Redwood Rally 2025 x Ziegler Horsepower
Silver Bullet Story
Overview
The Redwood Rally is a 5‑day Drag & Drive event taking place Sept 22–27, 2025. The idea is simple: make a pass down the drag strip, then drive the same car hundreds of miles to the next track and do it again. No trailers. No shortcuts. We spent an afternoon with The Master Mechanic in his garage, talking about his ’72 Camaro “Silver Bullet” and the mindset it takes to survive the week.
Dates & Route
Sept 22–27, 2025. Race, then drive to the next venue — repeat until Saturday.
- Day 1: Medford Dragstrip
Opening passes. ZHP smokes a 6.282 @ 113.64 MPH! - Day 2: Coos Bay Speedway
No Passes — Blowout on Track - Day 3: Woodburn Dragstrip
Two blazing runs to complete the round!
‘Coos Bay’ 6.217 @ 114.34 MPH
‘Woodburn’ 6.193 @ 114.49 MPH. - Day 4: Madras Dragstrip
ZHP flattens the competition!
‘Madras’ 6.36 @ 112 MPH. - Day 5: Return to Medford
ZHP locks in the FASTEST MPH for the class and takes home SECOND PLACE for ET in the American Graffiti – Naturally Aspirated Class
‘Medford’ 6.36 @ 113 MPH.
The Story
Who is ZHP?
“ZHP stands for Ziegler Horsepower,” John says, leaning on the workbench. “Back in Reno I was known for building engines and making power. My car was fast, the name stuck.”
These days, it’s him and his son, Ryan, running under the name ZHP Garage: one turning wrenches, the other filming and editing the whole ride. Horsepower and storytelling rolled together.
The Car
Behold, ZHP’s ‘base model’ 1972 full‑chrome bumper Camaro. I ask John to share what’s under the hood of the ’72. He grins: “You want the accurate version, or the inaccurate one?”
“It’s a 565 big block Chevy, conventional 9.80 deck, dual Dominators, Mikes Transmissions Turbo 400 with transbrake, GM 12‑bolt rear‑end. Oh, and a full cage, 8.50‑certified.”
The mailbox hood scoop is the cherry on top of this monster of a street machine, ready to go absolutely postal down the track.
In the Naturally Aspirated class, ZHP’s aiming for the closest average time across all four tracks. “I’m hanging everything out, throwing in the kitchen sink, so it’s gonna be as fast as the car is, every time.”
The Route
Medford → Coos Bay → Woodburn → Madras → back to Medford. Five days, four tracks. The route takes drivers along scenic Highway 101 and through national forest lands, stopping along the way at historic drag strips of the Pacific Northwest.
“I’m going to launch it as hard as I can launch it, and give it all I can give it. I’m hoping for my best pass at Woodburn.”
Each drag location has its own unique features and pitfalls. Success comes down to reading how each track behaves. “Coos Bay, everybody says it’s like a well‑prepped street.”
Strip Strategy? No Compromises
A drag‑and‑drive can be unforgiving on cars built for the track. Asked what compromises he makes between the street/strip balance, John puts it bluntly: “I’d say no compromise, if you want to survive and have a good time.”
“You need the thing top notch. You need everything the best it could be.”
That’s the philosophy: quality work, quality parts, and confidence in the build.
Fuel is the only adjustment between street and track. On the road he runs pump 91 octane with a can of booster. At the track, he splashes in the 116 go‑go juice. “I probably shouldn’t be driving it on 91,” he admits, “but low throttle, cruising? It’ll live. Nothing else changes.”
On The Road
ZHP knows the risks: driving 1,000 miles in a car built for quick bursts, not comfy road cruising. No heater. No wipers. Race radials on wet pavement.
“If it rains, I’ll slow way down or stop. If it gets crazy, I’ll sleep in the car.”
What’s in the road kit? “I’m pretty confident in the car. I’ll bring a healthy toolbox, a spare ignition box, fuel pump, spark plugs.” When pressed about indexing the plugs on‑the‑fly, he laughs it off: “They’re not indexed now, so… not worried about it.”
Most of the drive: earplugs, staying in‑tune with the road, tracking fuel mileage, and running the next day’s plan in his head.
“The initial stage is on Highway 101 — it’s windy — and the car likes to go straight. You really have to concentrate.”
Lessons from 2023
During the 2023 Redwood Rally the ’57 Chevy backup car encountered issues — starter fatigue, ignition gremlins, parts too old to trust. John shrugs now.
“I was naive. The Camaro was always the car to go. I was thinking I was gonna get it done.”
He describes the scramble in the lead‑up to 2023: “I wanted to change a couple things on the ’57, and then it kind of snowballed.” This time, the Camaro’s new where it counts, tested, and dialed‑in.
“It’ll do 800 miles, no problem.”
Years of experience equip the Master Mechanic with a tuned troubleshooting toolkit: sometimes you steal a bolt from one spot to use somewhere else. (Note: not for lug nuts — ALNATT: All Lug Nuts All The Time.)
Why It Matters
Asked what keeps him coming back, John doesn’t mention trophies or time slips. Instead, he talks about his son, Ryan — recording the miles, late‑night wrenching, the joy of shared experience.
“It’s memories. Like picking up that ’57, sleeping in the trailer, driving through the night. He’s got it all on video. Stuff you won’t forget.”
Drag & Drive becomes more than a race. It’s how these machines bring us together as family, friends, and community — with trust, respect, and race fuel.
Gallery
Post-Rally Interview
Day One — Licenses and Lanes
The first day wasn’t about glory, it was about paperwork and nerves. “Yeah, Monday was test-and-tune slash licensing,” John says. “I had no idea what the car was going to do. New tranny, new converter from Barona. I was just hoping it would be fast enough to get licensed.”
He laughs remembering those first six passes, back-to-back, no cool-down, just him and the Silver Bullet against the clock. “First full pass? 10.05, I’m like, you gotta be kidding me. Next one’s 10.03. You're killing me! Finally with some minor tweaks, 9.95. Relief, cool, it runs in the nines. Licenses done. Ready for tomorrow.”
That small victory set the tone for the week. The Silver Bullet was dialed, the driver focused, and the garage back home could breathe again.
The Competition and the Crowd
The Naturally Aspirated class drew 16 or 17 cars, most running tens. “There’s me and one other guy who ran in the nines the whole week,” John says. “Third place was only a couple tenths back, though. If I had a bad track, I’d be in the back of the pack, easy.”
He doesn’t say it like a boast, it’s just how the event goes. “It’s not that cutthroat vibe. Husbands and wives, girlfriends, people helping each other. One guy’s wife was swapping tires. It’s just better people, you know?”
He tells a story about a Mustang team that blew their engine mid-event. “They borrowed a truck, went to a wrecking yard, pulled another 5.0, dropped it in, and finished the week. A junkyard engine, man. That’s heart.”
Every night feels the same: hotel parking lots turned into impromptu pit lanes, barbecue smoke curling through the light of halogen work lamps. “My cousin our Vagabond hauled the ice chest. We’d pull up, throw the top up, grill in the parking lot. Everyone’s out there. It’s like an after-party.”
Coos Bay to Woodburn : A Game of Conditions
At Coos Bay, John was almost in the lanes when the day unraveled. “Guy in a diesel car filled up and didn’t put the cap on. Launched, and three gallons of diesel came out, every time he hit it, more sprayed. So they’re trying to burn it off. Then a Rat Rod blows a tranny line and dumps fluid all over the other lane. Diesel left, tranny right — both lanes dead. That was it for the day.”
The makeup came at Woodburn, and that track didn’t disappoint. “It’s 200 feet elevation, runs amazing there. Medford’s 1,200, Madras is over 2,000. Everybody does their best pass at Woodburn.”
John did, too. “I used my first pass there to make up for Coos Bay, and my second one was faster. That’s where I passed him back. We were within hundredths.”
Mechanical Perfection and the Little Tweaks
When asked what broke, John doesn’t even pause.“Nothing. It was flawless. I built some prototype fuel coolers so the pump wouldn’t overheat, they worked perfect. Temps stayed down the whole time.”
He shrugs, like he almost doesn’t believe it himself. “People were overheating, I had a hard time warming the car up sometimes.”
He swapped plugs at Madras “just to see what happened,” and it worked. “Every little change made it happier; launch, shift points, shock settings. The harder I hit it, the more it liked it.”
Fuel-wise, things stayed simple. “I ran pump 91 with a can of booster for the drive. At the track, I’d mix in some 116 race gas. That was it. Didn’t touch timing or anything else.”
The Family Element
Little ZHP, Ryan, was there again, camera in hand. “He loved it,” John says. “I think because all the work we did finally paid off. Last year the cage got certified; this year, we got the license. To get a naturally aspirated pump-gas car to run nines? That’s a big deal.”
John’s voice lifts when he talks about his son’s future. “He wanted to drive the Camaro this year. I was gonna let him on the last day, but the shootout ran long, so he didn’t get a pass. I think he’s a little scared of it still, I did a burnout at O’Reilly’s, hit the limiter, smoke everywhere. He’s like, ‘That thing revs that fast?’ I told him, ‘Drive as fast as you’re comfortable, not as fast as I do. Don't try to beat me, you do you.’”
For next year, the plan’s still open: either the truck, or maybe something bought straight off Facebook Marketplace. “I want to buy one of those ‘600-horsepower race cars,’ dyno it, race it, and show people they’re full of crap,” he says, grinning. “It’ll be entertaining.”
Top of the Class
By week’s end, the Silver Bullet had earned second in its class, with the fastest mile-per-hour of the group. “It was simple, clean, and fast. We didn’t overthink it. Just raced, filled up, and hit the next stop.”
The Silver Bullet survived 1,000 miles and four tracks without drama, no small feat for a 565-inch big block car that lives in the nine-second zone. “It was amazing,” John says. “The car was flawless. I’m proud of it. Low maintenance, high reward, that’s the goal. Build it right, and you can just drive.”
Registration opens soon. “It sells out fast. They bumped it to 250 cars this year and still filled it. So if you want in, don’t wait!”
Credits & Follow
Narrative & photos: VFM · Guest: John “Master Mechanic” Ziegler. Quotes lightly edited for flow; raw transcript remains true to the garage conversation.
Links: ZHP Garage · Instagram @zhp_garage · Instagram @zhp72 · redwoodrally.com