Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best Pass

A few tweaks to this legendary Corvette kart propel it well into the sevens.

By Brett Foote - March 3, 2021
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass
Leroy the Savage Rips Off New Personal Best 7.75-Second Pass

New Best

It's been a long and winding road for Leroy the Savage, YouTuber Cleetus McFarland's stripped-down C5 Corvette kart that's powered by a heavily turbocharged 7.0-liter LS V8. McFarland has made the car faster and faster over the last couple of years, amid lots of breakage and other setbacks. But he managed to rip off a new personal best E.T. of 7.75 seconds at 183 miles-per-hour after the latest changes he made to his insane rig that are documented in this video.

Ripe Conditions

The weather is certainly right in Bradenton, Florida, in February for some record-breaking passes, especially after McFarland and his crew just finished upgrading Leroy with a new Black Magic clutch for the manual transmission, which should help him get the car's four-digit horsepower to the ground a little better.

>>Join the conversation about this Krazy C5 Kart right here in Corvette Forum.

Risky Strategy

McFarland also traded out his slicks for a set of radial tires, which he notes are faster but less forgiving. And on top of all this, he changes his strategy as well, aiming to shift at the top of the rev limiter. This is obviously ideal for nabbing the fastest time, but is also risky as if he waits too long, he risks hurting the engine. But no guts, no glory, right?

>>Join the conversation about this Krazy C5 Kart right here in Corvette Forum.

Little Room

There isn't much room for error on this particular track day, but if McFarland hits everything perfectly, it will obviously lead to faster E.T.s. Old habits seemed to die hard here at first, however, as McFarland continued to shift a little too early and recorded some disappointing results for the first few passes.

>>Join the conversation about this Krazy C5 Kart right here in Corvette Forum.

Keep Going

The car did continue to get faster with each pass, however, even though McFarland noted that he kept shifting too early. He and Cleetus did keep winning races, however, and McFarland advanced to the point where he squared off with a 1,500 horsepower Miata, which meant that he had to step up if he wanted to take home the win once again.

>>Join the conversation about this Krazy C5 Kart right here in Corvette Forum.

Perfect Shifting

As they say, pressure makes diamonds, and McFarland proceeded to rip off his best pass ever in Leroy with the 7.75-second result. Looking back at the data, McFarland discovered that he hit every single shift perfectly, coming within 20 rpm of the limiter in each gear.

>>Join the conversation about this Krazy C5 Kart right here in Corvette Forum.

Measurable Improvements

Obviously, being consistent at the drag strip running a high-powered manual car isn't easy, but McFarland continues to push the boundaries with his crazy ride. And we'll certainly continue to follow along with his journey because it just keeps getting better - and faster - with each outing.

>>Join the conversation about this Krazy C5 Kart right here in Corvette Forum.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.

NEXT
BACK
NEXT
BACK