Development; Bret Goothe; Kirk at Tilton Engineering; and don't think I forgot about you guys-Larry Montante and Roberto Trinidad of Keystone Automotive, thanks for believing in my team and helping to take us to the next level.
By John Naderi
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