Sure, Mike Senato's '89 Honda CR-X may be a juiced up drag car with sponsor support, but that hasn't always been the case. Before Flex-A-Lite (FAL) joined the party and helped transform the car into what it is today, Mike was working and racing the CR-X entirely on his own, which meant that not only did the car have to pull serious race duty at the track, but it also had to double as Mike's daily driver. So, while you were out commuting in your mom's Astro minivan, Mike was cruising in a gutted 12-second Honda without a muffler. "The [CR-X] wasn't street-legal," explained Mike. "Right when a cop would see me, he'd pull me over." Chances are, the cops didn't have to see Mike to notice him, they'd just hear him-driving with an open exhaust probably shattered the chromed lenses right out of the cop's aviator sunglasses.
Mike put three years of hard work into the CR-X and it eventually paid off with a fat FAL sponsorship. Once that happened, Mike was able to take advantage of something previously unavailable to him-namely, deep(er) pockets. The CR-X has since been outfitted with a '98 Acura B18C and custom-built Garret TS04 turbocharger. The engine is a quality piece of machinery all the way-from the Saenz connecting rods to the Arias forged pistons and the JG Redline Pro Series head. Which isn't to say, however, that the CR-X hasn't earned all this pampering. It's spent plenty of time in the trenches, paying its dues, and Mike has enough war stories to give a novice dragster nightmares for months.
"My first year [racing the CR-X on my own], I was using nitrous, but I got bored with that and went to turbo. I blew eight motors in one year. I really didn't know what I was doing, and I couldn't really figure out the fuel mixture." It turned out that the cause of Mike's engine trouble was a stuck injector and, as Mike recounts in spectacularly understated fashion, "that was a costly mistake."
But now, under the umbrella of FAL and his other sponsors, Mike has access to dyno runs, products, and other schwag that most of us will have to spend several lifetimes flipping burgers to afford. Things like a Moroso front link, B&G 12-way shocks and springs, and Bogart wheels. Then there's the interior-which sports a custom ABS carbon-fiber dash. The neatness of the setup lends the car an air of respectability-unlike some other drag cars, where the interior resembles a burned out frame that a bum has been shacking up in. It's a space that's perfect for breaking a track record in and then coasting over to the raceway snack bar afterward to pick up on malnourished cashier girls.
Ever since the CR-X had its makeover, it's seen precious little drag racing action and has spent most of its time pulling show car duty. Or, as Mike puts it, "It's pretty much a trailer queen." However, all that's about to change. The CR-X is finally being geared up for action and, by the time you read this, should already be in competition. With recent dyno results of 618hp@9,200rpm, Mike is confident the CR-X will be a strong contender and hopefully run in the 9s. Of course, Mike no longer needs to rely on the CR-X for his daily transportation, which is a good thing, considering that the car requires full-time mechanical attention-especially when errant rocks can get sucked into the turbo and kill it, along with various pistons and valves, as happened on a recent shakedown run.
Not that these things worry Mike, or at least not as much as they used to-after all, now he's got somebody else to help foot the bill.