The Factory Appearing Stock Tire (F.A.S.T.) racers group has been fired up for the 2023 season with the debut of Jordan Pennington’s 1967 Corvette L88 clone. The Indiana resident reset the F.A.S.T. elapsed time record with a stunning 9.27 at 146.32 mph performance at the NMCA World Finals event in Indianapolis in September.
Pennington’s father, Terry, has held the class record for a few years now with his 1969 Corvette, setting it with a 9.37 at the very same event in 2021. Over this past winter, the Pennington family began building the 1967 Corvette, which is an original 427/435 horsepower big-block car. Terry initially thought about building the car for the F.A.S.T. Factory Stock category to keep it original, yet still drive it like it was meant to be driven. That plan eventually changed and a full F.A.S.T. build was put into action.
The 18,800-mile machine was purchased as a basket case, as it was wrecked in the 1970’s and never repaired, until now. The Penningtons put a new front end on it and restored the body and chassis front to back, with Ivan Pennington putting on the pretty Marlboro Maroon paint.
“From body off the frame to the race track, it was 33 days, with several all-nighters right before we finished,” says Jordan Pennington. His maiden voyage in the car was supposed to be at the first F.A.S.T. race of the year in May, but he didn’t get a chance to make any runs. However, his father Terry did, and he lowered the F.A.S.T. record to a 9.31 while driving his ’69 Corvette.
“I didn’t feel comfortable driving it and didn’t get to even drive it down the road before we loaded the car up and took it to the track,” Pennington tells us. “They had tore up our road that weekend.” Just a month later, at the NMCA Power Festival at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, in June, he was able to put in some quality seat time and reset the F.A.S.T. record with a 9.30 in the Corvette’s first time out.
The Penningtons have worked with BES Racing Engines for all of the engines in their cars, and the 1967 Corvette L88 clone is powered by one, as well. Displacement checks in at 560 cubic inches, and breathing through a 4150-style Pro Systems carburetor, the Chevy big-block has put down 760 horsepower to the rear wheels at Pennington’s Horsepower Depot dyno.
A Dan Sharp-built Turbo 400 automatic and Circle D torque converter twists the 4.11 gears in the Dragvette 12-bolt rearend before the ponies are planted via the IRS system with help from the DG Performance-built shocks.
As if a 9.27 wasn’t impressive enough from this factory appearing, stock looking, mid-year Corvette, Pennington believes there is more left in it, as the 9.27 came with a 1.41.8 60-foot time, and he’s been 1.40 with it before. He’s planning on doing just that at the F.A.S.T. Frostbite Nationals at US 131 on October 27th.
“I think we can drop that a couple tenths,” Pennington explains. “The car is still new and we are learning every time we go out.”