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Import Killer
One Aircooled VW Shaking Up the IDRC and NHRA Import Racing Series

By Karl Funke
Photography: Robert Hallstrom

Southern Californian Scott Kelley is an anomaly in the face of mainstream sanctioned import racing. Once a regular on the air-cooled VW racing circuit, Kelley recently decided to take a different route and try his hand racing in a different venue. In 1999 he approached the Import Drag Racing Circuit (IDRC) about allowing him to run a Volkswagen in their series, which until then catered exclusively to the aforementioned Japanese imports. Though he encountered some resistance, the powers that be eventually allowed him to race in the interest of fairness and diversifying their own market, though you'll find it interesting the rules that apply to him are a little more stringent than those that apply to the Japanese imports. Even so, Kelley has made quite a name for himself in the four years he's run in the IDRC and, most recently, the NHRA import series. To date he's run a low e.t. of 10.65 @ 125mph on a naturally aspirated, all-motor, stock 1600-based configuration. His list of achievements include 22 career wins to date, 1999 VW Pro Stock National Champion, 2001 IDRC All Motor Champion, 2001 NHRA All Motor runner up, and 2001 NHRA and IDRC All Motor record holder.

Like a lot of others who get involved with the automotive power struggle, Kelley initially kindled an interest in muscle cars, big American V8s that can't help but make big power but compromise other areas, like economy and handling, for their straight-line dominance. Then, in 1988, Kelley was driving on the street when he got smoked by a hopped up VW. That day changed the nature of his enthusiasm--and the course of his life--forever.

Even at the time, Kelley wasn't a stranger to the world of air-cooled performance. His father, Larry, was one of the original air-cooled racing pioneers and a first generation VW pilot. So consequently had a lot of air-cooled performance parts lying around the shop, Kelley Racing in Yorba Linda, Calif. Knowing that his father's knowledge would help him get a leg up on the competition, Scott began searching for a vehicle to build on. The cheapest VW he could find was this 1969 Fastback owned at the time by one of his friends. Kelley walked away with the car for $600, brought it back to the shop and began work. Little did he know that one day the car would become something of a legend among the ranks of new, water-cooled, front-wheel drive imports of the late '90s. At first, the 'Back was to be a built street car, but the elder Kelley suggested another plan of attack in the interest of safety.

"Dad said, 'I don't want you racing on the street,'" Kelley recalled. "So he convinced me to go the full route and build a full blown track car."

Kelley ran the Fastback at VW specific events for a few years along with another car, a 1957 Beetle, in the Pro Stock class, at the time known as Pro Sedan. In 1990 he ended up third in points in the class, running a low e.t. of 11.17 seconds at 122mph. After that he decided to concentrate on just one car, his Beetle, and the Fastback sat for a few years. It even went up for sale at one point, and was nearly picked up before the purchasing party backed out at the last minute. At that point Kelley decided to salvage the car for the new import racing series. He's done pretty well to date, well enough to pick up a high profile sponsor in Toyo Tires, so now he's got some corporate backing in a sport that loves to burn money as well as it loves to burn rubber.

Kelley's Fastback relies on a stock 1600 case for motivation, but you'd be foolish to believe 1600cc is all this motor pushes. Bore and stroke now measure 88mm x 94mm to effect a total displacement of 2442cc, or 149 cubic inches. The case has been prepped by Kelley Racing for full flow and clearanced to make room for the new stroker package, which consists of a BUGPACK crank, balanced and micro-polished by Demello, swinging Pauter steel rods. JE pistons effect a screaming 15.5:1 compression. A wet sump and Melling high-volume oil pump keeps the vital PurePower 10/20 oil flowing. A pair of Bugpack SuperFlo heads, fully ported, polished and three-angled by Kelley Racing, house titanium valves, sized a whopping 50mm intake and 40 mm exhaust. A custom Webcam-ground shaft bumps the valves. Aspiration is facilitated through dual 60.5 JayCee Terminator carbs linked to BUGPACK manifolds, which in turn were match-ported by Kelley racing. The exhaust gasses are directed out the back through S & S custom built 2" stepped headers that are ceramic coated by EA Coatings in Vernon Calif. A Holley Blue fuel pump keeps plenty of high octane juice on tap, while ignition spark flares at the behest of an MSD 7AL drag racing ignition and Blaster coil.

To harness the power put out by this mill, Kelley procured a Type II gearbox using an aluminum spool and custom close-ratio Rancho gears. The independent rear was modified using chrome-moly sway away axles and Bus CV joints to deal with the increased torque levels. Kelley also rigged a special bracket that allows him to run dual Spax shocks in the rear, for improved stability out of the hole, without actually modifying the suspension components themselves. One of the stipulations for him running in import racing series is he cannot modify the factory suspension components in any way; therefore, suspension assemblies front and rear remain unaltered.

Though the car's interior features long expanses of bare metal, a single driver's seat and six point chrome-moly roll cage, Team Kelley actually had to start bolting stock components back onto the car in order to meet the weight requirements that the IDRC initially hampered them with. You see, another of the stipulations for competition in both the IDRC and NHRA import series require Kelley's VW to run at a much higher curb weight than the imports it races against. While many Hondas will run at feathery 1400 and 1500lbs, Kelley's Fastback runs at a mandatory 1800lbs. just to be able to compete. Sound unfair? Well, it may be, but Kelley remains undaunted by the fact.

"You've got to remember the sponsors of these events and a lot of the people who attend are not out there to see air-cooled Volkswagens," he explained. "If I go out there and kick the crap out of everyone else, that isn't really targeting the market that [the sponsors] want to sell to."

Even so, one of the main reasons he believes the sanctioning bodies and sponsors allow him to run is the degree of professionalism he and his team bring to the track. The Kelley's have been drag racing for a long time, and it shows in their demeanor and on-track etiquette. They'll continue to push the sanctioning bodies for what Scott calls, "weight breaks;" that is, lowering the required running weight for the VW in order to keep the car competitive in a field that uses technology some 30 years newer than that found in the Fastback. Whatever happens, there's no doubt that Scott Kelley is an emissary for the aircooled VW in a world of water-pumping Japanese imports. If there's an IDRC or NHRA import event near you, take a trip out to the track to support the man in his quest to open these series up to a more diversified field of competitors.