Local boy, drag racer and Kaua‘i High School alumni Kevin Rapozo and his crew set a new state record this past weekend at Maui Raceway Park after the Blown Alcohol Hemi Dragster thundered down the track at 237.96 mph in
Local boy, drag racer and Kaua‘i High School alumni Kevin Rapozo and his crew set a new state record this past weekend at Maui Raceway Park after the Blown Alcohol Hemi Dragster thundered down the track at 237.96 mph in an elapsed time of 5.88 seconds.
“When the announcer shouted out the numbers of the run, you could hear the crowd roar,” said fellow Maui veteran racer Joey Medeiros, in a release.
“I know we did something,” Rapozo said in a release.
Rapozo was unable to find the words to describe the feeling of being strapped in a 2500 horsepower-driven machine.
“We’ve been working on the dragster, progressively increasing the launch and shift rpm,” he said.
Rapozo gives much credit to his crew, Masa Yamamoto, crew chief, Spike Gorr, tuning consultant and many others.
“I have people on neighboring islands who help, too,” Rapozo said as he spoke of the state record as a team accomplishment. A class of ‘89 Raiders graduate, Rapozo continued his education in Arizona at Universal Technical Institute, receiving a degree in Automotive and Diesel Technology.
Rapozo started his own business in 1995 and laughed recollecting how it began out of his mom’s garage.
The desire to drive a dragster came when he was ten years old, Rapozo recalls, after seeing Ray Rapozo’s red dragster at the track in Mana.
His very first attempt at the track clocked 11.50 ET, ten years ago in Crisanto Tangonan’s Dune Buggy. But he acclaims his passion for racing comes from his best friend, Ray Silva who introduced him to the sport.
Kaua‘i Raceway Park not only provides a venue for safe, competitive racing, but also an exciting place for friends and families to see, hear and smell the explosion of power in drag racing.
For more information visit www.dragrace-kauai.com.
