Fast … That Was Fast
JoJo Granatelli of Granatelli Motor Sports made history at The Red List Series XXXII, setting a new series quarter-mile record with an incredible 7.21-second pass, only to beat his own newly set record by going 7.06 seconds at 157 mph in the next round while piloting his Granatelli Motor Sports/In The Garage Media Pontiac Grand Am–bodied 2024 drag car.
Held at Famoso Dragstrip, The Red List Series brings together some of the West Coast’s quickest street and race cars for heads-up drag racing. The numbers on the August 8 timeslip tell only part of the story. The Granatelli Motor Sports/In The Garage Media car was only shooting for an eighth-mile run. JoJo lifted and coasted the rest of the way, yet still recorded an e.t. of 7.06 seconds @ 157 mph. Even more importantly, it wasn’t a full-power quarter-mile pass.
“We went out there to see what the car could do, and it definitely showed us,” JoJo Granatelli says. “We only ran it through the eighth, then coasted the rest of the way. Setting the record is awesome, but knowing there’s still a lot left in the car makes us even more excited about what’s coming next.”
The achievement adds another chapter to the Granatelli family’s long history in American motorsports. From historic achievements at Indianapolis to modern drag racing and high-performance street cars, racing has remained an important part of the Granatelli name for generations.
That leaves one obvious question: What will the car run when JoJo stays in it for the entire quarter-mile?
Wilcap & Speed Gems Transmission Adapters
Wilcap and Speed Gems are two storied names from the golden age of hot rodding that have endured into the 21st century. Both have deep roots in early speed equipment and racing, eventually taking different paths before coming together under the same ownership.
Wilcap was founded in the late 1940s by Tony Capana, who later partnered with Red Wilson. A passionate advocate for speed, Wilson achieved much of his competitive success in powerboat racing, becoming U.S. American Power Boat Champion three consecutive times. He was also involved with several early speed equipment companies, including Wilcap and Clay Smith Cams. Capana was primarily drawn to land speed racing. He became deeply involved with the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) and eventually served as president of the Albata Car Club, which he helped establish.
Speed Gems took a different path. Originally a distributor of speed equipment, the company shifted to manufacturing bellhousing adapters in the late 1950s and 1960s. After going dormant in the 1970s and early 1980s, Speed Gems was acquired by Bob Bendtsen of Bendtsen’s Transmission Center in the late 1980s.
In 2018, Speed Gems changed hands again, ultimately bringing the brand together with Wilcap under its current ownership. Today, the two names represent a substantial catalog of transmission adapters for Ford, GM, and Mopar engines and transmissions.
While traditional applications remain important, the future is increasingly focused on modern drivetrains. GM LS, Mopar 8HP, Ford Modular transmissions, and other late-model combinations are major development areas, with new adapters planned for a broad range of applications. For brands with roots in the earliest days of hot rodding, the goal has always been simple: preserve the names and knowledge that built them while continuing to develop the parts needed to keep pace with the next generation of custom cars and trucks alike.
For more information, visit Transmission Adapters at transmissionadapters.com.
