Fine Tuning

How a veteran racer set up a c5’s suspension for strip action

- Steve Temple

One man’s meat is another’s poison. Especially when it comes to tuning the engine and chassis for the strip. What works on one type of track might not work well on another. And either configuration might not work very well at all on public roads. What follows is an experienced race car builder’s account of how he tweaked a Torch Red 2003 Z06 for better hookup on the strip, dramatically different from the car’s performance on the street.

First, a bit of background on his race car creds. M.J. Redden, aka Junior, worked for some performance legends over the years, namely Don Yenko and Zora Arkus-Duntov. Junior cut his competition teeth in Stock cars in the late ’50s, running a 1957 Chevy. He went on to win 11 straight feature events at the Clinton Speedway, and took home both the Championship and Rookie of the Year trophies.

By necessity, Junior developed a talent for welding and fabrication as a young man. Yenko took notice of the teenager’s abilities and worked ​out a deal with him. Turns out that Duntov was seeking out Yenko to upgrade suspension pieces. So he got Junior to trade parts in exchange for him cutting and rewelding Duntov’s components for racing duty.