Every door car and dragster at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School makes countless laps down the dragstrip as it carries eager competitors and thrill-seekers alike through the traps at high speeds. Under the hood, though, the big block Chevrolet power built by Scoggin Dickey Parts Center’s Raceshop is the key to the cars being able to run with consistency, durability, and reliability.
With a full schedule of licensing classes and exciting experiences offered nonstop throughout the United States all year long, there’s a lot of pressure on the School’s competition vehicles to perform day in and day out without issue. To achieve this, Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School keeps a robust supply of engines at the ready to rotate in and out as needed and relies on SDPC and its Raceshop to keep them running strong.
“It’s critical to our business to have power and reliability in our engines. We can’t afford any problems, and that’s why we’ve relied on the guys at Scoggin Dickey Parts Center and the SDPC Raceshop for so many years,” shared the School’s owner, Frank Hawley, who is grateful to have SDPC and the Raceshop on the School’s team with a partnership that dates back more than two decades. “The Raceshop crew understand everything about these big block Chevys and consistently deliver quality, dyno-tested engines for us.”
Keeping up with a regular refresh and rebuild regiment is not a task that most engine builders could handle, especially during a time when parts are tough to come by and supply chain shortages are rampant, but the Texas-based Scoggin Dickey Parts Center and the SDPC Raceshop both excel with superb service and incredible quality.
SDPC provides the School with the genuine Chevrolet Performance parts that it needs to keep its big blocks operating flawlessly for hundreds of passes while the Raceshop handles engine machine work, maintenance, engine dyno testing, and more.
All of the School’s engines started as standard 572 ci GM crate engines. Over the years, some have been bored out to a larger displacement of 580 ci, but every single one has been expertly managed and maintained by the crew at the Raceshop.
Hawley’s staff keeps an extremely detailed log of each engine’s use and works with Bracey to determine what needs to be refreshed or replaced whenever an engine is sent in for servicing. To minimize downtime, which is critical to the School being able to offer such a comprehensive and constant schedule of events, the Raceshop keeps a supply of standard components in stock.
“Frank and Lana Hawley are wonderful to work with and we love being able to share their passion for drag racing,” said Alan Bracey, Raceshop Manager, who also appreciates the fact that the School helps put the Raceshop, Scoggin Dickey Parts Center, and its associated Chevrolet dealership in front of countless new potential customers.
“It’s an honor to work with Frank and Lana at the Drag Racing School,” added Nicky Fowler, Scoggin Dickey Parts Center’s Vice President. “Working with top-tier divers is always our goal and we know that the School has a storied history of coaching and building new world champions at their facility.”
Together, Scoggin Dickey Parts Center and its Raceshop have found a unique synergy with Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and built a successful working relationship based around a communal interest. The partnership allows each entity to not only serve their customers but to also serve the entire drag racing community by enabling incredible opportunities for everyone from beginners to seasoned veterans to increase their involvement with the sport with proven power under the hood.
This story was originally published on June 10, 2022.