Article from NMCA on Mark Carlyle - Fastest C6Z
03-09-2013, 12:23 PM
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Article from NMCA on Mark Carlyle - Fastest C6Z
Spotlight on LSX Drag Radial Driver Mark Carlyle in April Issue of Fastest Street Car
By Mary Lendzion
Because he was too heavy on the throttle when behind the wheel of his ‘89 Camaro RS, Mark Carlyle lost his driver’s license when he was nineteen, prompting his insurance agent to tell him he would be better off behind the wheel of a golfcart.
Eventually, he bought a ’92 Camaro RS, ’99 Trans Am, ’67 Camaro and then a ’68 Firebird, and after shaking things up on the street and at the strip, he took time off to start a debt relief business with his friend, Jason Fetter, and sold his cars. He couldn’t stay away from power and speed too long, though, and bought an ’06 Corvette followed by the ’07 Corvette C6 Z06 he currently has. First with an LS7 engine and then with other engines and Garrett turbos, the car ran 11.34 to 7.75, but for the 2012 season, he switched to a Kurt Urban Performance 440 cubic-inch Dart billet block LS engine and twin 88 mm Garrett turbos, and brought in tuners Patrick Barnhill and Jason Lee of PTP Racing to work with him and his skilled crew. Before long, his IPS Motorsports-designed and built independent rear-suspension car was running faster with each pass, and by season’s end, he had laid down a 1.16 in the sixty-foot and a 6.82 at 223 mph in the quarter-mile, shattering records along the way.
“Mark’s done a great job driving his car,” said Barnhill. “We’re very proud to be a part of his racing team and we look forward to going 6.70s and maybe some 6.60s this year.”
Read on for more about Carlyle, who lives in Ohio with his wife Karrie, and children, Kaylea and Hayden. In JE Pistons LSX Drag Radial, he finished second in 2011 and fifth in 2012 and is quite at home in the winner’s circle.
When you had your new engine built, what made you move from an iron block to a billet block?
We had been running an iron block forever and wanted to lighten things up. We knew we were going to try to make even more horsepower and when I talked to Kurt Urban, who designed the billet block setup, I asked how I could make the most horsepower, and he said I would have the most horsepower and reliability with the billet block, and we could raise cam location and customize it.
What, in addition to your engine and turbos, makes up your combination?
I have a Callies crank, Wiseco pistons, aluminum rods, All Pro heads, cast-intake, elbow and 106 mm throttle-body; Dailey Engineering dry-sump oiling system and TiAL stainless housing blowoff valve and wastegate. The turbo kit was designed and built by IPS Motorsports, and Driveshaft Shop designed the axles and driveshaft for me because we’re trying to make a lot power on this independent rear-suspension. I have a RPM Transmissions’ Turbo 400 and a Big Stuff 3 computer and Race Pak components.
What keeps you committed to independent rear suspension?
When I started racing the car, it wasn’t a limiting factor. I wasn’t going fast enough for it to matter. After I started getting fast, people said I needed to “upgrade” to a solid axle because the IRS would never hold. That sounded like a challenge to me, so I figured we would just see when it became a limiting factor and figured we would change it then. In 2012, after we had accomplished so much, I actually had some of the same people who told me it was a limiting factor tell me it was now an advantage. I think the IRS makes my car unique and I’m going to keep pushing with it.
What makes it stand up to the abuse of your 1.16 sixty-foots?
Frank from the Driveshaft Shop and Rodney from RPM Transmissions pretty much keep all that stuff under control. The parts Frank builds are strong. We have had great success with them holding up under way more power than we ever thought was possible, and Rodney has helped us spec out everything from the trans back from day one. At the end of every season, I take out the transmission, rear and axles and send them back to those guys for checkups. So far, they haven’t really needed much and I’d say that’s a testament to the quality craftsmanship these guys put out.
Every time I turn around, you’ve set another record in your full-frame car.
Our first accomplishment was being the first C6 to run in the nines, and for years, we were the fastest C6 ZO6 in the world. The next record was for fastest IRS Corvette, which we took from Keith Berry three years ago with an 8.15. Then, in 2012, at NMCA Maryland, I ran Super Street and made it to the second round, and then we took the fastest MPH of any IRS car when we went 7.22 at 209 mph while testing in Ohio. Then we got the ET record with a 7.09 at the Lingenfelter Performance Nationals in September in Ohio, where I won in the Outlaw Drag Radial and Super Car Shootout classes. Soon after, Sal Patel with the Viper took it with a 6.96 and then we went 6.99. Also in September, at the Holley LS Fest in Kentucky, I qualified number one with a 7.61 at 203 in Outlaw Drag Radial, went 7.47 26 206 in the first round and went to the semifinal. At the NMCA race in Indiana in October, I made it to the LSX Drag Radial final, where I lost on a holeshot, but the 6.99 at 209 I ran in the semifinal made us the first drag radial LS car ever to run in the sixes. We still hold the drag radial record for the NMCA LSX series. Then, at the World Cup Finals at MIR, I ran in the Radial versus Modified class, and in my test hit, I beat Sal Patel’s record with a 6.89 at 221 mph. We went 6.82 at 223 in eliminations and got runner-up. At that point, we captured a lot of records.
You’ve said your program improved when Barnhill and Lee began tuning for you.
We advanced further in one year with their help than we had in the previous four years without their help. They’ve been a big part of our success. They’ve taught me how to deal with the car when it wheelies and when it spins, and when to give up on a run or keep it going. You can’t find two better guys who have raced more or won more races than them.
What are you most proud of?
Being the fastest IRS car in the world gets us noticed, but our biggest accomplishment is being the quickest and fastest small-block car in the world on stock suspension. That’s for GM, Ford and Chrysler engines. My goals now are to work more with the 275 and be the first six-second 275 car.
Who helps along the way?
My crew includes Tom Willing, Jarrod Grabiel, Brandon Wright, Patrick Barnhill, Bob Williams, Mike Niehaus and Tomi Laine. They’re always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we’re ready for the next round. I wouldn’t want to even try to race without them. I also I receive help from IPS Motorsports, Garrett, RPM Transmissions, Driveshaft Shop, All Pro Heads, PTP Racing, Callies, Dailey Engineering, TiAL, Big Stuff 3, Race Pak, Wiseco, ATI and Coughlin Automotive.
You’ve expressed interest in the 2014 Corvette C7. It’s a looker, but so is your car, which attracted a lot of attention in the Garrett booth at PRI.
I would love to have a new C7, but for 2013, I will run the same car. It has made my racing career, and I owe a lot of that to the people who’ve helped.
This spotlight can be found in the April issue of Fastest Street Car.
By Mary Lendzion
Because he was too heavy on the throttle when behind the wheel of his ‘89 Camaro RS, Mark Carlyle lost his driver’s license when he was nineteen, prompting his insurance agent to tell him he would be better off behind the wheel of a golfcart.
Eventually, he bought a ’92 Camaro RS, ’99 Trans Am, ’67 Camaro and then a ’68 Firebird, and after shaking things up on the street and at the strip, he took time off to start a debt relief business with his friend, Jason Fetter, and sold his cars. He couldn’t stay away from power and speed too long, though, and bought an ’06 Corvette followed by the ’07 Corvette C6 Z06 he currently has. First with an LS7 engine and then with other engines and Garrett turbos, the car ran 11.34 to 7.75, but for the 2012 season, he switched to a Kurt Urban Performance 440 cubic-inch Dart billet block LS engine and twin 88 mm Garrett turbos, and brought in tuners Patrick Barnhill and Jason Lee of PTP Racing to work with him and his skilled crew. Before long, his IPS Motorsports-designed and built independent rear-suspension car was running faster with each pass, and by season’s end, he had laid down a 1.16 in the sixty-foot and a 6.82 at 223 mph in the quarter-mile, shattering records along the way.
“Mark’s done a great job driving his car,” said Barnhill. “We’re very proud to be a part of his racing team and we look forward to going 6.70s and maybe some 6.60s this year.”
Read on for more about Carlyle, who lives in Ohio with his wife Karrie, and children, Kaylea and Hayden. In JE Pistons LSX Drag Radial, he finished second in 2011 and fifth in 2012 and is quite at home in the winner’s circle.
When you had your new engine built, what made you move from an iron block to a billet block?
We had been running an iron block forever and wanted to lighten things up. We knew we were going to try to make even more horsepower and when I talked to Kurt Urban, who designed the billet block setup, I asked how I could make the most horsepower, and he said I would have the most horsepower and reliability with the billet block, and we could raise cam location and customize it.
What, in addition to your engine and turbos, makes up your combination?
I have a Callies crank, Wiseco pistons, aluminum rods, All Pro heads, cast-intake, elbow and 106 mm throttle-body; Dailey Engineering dry-sump oiling system and TiAL stainless housing blowoff valve and wastegate. The turbo kit was designed and built by IPS Motorsports, and Driveshaft Shop designed the axles and driveshaft for me because we’re trying to make a lot power on this independent rear-suspension. I have a RPM Transmissions’ Turbo 400 and a Big Stuff 3 computer and Race Pak components.
What keeps you committed to independent rear suspension?
When I started racing the car, it wasn’t a limiting factor. I wasn’t going fast enough for it to matter. After I started getting fast, people said I needed to “upgrade” to a solid axle because the IRS would never hold. That sounded like a challenge to me, so I figured we would just see when it became a limiting factor and figured we would change it then. In 2012, after we had accomplished so much, I actually had some of the same people who told me it was a limiting factor tell me it was now an advantage. I think the IRS makes my car unique and I’m going to keep pushing with it.
What makes it stand up to the abuse of your 1.16 sixty-foots?
Frank from the Driveshaft Shop and Rodney from RPM Transmissions pretty much keep all that stuff under control. The parts Frank builds are strong. We have had great success with them holding up under way more power than we ever thought was possible, and Rodney has helped us spec out everything from the trans back from day one. At the end of every season, I take out the transmission, rear and axles and send them back to those guys for checkups. So far, they haven’t really needed much and I’d say that’s a testament to the quality craftsmanship these guys put out.
Every time I turn around, you’ve set another record in your full-frame car.
Our first accomplishment was being the first C6 to run in the nines, and for years, we were the fastest C6 ZO6 in the world. The next record was for fastest IRS Corvette, which we took from Keith Berry three years ago with an 8.15. Then, in 2012, at NMCA Maryland, I ran Super Street and made it to the second round, and then we took the fastest MPH of any IRS car when we went 7.22 at 209 mph while testing in Ohio. Then we got the ET record with a 7.09 at the Lingenfelter Performance Nationals in September in Ohio, where I won in the Outlaw Drag Radial and Super Car Shootout classes. Soon after, Sal Patel with the Viper took it with a 6.96 and then we went 6.99. Also in September, at the Holley LS Fest in Kentucky, I qualified number one with a 7.61 at 203 in Outlaw Drag Radial, went 7.47 26 206 in the first round and went to the semifinal. At the NMCA race in Indiana in October, I made it to the LSX Drag Radial final, where I lost on a holeshot, but the 6.99 at 209 I ran in the semifinal made us the first drag radial LS car ever to run in the sixes. We still hold the drag radial record for the NMCA LSX series. Then, at the World Cup Finals at MIR, I ran in the Radial versus Modified class, and in my test hit, I beat Sal Patel’s record with a 6.89 at 221 mph. We went 6.82 at 223 in eliminations and got runner-up. At that point, we captured a lot of records.
You’ve said your program improved when Barnhill and Lee began tuning for you.
We advanced further in one year with their help than we had in the previous four years without their help. They’ve been a big part of our success. They’ve taught me how to deal with the car when it wheelies and when it spins, and when to give up on a run or keep it going. You can’t find two better guys who have raced more or won more races than them.
What are you most proud of?
Being the fastest IRS car in the world gets us noticed, but our biggest accomplishment is being the quickest and fastest small-block car in the world on stock suspension. That’s for GM, Ford and Chrysler engines. My goals now are to work more with the 275 and be the first six-second 275 car.
Who helps along the way?
My crew includes Tom Willing, Jarrod Grabiel, Brandon Wright, Patrick Barnhill, Bob Williams, Mike Niehaus and Tomi Laine. They’re always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we’re ready for the next round. I wouldn’t want to even try to race without them. I also I receive help from IPS Motorsports, Garrett, RPM Transmissions, Driveshaft Shop, All Pro Heads, PTP Racing, Callies, Dailey Engineering, TiAL, Big Stuff 3, Race Pak, Wiseco, ATI and Coughlin Automotive.
You’ve expressed interest in the 2014 Corvette C7. It’s a looker, but so is your car, which attracted a lot of attention in the Garrett booth at PRI.
I would love to have a new C7, but for 2013, I will run the same car. It has made my racing career, and I owe a lot of that to the people who’ve helped.
This spotlight can be found in the April issue of Fastest Street Car.
