Remembering Racin’ Jason Betwarda 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago on June 12th, "Racin' Jason" Betwarda lost his life during a high-speed accident while testing his turbocharged 1993 Mustang LX coupe at Lebanon Valley Dragway. He was a father that left behind an unborn child, a fianc and a family. He also forged a legacy in the Mustang world that won't be forgotten.

Jason's story begins in the late 1980s, in Scarsdale, NY, a time when the 5.0 Mustang hit its stride with stellar looks and powerful 5.0 High Output engine. He picked up a 1987 Mustang GT convertible and the modifications came quickly. Back then parts like an H-pipe exhaust, Flowmaster mufflers, and a NOS nitrous kit were the best upgrades you could buy. Like all young guys of the time Jason could be found in the stoplight derby on Central Avenue in Yonkers, but he would quickly outgrow the scene. After meeting Job Spetter Sr., then owner and operator of Turbo People of New York, the convertible took a major leap forward.

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By the early 1990s, fueled by a passion to go quicker and quicker and tapping into the experience and knowledge of Spetter, the team was cranking out 10.70 times when there were less than a handful of Mustangs that quick in the country. The combination was simple but ground-breaking back then—a 306ci engine with J302 cylinder heads, aftermarket intake, Turbo Technology single turbo kit, and a DFI Gen VI stand-alone engine management system. A big and heavy Art Carr Ford C6 transmission backed the setup and they terrorized dragstrips throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. A little shot of nitrous pushed the car into the 10.30s and that is when it started to get interesting.

In 1992 the Mustang drag racing scene got more serious when Englishtown's Raceway Park jumped all-in hosting Mustang Showdowns as a Friday night series, Mustang vs. Grand National competition on Father's Day, and what they called the 5.0 World Championships in July. Around that same time Fun Ford Weekend created Pro 5.0 for the racers who wanted to run unlimited, like Stormin Norman Gray, Gene Deputy, Doug Mangrum, Steve Grebeck, Willie Figuroa, and many others. The Mustang arms race had officially kicked off and Jason was looking to be part of it.

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A local chassis shop chopped up the street car so a set of big Goodyear 33x16 tires could fit under the backside, which was a growing trend at the time. Spetter had orchestrated the addition of a Duttweiler Performance 306ci small-block using Ford Performance's latest engine block; the A4 steel block that featured four-bolt mains and Duttweiler added a forged steel rotating assembly. A pair of turbochargers provided the boost and Spetter maintained control over it all with the DFI engine management.

Eventually Jason and Job got the car into the 8.80s, quite an accomplishment in 1993 but hardly near the Mustang's capabilities. C&F Race Cars took over in the chassis department with a major overhaul, enabling the 1,200hp combination to run as quick as possible. A new driver, Mike Ragusa, also stepped in behind the wheel to shake it down and eventually stayed on as the permanent wheel-man.

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First came the 8.60s, then the 8.50s and eventually the 8.30s as the Racin' Jason convertible Mustang became the quickest and fastest Mustang.

By 1994 the 5.0 Shootout scene was getting more organized with class rules, most of the time barring twin turbo combinations from competition. It didn't deter Jason and Mike from continuing to push the Mustang and chase after the record. The 306ci engine was replaced with a larger 331ci stroker engine and even larger Turbonetics turbochargers. Horsepower jumped up to an unheard of 1,500hp on the engine dyno. The increase in power put the team on the brink of the 7s, practically writing the book on how to drag race a turbocharged vehicle at those times. They finished the year with a best of 8.03 at 177 mph.

Flipping the calendar to 1995 and the Racin' Jason team accomplished their 7-second goal on a chilly March 31st at Englishtown, first with a 7.81 at 185 mph and then Mike backed it up with a 7.79 at 182 mph. Running 7s was considered the final frontier with a small-block combination when you looked around at other categories at the time. That year the IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock and NHRA Pro Stock cars were in the high 6s and the baddest of the bad door slammers, IHRA Pro Modifieds, were in the 6.30s. But no one ever considered a small-block combination to be a 7-second capable powerplant, especially for a "Pro Street" style door-slammer.

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A year later, Mike pushed the convertible to a quicker 7.56 at 185 mph using a larger 388ci engine from Duttweiler and all parties involved agreed that the chassis far exceeded its limits. Running match races and time trials was fun but their competitive spirit had them yearning for a new challenge. C&F Race Cars replaced the aging convertible with a high-tech 1993 Mustang LX coupe, this one equipped with a single turbocharger and studier chassis design.

The goal for the new LX was for Jason and Mike to split driving chores, attack the big Pro 5.0 shootouts, and eventually run in the Mr. Gasket Shootout at NMCA events a couple of years later. The end of 1996 brought them 7.80 runs in Pro 5.0 trim with the new Mustang. Jason jumped over to the Mr. Gasket Shootout at NMCA events during 1997 season, it was a category built around a pounds/cubic inch package. Adhering to the rules, the team swapped to a 310ci engine with experimental Trick Flow cylinder heads and a single turbo to fit the eliminator, eventually running a best of 8.00 at 180 mph on the class-required 31x10.5W tires.

The category went away for the 1999 season, which is when Jason stepped up to Super Street in both NMCA and NSCA. They also picked up a Ford Probe by Jerry Haas Race Cars for the twin turbo Windsor engine and Ragusa was slated to take the fight to the NMCA Pro Street big shots like Tony Christian, Pat Musi, Bob Rieger, and anyone else who wanted to put it in the beams next to him.

Jason was tragically killed during a private test session at Lebanon Valley Dragway on June 12, 1999 as he was preparing for a highly anticipated return to Pro 5.0 competition at the upcoming NMRA Ford Motorsport Nationals. It would be NMRA's first national competition held during a heritage Ford event at Maple Grove Raceway, an event that helped launch Jason into the national spotlight over the years. He wouldn't get his chance to return to race the category he helped define.

Jason's resilient passion to chase after the Mustang drag racing record, the continued motivation to build better cars and engines, and the influence over thousands of enthusiasts is immeasurable. His work with Mike, Job, and Ken Duttweiler paved the way for the turbo revolution that took over in the early 2000s and continues to thrive today.

The world lost an innovator, a friend, and a family member on June 12, 1999.

The Legend Lives On!

Five years ago the famous Racin' Jason convertible resurfaced at a storage unit in Chicago. It was abandoned and aged, but still true to its original form when it was parked in 1996. Jason's lifelong friend and noted hot rodder Joe Caldwell jumped at the opportunity to buy it.

Joe had plans to restore the Mustang but also go after the 6-second zone while maintaining the heritage of the beloved and legendary Fox-body convertible. With respect to the family, Caldwell received the blessing of Jason's father, Jack Betwarda before chasing his 6-second goal and preserving a piece of drag racing history.

A three-year build process was concluded with a prestigious cover story of the June 2017 issue of Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords. But to get to that point was a long road filled with laughter, challenges, and perseverance to stay true to the car's tradition but modernizing it for the 6-second/200 mph challenge that lay ahead of it.

The famous Mustang was sent back to C&F Race Cars, the original builder, for the first major step in the process. The noted chassis shop added a Team Z Motorsports front-end, revamped the rear suspension with a sturdier housing and four-link bars, and the cage was also updated to a SFI 25.3 spec. The body needed a freshening and Vincent Auto Body refurbished it in Oxford White. To keep the appearance fresh but original, Joe brought in Kaos Designs, the original vinyl artist, to redo the lettering and sponsor logos.

Under the hood sits a Duttweiler Performance 405ci engine, which ironically was an old engine that Jason had purchased in the late 1990s for use in the Probe. It changed hands a few times and showed back up at Duttweiler Performance when Joe bought it. The nostalgia continued with the addition of two Turbonetics Y2K turbochargers, modern turbos from Jason's original sponsor. Race Wires handled the initial wiring and plumbing to get the car fired up. Backing the 2,200hp combination is an ATI Powerglide transmission with a ProTorque converter.

The car got on track in 2017 with dismal results as it fought everyone involved with an electrical problem. It was down on power as several experts attempted to help Joe figure out the issue. Despite the on-track issues, the Racin' Jason convertible was a major hit on the car show circuit and was recently a featured vehicle during the Fords at Carlisle special 40th anniversary tribute to the Fox-body Mustang display. It wasn't until Joe dropped the convertible off at Pro Edge Tuning in Connecticut that the annoying electrical issue was resolved. Bill Miller and Jason Sabo traced the problem to an injector clip on the engine's ECU harness. A quick verification on the chassis dyno revealed the problem was solved and the engine easily cranked out 1,600 rwhp, with more on tap.

As we remember Jason, we can celebrate his life in knowing that today there are 5-second turbo Mustangs that are achieving speeds around 250 in the quarter-mile. Those race cars might not resemble the beloved 1987 Mustang of the Racin' Jason team, however, the legacy and lore surrounding the famous convertible are a large part of how the drag racing community has gotten there.

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