The Blue Goose uses Mickey Thompson wheels and tires, but the rears have been fortified with MacFab beadlocks.

These days, it’s becoming more popular to build a racecar that fits into more than one racing category. In the past, especially if you raced in a specific sanctioning body, a racer was pigeon-holed into a single category. That meant you had to follow that specific sanctioning bodies rules in order to compete. That scenario is no longer the case, as some classes have rules that are close enough in comparison, that switching back and forth doesn’t take much work.

In Mark Dykeman’s case, his 1972 Camaro Z28 is able to race in both Extreme Leaf Spring and X275 classes without making wholesale changes. Mark runs X275 at his local New England Dragway and at the Yellow Bullet Nationals, but he may try to run both Extreme Leaf Spring and X275 at the upcoming No Mercy 7 at South Georgia Motorsports Park in October 2016.

Calvert Racing mono-leaf springs, combined with Smith Racecraft Assassin traction bars and Menscer shocks suspend a Racecraft 9-inch housing filled with Strange Engineering’s finest components. The leaf spring arrangement is aided by a custom anti-roll bar.

Since Mark’s Camaro relies on Mickey Thompson Drag Radial Pro 275 tires, this allows him to race in the X275 class. The factory rear suspension that has been upgraded with Smith Racecraft Assassin traction bars, Calvert Racing mono-leafs, and Menscer shocks, also qualifies him for the Extreme Leaf Spring Class.

With a Harrell Engine and Dyno (HED) 468 cubic-inch small-block getting boost from a ProCharger F-1X supercharger, power is definitely not an issue. The engine utilizes a Dart Iron Eagle block, R&R aluminum rods, Wiseco pistons, Dart 15-degree heads, an Edelbrock Dominator intake, Billet Fabrication valve covers, Trend pushrods, and Jesel rockers, belt-drive, and front-mount distributor. The ProCharger uses a Chris Alston crankshaft drive and a custom air-to-water intercooler to force 26 pounds of boost through the Wilson Manifolds elbow and 105mm throttle body. A Big Stuff 3 electronic fuel injection works in concert with Billet Atomizer 225 injectors to provide the right air/fuel mixture all the way down the track. An MSD Power Grid and 7AL3 lights the fire, while a Racepak IQ3 and Sportsman data-logger keep track of all the madness.

The current Harrell Engine and Dyno (HED) 468 cubic-inch small-block is seen here, but HED is working on a 427 cubic-inch small-block with a revised camshaft profile. With the ProCharger F-1X-12, Mark says that combo should make 35 pounds of boost. He hopes the upgrade will get his Camaro running 4.40 seconds in the 1/8-mile.

Behind the big-inch small-block is an M&M Turboglide transmission with a PTC converter, followed by a Racecraft 9-inch housing with a Strange Engineering center section, 40-spline axles, and 4.11 gears. Mark also sourced Strange for the Camaro’s brakes as well. “A lot of the cage was made by me at Dykeman Welding and Fabrication,” Mark adds.

A split-bumper Camaro’s grille is the perfect hiding spot for a front-mount ProCharger. Mark has a lot of help with his racing program, including Tommy Kirk, Mark Barnett, Derek Mota, Shawn Amadon, Joe Brooks, and Demarco Racing. He wants to add special thanks to his family for putting up with his racing, which includes his wife Alyson, and kids Maci, Brooke, Ashlie, and Jack.

The Blue Goose’s best time at New England Dragway is a 4.73 e.t. at 156 mph, with a 1.21-second short time. HED is currently working on a new engine combination, and with a step up to a ProCharger F-1X-12, he’ll be looking to run 4.40-second e.t.s in the fall.