F.A.S.T. racer Lane Carey broke into the 9's with his '71 Super Cobra Jet Mach 1, with a 9.84 at 139 MPH. Images: fastraces.org

Today’s automotive aftermarket has absolutely exploded to the point where you can get just about any part for any car ever made here in America. This has led to a number of new racing organizations, as people are no longer content to let their classics gather dust in the garage. Super Street, Super Stock, Eliminator, Pro Street, there are so many racing classes it can be hard to keep track. Our favorite racing tends to be that which leaves the car looking somewhat intact.

That is why we always liked F.A.S.T. Racing Series, or Factory Appearing Street Tire. Hemmings Auto Blog reports that just a few weeks ago – during the Labor Day weekend at the Hemmings Muscle Machines’ Musclepalooza event at Englishtown’s Raceway Park in New Jersey – the venerable F.A.S.T. crew took to the strip and broke all sorts of records. It was only a year ago that the racing series entered into the 10-second club. Now, just over a year later, the series’ leaders have snuck into the the 9-seconds.

As you might have guessed by the name, the F.A.S.T. Racing Series requires that all cars look as though they came straight from the factory. That cuts out dealer modifications too, like the Yenkos and Shelbys. The point is to preserve the classic muscle car look while promoting speed and power. Anything that can’t be seen is good to go, which means stroker cranks, ported heads, and lumpy camshafts can all be had on your F.A.S.T. racer. Worst off, the tires must be conducive to how they came from the dealership; meaning narrow, DOT-approved rubber. No slicks here.

After series champ Dave Dudek shattered the F.A.S.T. record with a 10.18 at 136 mph with his black '69 HEMI Road Runner, he was the shoe-in to be the first to make the first 9-second run in series history, but fate had different plans...

Still, that didn’t prevent Lane Carey from taking his ’71 Super Cobra Jet Mach 1 Mustang to a 9.84 @ 139 mph. Hot on his heels was Dave Dudek, who broke into the nines that day too. Dudek wound up running a 9.98 @ 138 mph, but it was after Carey made his 9-second run first. Dudek’s trap speeds are only shy of Carey’s by a slight margin, so the battle for F.A.S.T. supremacy is far from over.

We’ll have to make sure to check out one of these races sooner rather than later. It sounds like our kind of racing.