We recently spoke with 275 Drag Radial racer Armen Magdhessian to see what changes he made to his car over the winter and of course, he’s added some trick components that will get his ride closer to the class’ minimum weight, and the winner’s circle. Having a nitrous car in heads-up class means Armen can weigh considerably less than the blower and turbo combinations.

The challenge with that is, finding creative ways to make your car as light as possible and in Armen’s case, without changing the look of the car. He’s working with Greg Shampine at Ultra-Carbon as well as Unlimited Fiberglass to make some brackets, bumpers, and seats that will get his ride closer to minimum weight. He has yet to make a clean pass with his new 598ci combination, but we expect it to be in the low 7-second range when it’s all sorted. 

Armen has also been working with Hughes Performance in getting his torque converter dialed in to match his new-found horsepower and lighter weight. “The car’s about 190 lbs. overweight in one organization and 140 lbs. over in another, so there’s some room for improvement there, and getting the converter to match is critical,” Armen said. By getting his ride to the minimum weight, he’ll optimize the combo’s power-to-weight ratio and be able to move ballast around where he wants it, allowing him to dial in the car’s balance more effectively. You can catch Armen’s Drag Radial ride at many of the west coast’s drag racing events this 2014 season.