Kotter's VW Service Gallery

It wasn’t long before I had installed 3-2 barrel carbs and manifold headers and a special race ignition. I used to take the car to a local drag strip on Saturday nights to bracket race. (Carlsbad raceway – now defunct) I stepped up to a ’69 Super Sport Camaro with a 4 speed and raced it as well. Throughout my life I went to dozens of professional drag races. Then for my 45th birthday my wife and friends bought me a pass to a drag racing school. It was incredible.

After two days of intense classroom activity, we were allowed to step into a 215” long rear engine super comp dragster with 700 horse power. The first time I got to mash the throttle to the floor it felt like I had been rear ended by a mac truck and the acceleration was crazy. The first run was two hundred feet and then as we did all the right things driving the car we were allowed to go further incrementally until we went the full ¼ mile at over 165 miles per hour. The adrenaline rush was intense to say the least and I was hooked.

At the end of my day I was rewarded with a super comp license that would allow me to drive any similar car at an NHRA event. I then went on a search to find a car that I could afford. I found that car in Washington and my wife and I flew out to see it, made a deal and I had it shipped here to California. Over the next couple of years I had a blast driving the car and making improvements which included rewiring, a new cooling system, a new rear end, a new transmission and eventually a new engine, plus many other things that improved the car.

The new engine is a 496 cubic inch big block Chevy with 750 horse power. The car has wheelie bars on the back because when it launches the front wheel come off the ground about 10 inches. It has normal brakes, but it also has a parachute to slow it down even better. This slide show and video shows a lot of cool pictures taken at a local drag strip called Barona up in Ramona, California. Watching the video still gives me a rush. The drag strip there is only 1/8 mile long and my best time is 5.48 seconds and speed about 126 miles per hour. That’s done in only 660 feet. I will always remain a drag racing fan and hopefully a participant. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed it.